I'm addicted...to FACEBOOK.

[lightthecandle]

OK, so I'm addicted to facebook. for those of you who don't know what facebook is, the best way to put it is..it's just like myspace, except its only open to college students.

why am i addicted?? sometimes, its procrastination. I, like many college students, are on that site..morning, noon, and night. i average about 4 hours a day on that sight. and it truly kills precious time, that i should spend studying for my organic chemistry class. ahhhhhhhhh

one of the reasons i go on it (although I tell myself otherwise) is because I compare myself with other girls, go through ALL their pictures and rate them as being prettier than me, or 'uglier' than me.

how do i stop going on this site????????
i need help, it's worst than crack.

[Jugga J]

just don't go on it....I actually deleted all my friends off myspace (then made it private) and just said use my MSN to anyone. I used to check it like everyday, now about once every two weeks.

If you can do that with facebook...do it.

[Maciek]

Delete your account, delete bookmark from your bookmarks toolbar, just foget about facebook. ask yourself: 'IS GOING ON FACEBOOK THE BEST USE OF MY TIME?' I think answer is clear that IT IS NOT.

good luck!!

[StarFish]

I was this way when I lived with my Dad and had high speed internet, but when I moved in with my Mom and had to deal with dail up, being online became a pain and I stopped my msspace addiction. Recently I got cable internet so I can d/l movies (if you have netflix a lot of the movies can be "rent" over the internet so I'm not stealing) and other stuff, but the habbit so far is still broken. Now I only check to see if I have a message (have to admit I love getting messages and comments) but if I don't I put a movie on and do my art.

[LifeFirst]

All you have to do is delete your account. I find Facebook completely useless, I don't want people looking at my pictures, so why should I go look at other people's pictures?? Hell, I'm too good for Facebook.

[engendertruth]

OMG! I thought I was the only one addicted to Facebook!!

[Old Soul]

my kids got me hooked up to that face book....... lol

I just love it:-)

[Erock]

hum.... I'm confused. I have one too, but I never have any problems. What is there to do on there? I get on for like 5 seconds a day, see maybe one new message, respond, and then I'm done.

Erock

[openeyes]

It's actually available to everyone now, not just students. It's become the sixth most visited website in the US. I mostly log on when I get an email notification saying someone has sent me a comment or posted a picture of me, and I usually only check email once or twice a day. Before facebook did email notifications I logged on more often to see if anyone had tried reaching me. Now that's more automated.

I use all the privacy settings so only people I've accepted as friends can access my profile, enabling me to include info I otherwise wouldn't put online (phone number). I find it useful for looking up friends' contact info and sharing pics (facebook has become the largest photo sharing network online). Beyond that, I have books, movies, friends, some work, and sites like this to take up my time. The facebook bulletin board setup isn't very efficient yet.

[Scin]

Do not discount the value of Facebook as a networking tool. However, it is only one of many, and if it is robbing you of productivity, use it less.

To do this, use this simple process. Every time you want to go on Facebook, set one small goal you want to accomplish using it, such as looking up a friend's address or sending a message to a potential employer. Accomplish this goal and then log off and do something else. If the goal is something abstract like "catch up on my news reel" then don't log on. Instead, get up and physically remove yourself from the immediate vicinity of your computer. Go read a book, or call around at companies asking if they hire interns. Be productive.

[Erki]

I got invited to Facebook a few days ago too. At time I didn't have much time to check it all out, just registered myself and all and told myself that I'm gonna look around more later. I still haven't checked it all out. Damn procrastination.

[Brutha]

Perhaps the topic stater could also procrastinate a bit on using facebook?

[Amandaaa]

delete your account.

break the addiction.

...it's the best solution.

[Addict]

I'm addicted to THE INTERNET. It's almost as bad. Fortunately, Facebook can't entertain me for very long. Although technically I spend a lot of time on there because I'm developing an application.

Ever wonder about my screenname? Yea, that's a big part of it.

one of the reasons i go on it (although I tell myself otherwise) is because I compare myself with other girls, go through ALL their pictures and rate them as being prettier than me, or 'uglier' than me.

Do you really enjoy this or is it just enough instant gratification to keep you going? That's what I found out is that I was surfing the internet, but not enjoying it very much. Instead, I would try to go do something you really like and try to get obsessed with that if you need to.

I also like to ask myself "in five years, will I be glad I did this activity?" The answer is obviously no for screwing around.

[Saeros]

Have you an idea of what you would do if you were not playing FaceBook?
Study? Would you do that even if you weren't playing FaceBook?

Find something that you 'really' want to do.

[DeathStorm]

Ah yeah we have that, too!

Usually we use it to communicate our university social events, parties, conferences, etc. but I also notice that there's much "ego showcaseing" (Gotta add'em all, Pokém'on!) and people who get offended because their "Friend Requests" weren't accepted within 24 hours.

Think of Facebook as a simple and practical bulletin board for announcements.

I also don't like the "social networking" label that Facebook tries to associate with its brand.
In real tangible life, you can speak to anyone you meet on the road, "connect" with any person you travel to in any country of the world... whereas in Facebook you can only send announcements, etc. only to those contained in your closed network (friends of friends).
There's a similar website mainly for European students called "Studi" (with a two-lettered suffix for the respective country, e.g. StudiVZ in Germany, StudiLN in Italy, etc.) where such boundaries are overcome.
Very useful for finding part-time jobs, apartments for exchange students, commercial partnerships, event marketing etc.

I think the whole "picture/profile rating" culture is just there to keep people coming to those websites :P
It's not entirely your responsibility lightthecandle... it's their (Facebooks') strategies of social engineering and customer culture that you are trapped in.

Remember, that's an optional, nobody forces you to do so!

[Phil Parkinson]

If it's as bad as you think, then you need to delete your account. You managed to survive before facebook, so you will survive after.

A mate of mine was using it far too much and facebook actually banned him!!

Why don't you contact them and ask them to block your IP address?

I would absolutely love to have an extra 4 hours a day to do whatever I want.

Phil

[crazlunatic]

I used to be addicted to facebook, but then before each time I went on I started to ask: "What am I contributing to my life by browsing the site for hours on end?"

When you answer "nothing", you'd want to stay away

[Mitalp]

DELETE YOUR ACCOUNT!!!

I used to be addicted to facebook too. It's a very valuable tool, just like Myspace, if used properly. On the other hand, it can really waste a lot of time.

I tried setting a time limit on how long I stay on, but it's very easy to get really caught up in it and just keep going.


Best advice is to delete your account.

[Phil Parkinson]

Cold turkey then... do it!! x

[LuckyBuffie]

Originally Posted by lightthecandle

one of the reasons i go on it (although I tell myself otherwise) is because I compare myself with other girls, go through ALL their pictures and rate them as being prettier than me, or 'uglier' than me.

This statement stood out most to me, why do you feel the need to compare yourself to people you don't know? It is natural to compare yourself to others, but to this extent can't possibly be good for your self image (whether it's good or bad). I have never been on Facebook, but I was addicted to MYSpace for awhile. I deleted my account and I really don't miss it.

[run_fly]

1. CHANGE YOUR PASSWORD SO YOU WILL NOT REMEMBER IT!
2. CHANGE YOUR SECRET QUESTIONS SO YOU WILL NOT REMEMBER IT!
3. CHANGE YOUR E-MAIL ON YOUR FACEBOOK ACCOUNT!
4. DELETE THE ACCOUNT!

Do this all at once and don't look back! I tried to delete facebook once but it is easy to get it back again... do this and your problems will be solved. Break the addictive pattern and burn your bridge!!!

logging onto facebook = wasting time = logging onto facebook = wasting time!

Is going on to facebook really going to mean something to you 5years from now? 10 years from now? Replace your addiction with something more valuable like reading steve's articles!

I've been facebook free for at least 30days and it's worth it.

Goodluck!

[AddictiveX]

I use facebook as a social tool, not an addiction, if you feel yourself being overcome with it and if its using a lot of your spare time up, delete it, if you think you can manage it then cut down, say ' I will only use facebook 20mins per day max'

Hope this helps

I joined alot of forums too (self help ones) to try an kerb me away from websites that promote negative thinking and procastination behaviour..

This is one of the self-help forums I joined another really good one is .: The Community for Excellence :.

Ax

[dennis08]

LOL good 4 you devote your life to facebook dont stop now use facebook and maybe just maybe with a little magic all your dreams will come tru

[carenkh]

You may need these these 2504 steps to closing your Facebook account....

[heather]

I suggest you to just delete.....and avoid it...Good Luck

________________________
Want to win a FREE copy of Acting FOR REAL?
How about a FREE vacation...?
Breakthrough to the Life You Love! | Acting4Real.com

[Ambergold]

Go cold turkey for a week or so and get out and do other things. Because there's always going to be ways to fritter away time, which could be spent doing something that leaves you fulliled instead of empty. I say empty because whenever I procrastinate I never feel better afterwards, just annoyed that I've wasted hours of my life that I can never get back. So log off and whenever you find yourself thinking about it, go do something else.

[lightthecandle]

I deactivated my account. The next day, I had to email one of my friends to know when our club meets , so I had to activate Facebook again to ask her. that day that I didn't go on it...I was so proud of myself, and you know what? it felt sooo good, to NOT go on it, and even spend 5 minutes. The only reason I have it now, is to get information/messages from clubs, and when they're meeting, and just in case i have to ask one of my buddies something, and don't have their number. But I only go on it one or twice a day for no more than 10 minutes which is awesome for me!