Five Clues That You Are Addicted to Facebook

IES ICARIA- ENGLISH READING & ACTIVITIES The social network:Five clues that you are addicted to Facebook

One day recently, Cynthia Newton's 12-year-old daughter asked her for help with homework, but Newton didn't want to help her, because she was too busy on Facebook. So her daughter went upstairs to her room and sent an e-mail asking her for help, but Newton didn't see the e-mail, because, well, she was too busy on Facebook.

The problem exists when a Facebook user crosses the line from social networking into social dysfunction.

"I'm an addict. I just get lost in Facebook," Newton said. "My daughter gets so mad at me, and really it is kind of pathetic. It's not something I'm particularly proud of. I just get so sucked in."

Newton (that's not her real name; she's embarrassed by her Facebook use and requested anonymity) says she spends about 20 hours a week on the social networking site, half the time for work -- she runs an online business -- and half just for fun. She's tried to cut down on her Facebook use but failed.

"I can go a whole day without Facebook," she said. "But I've never made it through an entire weekend."

Although there are no statistics on "Facebook addiction" -- it isn't an actual medical diagnosis -- therapists say they're seeing more and more people like Newton who've crossed the line from social networking to social dysfunction.

"Last Friday, I had three clients in my office with Facebook problems," said Paula Pile, a marriage and family therapist in Greensboro, North Carolina. "It's turned into a compulsion -- a compulsion to dissociate from your real world and go live in the Facebook world."

So how do you know when your Facebook use has turned into a compulsion? You can take Pile's "Facebook Compulsion Inventory" to find out.

Pile and the other therapists interviewed for this article were quick to say that Facebook itself isn't the problem and that the vast majority of its 200 million users probably function just fine.

1 "I'm on it myself," Pile said. "My daughter just got married, and I got great happiness posting her wedding pictures for all my friends to see."

She says problems arise when users ignore family and work obligations because they find the Facebook world a more enjoyable place to spend time than the real world.

Newton says she checks Facebook first thing when she wakes up, and then she checks her Facebook page as many as seven times while at work, and then she'll check Facebook again when she gets home and one more time before she goes to sleep. If you've been keeping count, that's about 10 times a day.

A single parent, Newton includes "Facebook flirting" with men and meeting up with old schoolmates among her favorite activities.

"One old friend told me he had a huge crush on me in kindergarten, and it tore him apart when we weren't put in the same class in first grade," she said. "When I read that, it was like, wow. I blushed at my computer. I had no idea I was so important to him. It felt very real and warm and dear."

The problem is that it's not real, says Joanna Lipari, a clinical psychologist at the University of California, Los Angeles. She compares Facebook to "The Truman Show," the 1998 Jim Carrey movie about a fabricated world where nothing ever goes wrong.

"Facebook is a fun, pleasant, happy, beautiful world. People only present the crème de la crème of their lives on Facebook. And these people want to be your friends! It's very seductive."

It's especially seductive when real life isn't going so well, Pile adds.

"In real life, people have morning breath, and you have to pay bills with them, and you argue about who's going to change the baby's diaper," she said. "But Facebook is happyland. You don't have to deal with any of that."

Newton says she knows all this and is frustrated at how much time she spends on Facebook, given that she has a job and a child.

"I've thought about going cold turkey, but that would make me so uncomfortable. I know I couldn't do it."

You know you're a Facebook addict when ...

1. You lose sleep over Facebook

"If you're staying up late at night because you're on Facebook, and you're tired the next day, Facebook may be a compulsion for you," Lipari said. "You shouldn't be neglecting yourself because of Facebook."

2. You spend more than an hour a day on Facebook

2 Pile says it's hard to pinpoint exactly how much is too much time to be spending on social networking.

"I can't imagine that anyone would need more than an hour a day on Facebook, and probably no one needs more than 30 minutes," she said.

3. You become obsessed with old loves

Reconnecting with old friends is one of the great attractions of Facebook, and there's nothing necessarily wrong with "friending" an old boyfriend or girlfriend. But Pile warns that it can get out of hand very quickly.

"One of my clients met up with an old boyfriend on Facebook. They started spending hours and hours into the night talking to each other on Facebook. She made some really inappropriate comments about how unhappy she was in her marriage," Pile said. "Her cousin saw the comments and told her parents, and the parents told the husband, and now they're in the process of getting divorced."

4. You ignore work in favor of Facebook

"If you're not doing your job in order to sneak time on Facebook, you could have a real problem," Lipari said.

5. The thought of getting off Facebook leaves you in a cold sweat

______-

 ACTIVITY 1 : Do you have any of the symptoms above? Can you spend a day or more without checking your Facebook?

 ACTIVITY 2 : GAP FILL: Put the words into the gaps in the text.

Time magazine has ______Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, as their Person of the Year 2010. Zuckerberg, 26, is the second-youngest winner of the ______. He won the award for connecting 12 percent of statistic the ______on his social networking site. This is an impressive quarter ______considering the site has yet to make any impression in China. accolade Mr Zuckerberg said on Wednesday, ______on his Facebook page: recognition "Being named as Time Person of the Year is a real honor and ______of named how our little team is building something that hundreds of millions of people naturally want to use to make the world more open and ______. I'm happy to be a connected part of that." The young entrepreneur owns a ______of the shares of planet Facebook and is a multi-billionaire.

It was ______for a while who would win Time’s annual honour. Readers voting in the online poll chose the Wikileaks ______Julian Assange as the winner. However, Time panelists chose Mark Zuckerberg. positive

3 Time’s editor Richard Stengel ______they chose Zuckerberg because he was a more ______figure than Assange and because he changed authority “how we all live our lives in ways that are ______and even optimistic”. founder He wrote on Time’s website: "There is an erosion of trust in ______, a potential decentralizing of power and at the same time, perhaps, a greater ______explained in one another.” Mr another…” he said. Mr Stengel continued: “Zuckerberg uncertain sees the world as filled with ______friends.” Perhaps only the faith Facebook creator himself knows how much more he can do. innovative

ACTIVITY 3:LANGUAGE – MULTIPLE CHOICE.Fill in the gaps.don’t look at the previous text!

Time magazine has named Mark Zuckerberg, the (1) ____ of Facebook, as their Person of the Year 2010. Zuckerberg, 26, is the second-youngest winner of the accolade. He won the award (2) ____ connecting 12 percent of the planet on his social networking site. This is an impressive statistic (3) ____ the site has (4) ____ to make any impression in China. Mr Zuckerberg said on Wednesday, naturally on his Facebook page: "Being named as Time Person of the Year is a real honor and (5) ____ of how our little team is building something that hundreds of millions of people want to use to make the world more open and connected. I'm happy to be a (6) ____ of that." The young entrepreneur owns a quarter of the shares of Facebook and is a multi-billionaire.

It was uncertain for a while who would win Time’s annual honour. Readers voting in the online (7) ____ chose the Wikileaks founder Julian Assange as the winner. However, Time panelists chose Mark Zuckerberg. Time’s editor Richard Stengel explained they chose Zuckerberg because he was a more positive (8) ____ than Assange and because he changed “how we all (9) ____ our lives in ways that are innovative and even optimistic”. He wrote on Time’s website: "There is an erosion of trust (10) ____ authority, a decentralizing of power and at the same time, perhaps, a greater faith (11) ____ one another.” Mr another…” he said. Mr Stengel continued: “Zuckerberg sees the world as filled with (12) ____ friends.” Perhaps only the Facebook creator himself knows how much more he can do.

Put the correct words from the table below in the above article.

1. (a) finder (b) funded (c) finding (d) founder 2. (a) from (b) with (c) for (d) to 3. (a) considered (b) considering (c) considers (d) consideration 4. (a) yet (b) as (c) such (d) before 5. (a) recognize (b) cognition (c) recognition (d) recommend 6. (a) parted (b) partition (c) parting (d) part 7. (a) roll (b) poll (c) loll (d) toll 8. (a) figure (b) model (c) number (d) configure 9. (a) lively (b) live (c) alive (d) enlivens 10. (a) on (b) at (c) in (d) by 11. (a) in (b) on (c) at (d) by 12. (a) potty (b) potted (c) potent (d) potential

4  Activity 4:WRITING

Write about the advantages and disadvantages of Facebook. Write about 15 lines. Use the linking words below to organize your ideas.

(Useful words to talk/write about advantages & disadvantages: On the one hand..on the other hand / However…/ Although…)