Facebook: uncontrollable distraction or necessary reliever?

I cannot deny I'm a great fan of facebook. I may even admit that I can go through phases of being addicted! Checking facebook has almost become a hobbie for many young people at least. Its often the first port of call when you switch on a computer. Most surfers check their emails or national news sites, students check facebook. It seems to have become their connection to their social life. To be fair it does keep you updated witht the daily new feed of members latest actions. Many people update their status every couple of days to let others know what they're doing and their whereabouts which seems to become increasingly important as people have become more mobile in recent years. with busy schedules making it harder to tie up plans with someone.

Though it becomes an addiction when you start feeling anxiety that someone has given you a poke or written on your wall in the two minutes since you logged out. The feeling of missing out on something is a pull that has made Facebook such a sticky site that people revisit regularly.

Members write on friend's walls in the hope of getting a post back. They add friends to appear more sociable and increase the amount of people they can talk to. Though is it all just a big popularity contest? This is an issus I shall delve into further another time.

The only drawbacks it seems is how addictive it can be. Some people have been reported in a marketing week article to deleting their accounts as it started to imose on their life. This seems a little dramatic but I can see how it is easily done. Bosses and workers alie see it as a distraction and blame it for their lack of productivity throughout the day, Though if facebook wasn't there, there would be plenty of alternatives lined up to take its place.

With the rise in stress levels of workers in this country it seems more may be in need of a little facebook therapy.