Sunday, 10 February 2013

Facebook Addiction Disorder Syndrome; an epidemic


Facebook Addiction Disorder Syndrome F.A.D , is just another menace to the humankind. F.A.D Syndrome is a non-medical term emphatically. Irrespective of age, a herculean figure is reported to be victimized by the F.A.D Syndrome.


According to a survey, Facebook has surpassed all other social networking sites in terms of  users. When Facebook hit 1 Billion users in 2012, the CEO and founder of Facebook Mark Zuckerberg declared, this gigantic milestone saying, “I mean, it’s just — an amazing honour, to be able to come into work every day and build things that help a billion people stay connected with the people they care about every month — that’s just unbelievable.”


This social media giant would rank as the third largest country in the world in terms of population; taking off after China with 1.35 Billion and India with 1.2 Billion, already affirming one-seventh of the total population on the face of the earth.


 A latest survey, discloses an all-out number of  8, 055 680 Facebook users in Pakistan. Putting into nutshell, 5,608 240 (69.7%) are male users while 2,439 500 (30.3%) are female users respectively. The most active users aging between 18-24 years (49.8%)


Keeping these statistics in view, what is alarming to the Homo Sapiens is the fact that a large number of Facebook users are suffering from F.A.D Syndrome - a real disease which affects its victims subliminally.The term was introduced by the US Psychologists for those obsessed with Facebook. According to the doctors, Internet addiction can be in the same class as the Impulse-Control Disorders. The temperate desire to keep in touch with friends and family aggravates into derangement if goes unchecked.


The symptoms of the F.A.D Syndrome subsume a distinctly increased usage of Facebook, with a constant urge to be on Facebook as often as possible, logging in first up in the morning and last thing before going to sleep is a predominant indicia of this syndrome. A person suffering from F.A.D Syndrome constantly seeks to build his number of friends, usually making virtual friends; precisely if 8 out of 10 are virtual friends, the person is preyed upon by F.A.D Syndrome. Another substantial manifestation of the disorder is anxiety when unable to reach Facebook, symptoms of withdrawal are diagnostic. When a person more or often, indulges in a conversation about Facebook is just another indicator, besides an emotional excitement for the Facebook notifications. Facebook addicts show tendenciy to overshare, spending excessive time on the Facebook. Sharing every single detail of their life, eventually becoming susceptible to many cyber crimes.


 F.A.D Syndrome victimization may be curbed by effective counselling, parental guidance, and psychotherapies in extreme cases. However, Facebook Addiction Disorder Syndrome turns up as another detrimental contagion, that needs to be curbed.