Facebook: Are You Addicted To Social Media?

Are you one of those people who can't go for an hour without checking Facebook or Twitter? Here's how to tell if your Social Media habits are doing you damage.

There's no arguing that Social Media has changed our lives. It has opened up new doors to meet new people and to find long lost friends and relatives. It is also no denying that sites like Facebook and Twitter can be a networking gold for our careers and save us time with staying in touch. They also constantly inform us of what's going on in the world.

At what stage does all the checking of Facebook messages and interacting with iPhones becomes problematic?

At the point when your social media habits fall in the excessive categories. At a point where your partner or friends get angry because you're always checking your phone instead of talking to them. Or at a point where your boss starts to notice that you're less productive because you're busy updating your online status.

Is it addiction or just a bad habit?
When it comes to online addiction people's opinions differ , but it's clear this is a growing and psychological issue.

When does our addiction cross over into social dysfunction?
It's when your online habits take you away from other parts of your life and when you suffer some sort of negative reaction when you can't check your social media sites and you are somehow suffering withdrawal symptoms and need your fix.

It becomes problematic when you're constantly thinking about it to the point of distraction when you're not online and when you're more focused on your online relationship time than the real-time, face-to-face experiences with people.

The social media habits start to become unhealthy when you start to get a compulsive need to constantly check what's happening online. And it's a concern if you start to feel depressed or distressed when you're not able to check in online several times a day or when you lose youreslf in the social media for hours.

For most people, the biggest problem is the time social media takes away from work and important relationships. In more serious cases there can be many emotional and psychological side effect.

Anxiety, stress and sleep problems are most common problems when our social media habits become out-of-control.

Indirectly, self-esteem problems can result, because your identity and self-worth become tied to how socially successful your are online and the amount of positive or negative responses or comments you receive.

Heavy social media users can also be affected by the stress and exhaustion of having to keep up with the constantly increasing number of friends and followers. We're connected to everyone all over the world, trying to manage our connections, to find a witty anecdote to put up, or a clever photo. It's like a competition to see who leads the most interesting life.

Compulsive social media habits don't give you too much time for relaxing. Before the social media existed, we used to come home from work and chill out. Whereas now we have to constanly watch and connect to social media all the time.

There's also the panic people feel that somehow they're going to miss out on something important or they may have stressful thoughts about being left behind if they're not constantly on Facebook or Twitter. The constant checking gives them relief, but it can be unhealthy.

Checking social media sites every hour, or multiple times an hour, is not a healthy sign and it's not good.

If you've got five or more of these habits, it's a sign that you have compulsive addiction to social media.

• Do you feel that you are preoccupied with the internet?
• Do you feel the need to use the internet constantly to achieve satisfaction?
• Have you tried unsuccessfully to control your internet use?
• Do you feel restless, moody, depressed or irritable when trying to cut down on your usage of internet?
• Have you risked losing a significant relationship, job, or an educational or career opportunity because of your social media habits?
• Do you use the internet as a way of escaping from problems or to relieve a bad or sad mood?
• Do you stay online for longer than you originally planned.

How to control your social media habits?
Most people become aware that there's a problem and start to control of their habits. But there are the ones that have totally uncontrollable habits and to ask these people to control these habits is almost similar to asking them to die.

The best way to beat this compulsion is to keep a log of exactly how much time you're online and then try to cut bac on it. Set a limit on the time you're online. Give yourself a maximu time per day. Break the pattern of being online every available moment. Avoid the feeling you have to be online 24/7 and let people know when you'll be online and stick to it. Even post this on your Facebook page.

Look at social media as a tool that can make life easier. It's there to serve you, not the other way around.

Make an effort to do other activities that make you feel good and don't involve social media. Make sure you spend regular face-to-face time with important people in your life. Book a time to go for a coffee, drink or even a walk. Nurture regular face-to-face relationships with people who take a genuine interest in you, especially long-term friends and family members.