By: Aseem Gaurav on May 8, 2012
Is Facebook simply a part of your weekly routine or do you find yourself aggressively involved in checking your feeds and updating posts? If you are not able to tell it easily, researchers from Norway have developed a new tool to measure it through the Bergen Facebook Addiction Scale (BFAS).
Doctor of Psychology Cecilie Schou Andreassen, who heads the research project Facebook Addiction at the University of Bergen (UiB) says the phenomenon is found more among the young users than older users. Gender-wise, women are more prone of developing Facebook addiction as compared to their male counterparts.
The study, first of its kind worldwide, involved 423 students, of which 227 were women and 196 men, found that Facebook was more used by those who are anxious and insecure, as compared to those who are not.
It said that people who are organized and more ambitious are less likely to develop Facebook addiction. They will use the popular medium for networking and other work.
The study further revealed that the symptoms of Facebook addiction are much similar to like alcohol addiction and drug addiction.
The study basically asked these six questions and asked the volunteers to answer them on the following scale: (1) Very rarely, (2) Rarely, (3) Sometimes, (4) Often, and (5) Very often:
You spend a lot of time thinking about Facebook or plan use of Facebook.
You feel an urge to use Facebook more and more.
You use Facebook in order to forget about personal problems.
You have tried to cut down on the use of Facebook without success.
You become restless or troubled if you are prohibited from using Facebook.
You use Facebook so much that it has had a negative impact on your job/studies.
Anwering four of the seven items with “often or “always” would mean that you are a Facebook addict.
Although the Bergen scale is the first to be scientifically validated, there are a lot of Facebook addiction tests available online.
Do send in your comments about how do you rate yourself in terms of Facebook addiction.
Is Facebook simply a part of your weekly routine or do you find yourself aggressively involved in checking your feeds and updating posts? If you are not able to tell it easily, researchers from Norway have developed a new tool to measure it through the Bergen Facebook Addiction Scale (BFAS).
Doctor of Psychology Cecilie Schou Andreassen, who heads the research project Facebook Addiction at the University of Bergen (UiB) says the phenomenon is found more among the young users than older users. Gender-wise, women are more prone of developing Facebook addiction as compared to their male counterparts.
The study, first of its kind worldwide, involved 423 students, of which 227 were women and 196 men, found that Facebook was more used by those who are anxious and insecure, as compared to those who are not.
It said that people who are organized and more ambitious are less likely to develop Facebook addiction. They will use the popular medium for networking and other work.
The study further revealed that the symptoms of Facebook addiction are much similar to like alcohol addiction and drug addiction.
The study basically asked these six questions and asked the volunteers to answer them on the following scale: (1) Very rarely, (2) Rarely, (3) Sometimes, (4) Often, and (5) Very often:
You spend a lot of time thinking about Facebook or plan use of Facebook.
You feel an urge to use Facebook more and more.
You use Facebook in order to forget about personal problems.
You have tried to cut down on the use of Facebook without success.
You become restless or troubled if you are prohibited from using Facebook.
You use Facebook so much that it has had a negative impact on your job/studies.
Anwering four of the seven items with “often or “always” would mean that you are a Facebook addict.
Although the Bergen scale is the first to be scientifically validated, there are a lot of Facebook addiction tests available online.
Do send in your comments about how do you rate yourself in terms of Facebook addiction.
