Facebook has come a long way. From having a handful of user accounts, it is now one of the top social media platforms all over the globe. With its popularity comes the several number of hours we spend glued to our Facebook timeline, simply scrolling through various posts by the people we follow online.
Facebook is an addicting habit that is hard to break. This generation, dubbed as the social media generation, places a high importance for social media, not only as a way of connecting with others but also as a way of life.
The first step to gradually breaking this addicting habit is to acknowledge that you have a problem. It is also important to know that there are certain reasons explained by psychology on why people are addicted to Facebook. Listed below are some common ones.
- Scrolling through Facebook is a sign of procrastination.
Spending hours on Facebook instead of doing quality work is not uncommon. Facebook’s unlimited scrolling entices us to check everything happening in the lives of our friends and updating them on what goes on in our lives. This keeps us distracted from the actual things we should be working on, such as homework and paperwork.
- Over-sharing on Facebook is a sign of loneliness and an inclination to doing bad decisions.
Posting and updating too much about your day on Facebook is a sure sign of loneliness and a desperate need for approval. You want to feel good about yourself so you overshare things online, like what you had for lunch or that you bought several pairs of shoes. This counts as the need to impress others and earn self-confidence. A desperate need for approval also stems from being unable to decide things on your own.
- Facebook stalking is a sign of misplaced affection for someone and a root of unhealthy self-comparisons.
A public Facebook profile is a magnet for creepers. The first reason for stalking is to extract information from the person you are interested in. Some see it as an opportunity to strike a conversation and interact with the apple of their eye. The second reason is that others tend to compare themselves to the person they are stalking. So what if her profile picture has more likes than yours?
- Obsessively checking your notifications is a sign that you desire to please people.
You posted a new photo and you check your notifications every few minutes to see how many people liked and commented on it. This situation is a reflection of how much some of us desire to please others. We want to be accepted by our peers so we post things that can garner popularity.
- Religiously checking every post on our Timeline is a sign we fear missing out.
Facebook distracts us by targeting our common fear of missing out on things. We fear we’ve been the last to know the news on who’s dating who or the new popular videos. Sometimes this fear can hinder us from doing things that are really important.
