Is Facebook the Anti-Social Network? Tips for Overcoming Tech
Disconnection and Anxiety
Social media sites like Facebook connect users with old
friends, new acquaintances and everyone in between. However, studies are
revealing an inverse link with online connections and deeper, face-to-face
relationships.
Norwegian researchers recently developed a test for
networking sites, called the Bergen Facebook Addiction Scale, which likens
inordinate amounts of time spent on the networking site to drug and alcohol
abuse. The test measures how often people use the site, if they do so to forget
their problems and how using the site negatively affects their personal and
working lives.
Researchers found the following groups of people
most at risk for Facebook addiction:• Women, who are more social
than men,
• Young people, who are more tech savvy than older people
•
Anxious or socially insecure people
“Social media, and the new emphasis
on the importance of ‘multitasking,’ have helped drive a wedge between family
members,” says psychologist Gregory L. Jantz, author of
#Hooked: The
Pitfalls of Media, Technology and Social Networking (
www.drgregoryjantz.com).
Ironically, people become less social the more time they spend on social
sites, and they tend to get less done while multitasking because they do not
focus on completing one task at a time, he says.
“When people abuse
drugs and alcohol, they are trying to feel better, yet they are worsening their
situation. We’re finding this is also true for those who spend excessive amounts
of time on social networking sites,” he says. “Perhaps the hardest hit from
social media addiction is the family unit.”
Parents should monitor their
own time online to ensure it’s not further limiting the already shrinking amount
of time available with their children, Jantz says. And they need to safeguard
their children by monitoring their time, as well. Jantz suggests these questions
for parents to ask themselves in gauging their kids’ media usage:
• How much time do your kids spend with various forms of
media? There are plenty of distractions from homework. Estimate how
much time your child spends with the television, Internet, social networking
sites, cell phone, Blu-rays and game systems. The more time spent with media,
the lower a child’s academic performance, according to a Kaiser Family
Foundation study.
• How much time do your kids spend with you
versus online media? Remember, simply being in the same room isn’t
necessarily interacting. The less the scales tip in favor of human-to-human
interaction, the more likely there may be a problem.
• Do you
know how each device works and how it can be used? Familiarity with
your children’s gadgets gives you a better perspective of what their habits may
be like.
• What are the consequences of their tech habits, and
what should be changed? Make a list of the good and the bad
consequences of your family’s technology use. After comparing the two lists,
consider changes that can turn negatives into positives.
“Technology
continues at its accelerating pace, and we are in unchartered territory,” Jantz
says. “Increasingly, social networking infiltrates our personal lives, but we
need to remember that it is created to serve us, and not the other way around.”
Gregory Jantz has more than 25 years experience in mental health
counseling and is the founder of The Center for Counseling and Health Resources,
near Seattle, Wash. Visit http://www.aplaceofhope.com/ for more
information. 
