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Beating a Facebook Addiction

How to recognize and deal with being hooked on Facebook

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What to Know

• Set an  alarm  to keep track of time spent on Facebook. Set a weekly limit and reward yourself for meeting targets.
• Download a Facebook-blocking app like Serene , ColdTurkey , Freedom , or Zero Willpower .
• If all else fails, it may be a good idea to temporarily deactivate or permanently delete your Facebook account.

Facebook addiction is not an actual medical diagnosis, but when a habit starts to disrupt your life, it's a problem worth addressing. If you want to give more attention to your face-to-face interactions, work, hobbies, and rest, there are a few things you can do to control your Facebook addiction.

Keep a Facebook Time Journal

Set an alarm on your smartphone or computer before you start browsing Facebook. When you're done browsing, write down the amount of time you spent on Facebook. Set a weekly limit (six hours would be plenty), and reward yourself when you spend less than six hours a week on Facebook. Just don't reward yourself with additional Facebook time.

Download Facebook-Blocking Apps and Software

To control your addiction to Facebook, you can install one of the many software programs that limit or block access to Facebook and other internet time-wasters.

Serene , for example, is an application for Mac computers that prevents access to particular websites for a specific amount of time. Other Facebook blocking apps include  ColdTurkey , Freedom , Zero Willpower , and more. Most of these programs make it easy to unblock Facebook when you're ready.

Get Help From Your Friends

Ask someone you trust to set a new password for your Facebook account and hide it from you for a week or two. This method might be low-tech, but it's cheap, easy, and effective if you have good friends.

Deactivate Facebook

If none of the above tips are work, you can t emporarily deactivate your Facebook account . Before deactivating, you will be prompted to enter your password for security reasons.

Deactivation gives you a much-needed break from Facebook and helps you kick the habit without completely deleting it from your life. When you're ready to reactivate your Facebook account, log back into Facebook. Yes, that's the only requirement for reactivation.

Delete Your Facebook Account

If all else fails, go for the nuclear option and permanently delete your Facebook account . Nobody will be notified that you've deleted your account, and nobody will see your information after deletion. For some users, deleting their Facebook account removes an enormous weight and source of anxiety while breathing new life into their non-virtual life.

Save Your Posts and Pictures Before Deleting

Before deleting your Facebook account, you may want to save your profile information, posts, photos, and other items you've posted. Facebook gives you the option to  download an archive of your account .

Once you delete your Facebook account, you won't be able to retrieve it or the information it contained. However, you will be free of your Facebook addiction!

It may take Facebook up to 90 days to remove all of your info, even after your account has been deleted.

Disable Likes and Views

If you're obsessed with seeing the number of likes and views you're getting on a post, or if you watch other people's posts in your newsfeed and wonder why they're getting more likes than you, it may be time to disable likes and views.

In May 2021, Facebook added the option of turning off like and view counts. You can turn off likes and view counts on all the posts you see on your newsfeed or just your own posts. If you don't want to make such a big move, turn off like and view counts on posts on a case-by-case basis.

To hide like and view counts for your own posts using the Facebook mobile app, tap Menu (three lines) > Settings & Privacy > Settings > News Feed Settings . Tap Reaction Counts , and then opt to toggle off like and view counts for your posts or other people's posts. To disable like and view counts on a single post, tap the three-dot icon at the top of the post, then opt to hide the like and view counts for that post.

Without worrying about how many likes and views your posts are getting, you may be able to relax and enjoy sharing photos and seeing updates from family and friends.

Are You Addicted to Facebook?

Tackling any undesirable habit requires self-awareness. To assess whether you have a Facebook addiction, ask yourself these questions:

• Do I use Facebook even when I know it's not allowed, for example, at the office? 
• Do I feel driven to post what I'm doing or where I am more than once a day?
• Does my Facebook activity take away too much time from my real-life social interactions? For example, do I post photos from a party—while at the party—instead of enjoying the party?
• Do I frequently spend more time on Facebook than I'd planned?
• Do I stay up late or wake up early to read or post on Facebook?
• Do I obsess over reactions to my posts and frequently check for feedback?
• How often do I experience life through my phone's camera, taking and posting photos instead of experiencing what's going on around me?
• Do I often become embroiled in disputes on Facebook?
• Am I able to ignore Facebook notifications when I am engaged in other activities?
• Do I spend more than two hours on Facebook every day (excluding work-related social media actions such as posting on behalf of my company)?

There are many ways to approach this problem. What works for others might not work for you. Give these ideas a shot to help you limit your time on the world's largest social media network .

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• J Behav Addict
• v.3(3); 2014 Sep

The uses and abuses of Facebook: A review of Facebook addiction

Tracii ryan.

1 School of Health Sciences, RMIT University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

ANDREA CHESTER

2 School of Design and Social Context, RMIT University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

SOPHIA XENOS

Background and aims: Recent research suggests that use of social networking sites can be addictive for some individuals. Due to the link between motivations for media use and the development of addiction, this systematic review examines Facebook-related uses and gratifications research and Facebook addiction research. Method: Searches of three large academic databases revealed 24 studies examining the uses and gratifications of Facebook, and nine studies of Facebook addiction. Results: Comparison of uses and gratifications research reveals that the most popular mo- tives for Facebook use are relationship maintenance, passing time, entertainment, and companionship. These motivations may be related to Facebook addiction through use that is habitual, excessive, or motivated by a desire for mood alteration. Examination of Facebook addiction research indicates that Facebook use can become habitual or excessive, and some addicts use the site to escape from negative moods. However, examination of Facebook addic- tion measures highlights inconsistency in the field. Discussion: There is some evidence to support the argument that uses and gratifications of Facebook are linked with Facebook addiction. Furthermore, it appears as if the social skill model of addiction may explain Facebook addiction, but inconsistency in the measurement of this condition limits the ability to provide conclusive arguments. Conclusions: This paper recommends that further research be performed to establish the links between uses and gratifications and Facebook addiction. Furthermore, in order to enhance the construct validity of Facebook addiction, researchers should take a more systematic approach to assessment.

Introduction

In the last decade, the use of social networking sites (SNSs) has grown exponentially. For example, statistics provided by Facebook ( 2014 ) reveal that as of March 2014 there were 1.28 billion active users on the site per month, and at least 802 million of these users logged into Facebook every day. With statistics such as these, it is not surprising that Facebook is the most popular SNS in the world (see Figure 1 ). It is also one of the most popular websites on the Internet, second only to Google in global usage ( Alexa Internet, 2013 ). As a result of this popularity, social scientists have recently begun to examine aspects of its use (for a detailed review of this topic see Wilson, Gosling & Graham, 2012 ). However, limited research has examined the potential for Facebook use to become addictive ( Griffiths, Kuss & Demetrovics, 2014 ).

Active users of ten popular social networking sites

SNS addiction

SNS addiction has been defined as a failure to regulate usage, which leads to negative personal outcomes ( LaRose, Kim & Peng, 2010 ). While a growing number of researchers accept the possibility that the use of online applications can become addictive, the concept is contentious ( Griffiths, 2013 ) . In fact, despite over 15 years of Internet addiction research, the most recent version of The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5 th ed.; DSM-5; American Psychiatric Association, 2013 ) failed to include it as an addictive disorder.

While the exclusion of Internet addiction from the DSM-5 may create the perception that online addictions are not legitimate mental disorders, there is a large body of literature that suggests otherwise (see Kuss, Griffiths, Karila & Billieux, 2014 , for a more extensive review of this topic).

Note: Usage statistics in Figure 1 are current as at December 2013, and were sourced from the webpage “How Many People Use 340 of the Top Social Media, Apps & Services?” by Craig Smith, 1 December, 2013. Retrieved 9 December, 2013, from http://expandedramblings.com/index.php/resource-how-many-people-use-the-top-social-media .

In addition, a member of the DSM-5 working group suggested that inclusion of Internet addiction in future iterations of the DSM is possible, but is contingent upon the results of more rigorous research studies ( O’Brien, 2010 ). Unfortunately, at this point, there remains a sense of conceptual confusion associated with Internet addiction ( Meerkerk, van den Eijnden, Vermulst & Garretsen, 2009 ). For instance, a recent systematic review identified that there is no gold standard measure of this condition, nor is there any widely accepted theory ( Kuss et al., 2014 ).

One emerging theory of online addiction is Caplan’s ( 2010 ) social skill model of generalised problematic Internet use. This model states that individuals who prefer to communicate in an online environment are at greater risk of experiencing negative outcomes related to excessive online use. These individuals, who demonstrate deficient self-regulation of Internet use, tend to engage in online social communication as a means of escaping from negative mood states, such as loneliness or anxiety. Communicating online alleviates negative moods (known as mood alteration ), which then reinforces online use. Given the social focus of SNSs, this theory has the potential to explain SNS addiction. However, despite the popularity of SNS use, empirical research examining addiction to these online social platforms is currently lacking.

In 2011, Kuss and Griffiths performed a comprehensive literature review to examine the legitimacy of SNS addiction. In their paper, they focused on six areas associated with SNS addiction: usage patterns, motivations for SNS use, personalities of SNS users, negative consequences of SNS use, empirical evidence of SNS addiction, and co-morbidity. At that time, the authors were only able to locate five studies of SNS addiction. As a result, they were limited in their ability to ascertain the status of this potential disorder. While they were able to recognise that excessive use of SNSs can be linked to negative outcomes, they concluded that more extensive research was required to prove the existence of this disorder.

Three years later, Griffiths et al. ( 2014 ) performed another review of SNS addiction, this time locating 17 studies. This increase in the extant literature highlights the perceived salience of this topic of investigation. However, despite the larger body of research available for review, Griffiths et al. were not able to offer any more substantial conclusions. While they did find preliminary evidence for some symptoms of SNS addiction (e.g., preoccupation, withdrawal, and negative consequences), methodological issues associated with the majority of studies precluded the ability to form any conclusions regarding the legitimacy of SNS addiction. As a result, they proposed that the question of whether addiction to SNSs exists remains open for debate.

Griffiths et al. ( 2014 ) also made the valid point that describing SNS addiction is not a clear-cut process. In particular, they posit that becoming addicted to the social aspects of SNS use may represent “cyber-relationship addiction” ( Young, Pistner, O’Mara & Buchanan, 1999 ), while addiction to SNS games, such as the popular Facebook application Farmville, should fall under the classification of “gaming addiction” ( Griffiths, 2012 ). In the present paper, we argue that this notion should be taken one step further; just as the Farmville addict may differ from someone who compulsively posts social content on SNSs, so too may the motivations of the Facebook addict differ from the Twitter addict. As will become clear, this point is supported by research relating to the gratifications of SNS use.

Uses and gratifications of SNSs

Commonly, when researchers choose to examine the motivations associated with particular forms of media, they do so by employing a uses and gratifications approach. Uses and gratifications theory states that one of the keys to understanding the popularity of mass media lies in the identification of the factors underlying its use ( Katz, Blumler & Gurevitch, 1973 ). One of the first studies to examine the uses and gratifications of SNSs was performed by Raacke and Bonds-Raacke ( 2008 ). After surveying a sample of university students from the USA, these authors reported that the primary motivations for Facebook and MySpace use was to form and maintain social connections. Since that time, numerous studies have reinforced the importance of relationship maintenance as a key reason for Facebook use (e.g., Joinson, 2008 ; Sheldon 2008 , 2009 ; Valentine, 2012 ). Indeed, Kuss and Griffiths ( 2011 ) argue that relationship maintenance is the main motivator for all SNS use.

However, studies looking at the uses and gratifications of SNSs other than Facebook tend to indicate that Kuss and Griffiths’ ( 2011 ) argument may be somewhat misleading. For example, Dunne, Lawlor and Rowley ( 2010 ) report that one of the most important uses and gratifications for Bebo use among teenage girls was impression management. In addition, research relating to video and image sharing SNSs (such as YouTube and Pinterest) indicate that the use of these sites is primarily influenced by the need for self-expression and entertainment ( Gülnar, Balcé & Çakér, 2010 ; Mull & Lee, 2014 ). Given the varied features of different SNSs, these findings are hardly surprising. As Chen ( 2011 ) notes, “multiple media compete for users’ attention”, and “active users select the medium that meets their needs” (p. 759).

The results of these studies show that, while it is true that all SNSs serve a similar purpose - to facilitate social interaction through the efficient dissemination of information to a desired audience - the specific features of each individual site are often varied ( Boyd & Ellison, 2007 ). For this reason, it is unwise to assume that the results of a study that focuses on one particular SNS can be generalised to every SNS that is currently in existence ( Panek, Nardis & Konrath, 2013 ). Furthermore, important differences in SNS usage might be undetectable when data from different sites are combined ( Hargittai, 2008 ). Therefore, in the case of literature reviews such as those performed by Kuss and Griffiths ( 2011 ), it seems that the assumption of SNS homogeneity might be misguided. On the contrary, we argue that the need to separate out results from specific sites is crucial to understanding the development of SNS addiction.

Uses and gratifications and SNS addiction

Earlier, the point was made that the gratifications of a Facebook addict may differ from those of a Twitter addict. This example highlights the need for SNS addiction researchers to consider the motivations behind the use of addictive SNS platforms. According to Papacharissi and Mendelson ( 2011 ), “online media serve as functional alternatives to interpersonal and mediated communication, providing options or complements for aspects of an individual’s environment that are not as fulfilling” (p. 214). In certain circumstances, Internet users may lose control over use that was originally motivated by “active consideration of the gratifications of online behaviour” ( Song, LaRose, Eastin & Lin, 2004 , p. 390).

While the relationship between uses and gratifications and SNS addiction was previously recognised by Kuss and Griffiths ( 2011 ), limited research has been performed in this area. One of the first empirical studies to examine the relationship between SNS addiction and uses and gratifications was performed by Wan ( 2009 ). She studied use of the campus-based SNS Xiaonei.com amongst a sample of 335 Chinese college students. The results revealed that Xiaonei.com addiction was significantly associated with the motives of socialisation and relationship building. Similarly, another study based on a Greek sample of 1971 adolescents ( Floros & Siomos, 2013 ) found that the motivations of seeking friendship, relationship maintenance, and escapism, along with impulsive use of the Internet, predicted more frequent SNS participation.

While the two studies mentioned above support the notion that SNS use can be associated with a desire to socialise and form relationships online, findings from other studies indicate that this is not always the case. For example, Huang ( 2012 ) examined SNS use among 1549 adolescents, and found that entertainment gratifications were the strongest predictor of SNS addiction. In another study, Chen and Kim ( 2013 ) revealed that there was a positive relationship between SNS addiction and using SNSs for diversion and self-presentation. Of course, given that all of these studies (with the exclusion of Wan, 2009) measured aggregated SNS use, it is possible that these contrasting results reflect different types of SNSs used by each sample. If so, this would contribute to the argument that SNSs researchers should focus on specific sites rather than SNS use in general.

Rationale and scope of this review

As outlined above, the development of SNS addiction is likely to be linked to the gratifications associated with use of the particular site. The aim of this paper was to clarify this relationship by synthesising literature relating to the motivations for SNS use and SNS addiction. In doing so, the present paper builds upon a previous review of SNS literature by Kuss and Griffith ( 2011 ). Based on the issues outlined above, we argue that this review is necessary for two main reasons. First, although only three years has passed since Kuss and Griffiths’ original review was conducted, Griffiths et al. ( 2014 ) recently demonstrated that the extant literature has grown substantially in this time period. Second, previous reviews of SNS addiction have failed to examine results from particular social networking sites in isolation. As argued above, this approach may have obscured important results relating to the particular motivations of SNS use and SNS addiction. In contrast, the present review expands on the previous work by focusing only on research related to a single SNS: Facebook.

There were two main reasons for selecting Facebook over other SNSs. First, Facebook is considerably more popular than other SNSs (see Figure 1 ). The widespread acceptance of Facebook suggests that there maybe unique factors associated with this SNS that are working to gratify the needs of a large number of Internet users. Second, in their review of SNS addiction, Griffith et al. ( 2014 ) demonstrated that empirical studies based on Facebook outweigh studies focusing on any other SNS.

The synthesis of literature provided in this review should not only clarify the findings related to Facebook addiction, but will also help to address questions regarding the particular motivations of Facebook users, and whether these motivations are linked to the development of Facebook addiction. Furthermore, by performing a review of Facebook addiction literature at such an early stage, inconsistencies with the conceptualisation and assessment of this disorder can be identified. Through this process, recommendations for future research can be made, which should hopefully fortify the construct validity of this potential condition. If this can be achieved, Facebook addiction research would avoid the conceptual confusion that has consistently plagued Internet addiction research.

A literature search was performed using the academic databases ProQuest (including PsycInfo), ScienceDirect, and Web of Science. These databases were selected as they provide access to a large number of scientific peer-reviewed journal articles and theses from multiple disciplines. Two types of research studies were of interest in the current study: those relating to the uses and gratifications of Facebook, and those relating to Facebook addiction. Searches for uses and gratifications studies were performed using the terms ‘Facebook’, ‘social networking sites’, ‘social network sites’, ‘motivations’, and ‘uses and gratifications’. Searches for studies of Facebook addiction were performed using the terms ‘addiction’, ‘problematic’, ‘abuse’, ‘compulsive’, ‘excessive’, ‘social networking sites’, ‘social network sites’, and ‘Facebook’.

Uses and gratifications studies were included in the review if they measured the motivations of Facebook use in general; therefore, studies were excluded if they only focused on specific features of Facebook (i.e. a particular Facebook game). Furthermore, given that the present review was focused on the uses and gratifications of Facebook, rather than those of other SNSs, studies were excluded if they measured aggregated uses and gratifications for multiple SNSs (even if they included Facebook). According to LaRose, Mastro and Eastin ( 2001 ), “uses and gratifications researchers typically start with descriptions of common media uses, obtain ratings of the frequency or importance of those uses, and factor analyse the results to obtain gratification factors that are then correlated with media use” (p. 396). However, as this systematic review was interested in identifying all of the possible uses and gratifications of Facebook use, studies were included even if they had not reported evidence of factor analysis. In cases where factor analysis had been performed, the percentages of variance explained by each factor were recorded where available. This information was included in order to ascertain whether certain motivators of Facebook use are more important than others.

In regard to Facebook addiction literature, studies were excluded if they focused on addiction to SNSs in general (even if this included Facebook) and only provided combined results from these multiple sites in an aggregated format. As explained above, this criterion was necessary to ensure that results relating to other SNSs were excluded. For similar reasons, studies considering the role of Facebook use in relation to Internet addiction were also excluded.

Results and Discussion

Within this section, the results of the literature searches are presented, followed by a review of the common findings identified within the extant literature. Uses and gratifications studies are discussed first, including a section dedicated to a discussion of the variables associated with particular uses and gratifications. This is followed by a review of Facebook addiction studies, including an examination of the various instruments that were used to measure this construct.

Uses and gratifications

Twenty-four studies were identified that examined the uses and gratifications of Facebook and met the criteria identified above. For ease of comparison, the results of these studies are displayed in Table 1 . When the uses and gratifications factors are compared, some clear patterns emerge. In 14 out of the 16 studies where the percentage of variance for each factor was reported, the factors accounting for the majority of the variance relate to either relationship maintenance or passing time . In this context, relationship maintenance involves interacting with members of an individual’s existing offline social network ( Sheldon, 2008 ). Clearly, many Facebook users view the site as a useful tool to facilitate social interaction with existing friends and family. In this regard, Facebook differs from many older online social applications, such as discussion boards and newsgroups, which were primarily used for the formation of new relationships. Instead, Facebook appears to have an offline-to-online social focus ( Ellison, Steinfield & Lampe, 2007 ).

Systematic review of studies of the uses and gratifications of Facebook

a As these results originate from conference papers, they may be of a lower quality than the other reported studies.

b Individual variances for each factor were not provided.

Similar to the results presented here, Kuss and Griffiths ( 2011 ) also found that relationship maintenance was an important motivation for SNS use. As those authors did not look at specific SNSs independently from each other, it is unclear whether all SNSs have this focus, or whether these authors primarily discussed results from predominantly Facebook-related studies. The latter explanation is possible as, due to the popularity of the site, Facebook-related research tends to be more prominent than research relating to other SNSs. Clearly, researchers should endeavour to determine whether the uses and gratifications of other popular SNSs are similar or different to those associated with Facebook. In doing so, it would establish whether the popularity of Facebook is tied to unique factors.

In regard to the popular gratification of passing time, the findings appear to reflect the habitual use of Facebook to occupy time when bored, or to procrastinate from other activities ( Foregger, 2008 ; Sheldon, 2008 ). Using Facebook for this purpose may involve such activities as checking the News Feed for new updates or playing games. Papacharissi and Mendelson ( 2011 ) refer to such use as ritualised, and indicate that it reflects “the addictive nature of the genre” (p. 226). Based on this, it is possible that the gratification of passing time may be related to Facebook addiction, but further research is required.

If the remaining factors in Table 1 are compared, it is apparent that entertainment, companionship, and escape appear across multiple studies. Although these factors tend to account for less variance in their respective analyses than relationship maintenance and passing time, they are also worth discussing briefly, as they may be related to the development of Facebook addiction.

Fifteen studies in Table 1 include a factor relating to the use of Facebook for entertainment purposes. This factor encapsulates using Facebook to engage in socially passive activities, such as looking at user-generated content on the site, or playing games. In essence, the entertainment factor appears similar in nature to the more popular passing time factor. However, the latter appears to be motivated more by task avoidance, procrastination or filling time, while the former reflects planned usage for the purposes of pleasure seeking. In Sheldon’s ( 2008 ) study, the entertainment factor had a high mean score, which highlights the importance of this motivation for Facebook use in certain populations.

In regard to companionship, this factor was present in six out of 24 studies. Companionship taps into the use of Facebook to avoid loneliness and gratify interpersonal needs. Similarly, two other studies included motivations that related to decreasing loneliness ( Balakrishnan & Shamim, 2013 ; Teppers, Luyckx, Klimstra & Goossens, 2014 ). Given that there is a link between loneliness and the development of Internet addiction ( Caplan, 2010 ), it is possible that factors such as these may also be related to Facebook addiction. It is interesting to note that in Valentine’s (2011) study, top-loading items in the companionship factor related to the use of Facebook to escape from worries and problems. Such items may be suggestive of mood alteration, which, as mentioned earlier, is linked to addiction of online social applications ( Caplan, 2010 ; Lortie & Guitton, 2013 ). However, none of the uses and gratifications studies reviewed here explicitly referred to this dimension. Instead, they appear to use the term escape , which was included in four out of 24 studies.

Variables linked to uses and gratifications

Several of the 24 studies in Table 1 also identified variables that are commonly linked to the uses and gratifications of Facebook. A discussion of these variables was deemed to be germane to the current paper, as it sheds light on the types of people who may be at risk of Facebook addiction. This discussion taps into three main variables: gender, frequency of use, and duration of use.

Of the studies presented in Table 1 , five examined the association between gender and uses and gratifications of Facebook ( Hunt, Atkin & Krishnan, 2012 ; Joinson, 2008 ; Sheldon, 2009 ; Spiliotopoulos & Oakley, 2013 ; Teppers et al., 2014 ). In all of these studies, women were more likely than men to use Facebook for connecting with existing contacts. In contrast, Sheldon ( 2009 ) found that men were more likely than women to be motivated by making new friends or forming new romantic relationships on Facebook. Although Facebook has changed since Sheldon’s study was published, a recent study by Spiliotopoulos and Oakley ( 2013 ) also found that men prefer to use Facebook to engage in social network browsing.

The above results point to a fundamental difference between women and men in their uses and gratifications of Facebook; women prefer to use the site to maintain their existing social networks, while men prefer to use it to expand their social networks. Given that past research has linked Internet addiction with a tendency to prefer communicating with new online friends (e.g., Morahan-Martin & Schumacher, 2000 ; Young, 1998a ), it is possible that men may be more likely to fail to regulate their online communication and become addicted to Facebook. However, recent research has found that women are heavier users of Facebook than men ( Foregger, 2008 ). In light of these conflicting results, it is clear that researchers should examine the difference that gender plays in the development of Facebook addiction. In fact, it may be the case that there are multiple pathways to addiction, and these are mediated by different communicative motivations.

In Joinson’s ( 2008 ) study, frequency of Facebook use - that is, returning to Facebook multiple times per day - was found to be associated with what he called surveillance gratifications . This involves looking at user-generated content, such as photographs and status updates. Similarly, Hart ( 2011 ) reported that the entertainment gratification was a significant variable in a model predicting the frequency of Facebook use in both undergraduate and high school students. These results imply that passively engaging with social or entertainment-related content on Facebook can motivate users to return to the site frequently. This kind of use may be associated with checking for real-time updates on the News Feed, as content will generally be updated regularly. Such behaviour may be tapping into what is anecdotally referred to as fear of missing out or FoMO ( Przybylski, Murayama, DeHaan & Gladwell, 2013 ); however, this warrants further investigation.

Interestingly, Papacharassi and Mendelson ( 2011 ) found that people who used Facebook more frequently developed a greater affinity with the site, especially when they used it to escape from negative emotions. As already discussed, the use of online applications for mood alteration is associated with deficient self-regulation and negative outcomes ( Caplan, 2010 ). Therefore, it is possible that this aspect of the social skill model of generalised problematic Internet use is relevant to the use of Facebook. While more in-depth research is required to support this theory, it is plausible that lonely or socially anxious individuals may feel more connected with others when checking the News Feed for recent updates, or when receiving messages or comments from friends. If so, this may lead such users to check the site frequently, in order to attain the negative reinforcement of mood alteration.

Joinson ( 2008 ) also found that the duration of time spent on Facebook per day was predicted by what he referred to as content gratifications, which involve engaging in non-so- cially oriented Facebook activities (i.e., playing games, searching applications, and completing quizzes). Similarly, Foregger ( 2008 ) found that using Facebook to pass time led to more time spent on Facebook per day. Taken together, these findings suggest that individuals who spend a lot of time on Facebook per day may do so for different reasons than those who check Facebook frequently. For example, rather than passively engaging with posted social content in the way that frequent users do, heavy users may be gratified by non-social activities such as game playing.

In contrast to the assumption above, Hart ( 2011 ) discovered that using Facebook for entertainment and relationship maintenance significantly contributed to a model predicting the amount of time spent on Facebook per day. This opposing result can potentially be explained by changes made to Facebook after 2008. In particular, Facebook added the real-time synchronous instant messaging application ‘Chat’ in April of that year ( Wiseman, 2008 ). This feature may have encouraged some Facebook users to spend more time on the site for social purposes, such as chatting with their friends and family. Furthermore, Alhabash, Park, Kononova, Chiang and Wise ( 2012 ) reported that Facebook intensity was predicted by the desire to share personal information via status updates. These results suggest that socially active Facebook applications, such as Chat and status updates may be associated with heavy Facebook use. One potential explanation for this trend is that the use of these applications increases the chance of receiving comments and messages from other users. For some individuals, such as those who are lonely, receiving this type of feedback could provide relief from feelings of social isolation and reinforce the use of these applications. In support of this, Yang and Brown ( 2013 ) reported that the use of status updates was associated with higher levels of loneliness, while Teppers et al. ( 2014 ) found that lonely adolescents were more likely to use the socially interactive applications of Facebook than non-lonely adolescents.

Facebook addiction

Nine studies measuring Facebook addiction were located through the literature searches (see Table 2 ). The results of these studies suggest that Facebook addiction is associated with being male ( Çam & İsbulan, 2012 ), being a heavy Facebook user ( Hong, Huang, Lin & Chiu, 2014 ; Koc & Gulyagci, 2013 ), and being in a higher year level at university ( Çam & İsbulan, 2012 ). Facebook addiction was also linked to certain psychological variables, such as relationship dissatisfaction ( Elphinston & Noller, 2011 ), depression ( Hong et al., 2014 ; Koc & Gulyagci, 2013 ), anxiety ( Koc & Gulyagci, 2013 ), subjective happiness, and subjective vitality ( Uysal, Satici & Akin, 2014 ). In terms of the symptoms of Facebook addiction, support was found for the existence of preference for online social interaction, mood alteration, deficient self-regulation, negative outcomes ( Lee, Cheung & Thadani, 2012 ), salience, loss of control, withdrawal, relapse ( Balakrishinan & Shamim, 2013 ), and tolerance ( Zaremohzzabieh, Samah, Omar, Bolong & Kamarudin, 2014 ).

Systematic review of Facebook addiction studies

a As these results originate from a conference paper, they may be of a lower quality than the other reported studies.

Only one study directly examined whether there was an association between the uses and gratifications of Facebook and Facebook addiction. Sofiah, Omar, Bolong and Osman ( 2011 ) reported that Facebook addicts were more inclined to use Facebook for social interaction, passing time, entertainment, companionship, and communication. These findings support the assumptions made earlier following the systematic review of uses and gratifications studies. Despite the lack of direct examination of the motivations of Facebook use by addictions researchers, the results of the studies included in Table 2 tap into three distinct themes that were also apparent in the uses and gratifications research: habitual Facebook use, excessive Facebook use, and mood alteration. The following section will discuss these results in more detail. Following this, a discussion relating to the measurement of Facebook addiction in these studies will be provided.

Habitual Facebook use

In the study performed by Elphinston and Noller ( 2011 ), the three items on the Facebook Intrusion Scale with the highest individual mean scores were ‘I often use Facebook for no particular reason’, ‘I feel connected to others when I use Facebook’, and ‘I lose track of how much I am using Facebook’. Likewise, Sofiah et al. ( 2011 ) reported that the items with the highest mean scores on their measure of Facebook addiction were ‘Facebook has become part of my daily routine’, ‘I find that I stay on Facebook longer than intended’, and ‘I feel out of touch when I haven’t logged onto Facebook for a while’. These results highlight the propensity for Facebook use to lead to deficient self-regulation through habitual and unmonitored use.

The results of the study by Sofiah et al. ( 2011 ) also revealed that the gratification of using Facebook to pass time accounted for 17.3% of the variance in scores from their measure of Facebook addiction (described in Table 3 ). Further, using Facebook for the combined motives of passing time, entertainment, and communication accounted for 23.9% of the variance. Therefore, habitual use of Facebook for passing time may put users at risk of Facebook addiction through the development of deficient self-regulation. As discussed above, passing time on Facebook appears to be predominantly associated with task avoidance and procrastination ( Foregger, 2008 ; Sheldon, 2008 ). As these types of gratifications are not socially focused, it seems that Caplan’s ( 2010 ) social skill model may not be adequate to explain these particular results. Further research is warranted to explore this supposition.

Facebook Addiction Assessment Instruments

a These measures have been subjected to factor analysis.

b This paper was not included in Table 2 as it is an instrument development study rather than a Facebook addiction study.

Excessive Facebook use

Two of the studies listed in Table 2 reported that higher levels of Facebook use were linked to Facebook addiction ( Hong et al., 2014 ; Koc & Gulyagci, 2013 ). These results are not surprising, given that online addictions researchers have previously pointed to a link between heavy Internet usage and addiction (e.g., Tonioni et al., 2012 ). In fact, many scholars have used the term “excessive Internet use” interchangeably with the term Internet addiction. This trend is most likely due to the popular belief that spending a large amount of time performing a particular behaviour, such as exercise or eating chocolate, is an indicator of the presence of addiction ( Leon & Rotunda, 2000 ); however, there are mixed views on this argument. Both Caplan ( 2005 ) and Griffiths ( 1999 ) have pointed out that excessive time spent online does not automatically qualify an individual as addicted. There are many non-problematic Internet behaviours that would involve extended periods of time online, such as study or work-related research. However, while not all people who spend large amounts of time on Facebook per day are necessarily addicted, due to the role that deficient self-regulation is thought to play, it makes sense that Facebook addicts would generally be heavy users.

Research relating to the uses and gratifications of Facebook has indicated that time spent on Facebook per day is related to content gratifications ( Joinson, 2008 ), passing time ( Foregger, 2008 ), and relationship maintenance ( Hart, 2011 ). Frequency of Facebook use has also found to be associated with using Facebook for entertainment ( Hart, 2011 ) and surveillance gratifications ( Joinson, 2008 ). This suggests that there are several different gratifications associated with both heavy and frequent Facebook use, and again, not all are socially focused.

Mood alteration

Lee et al. ( 2012 ) assessed whether Caplan’s ( 2010 ) social skill model applied to Facebook addiction. The results revealed that having a preference for online social interaction, and using Facebook for mood alteration, explained 35% of the variance in scores measuring deficient self-regulation of Facebook use. In turn, deficient self-regulation of Facebook use had a direct impact on the experience of negative life outcomes. While not measuring mood alteration directly, two other studies ( Hong et al., 2014 ; Koc & Gulyagci, 2013 ) provided evidence to support a relationship between low psychosocial health (depression and anxiety) and Facebook addiction. These findings may indicate that depressed and anxious people turn to Facebook to find relief and escape.

In regard to the link between these findings and uses and gratifications, evidence suggests that lonely people use Facebook to gain a sense of companionship ( Foregger, 2008 ; Sheldon, 2008 ), and to help them escape from their worries and problems ( Valentine, 2012 ). Papacharassi and Mendelson ( 2011 ) found that people who use Facebook to escape from unwanted moods use the site more frequently. They also tend to enjoy Facebook use more than non-lonely users. In 2007, Caplan reported that loneliness is associated with Internet addiction, and that this relationship is mediated by social anxiety. Therefore, it seems that the findings reported here partly support Caplan’s ( 2010 ) social skill model.

Measuring Facebook addiction

Due to the fact that Facebook addiction is an emerging field, different researchers have taken varying approaches to the measurement of this potential disorder. This is illustrated in Table 3 , which provides a summary of existing Facebook addiction instruments. As can be seen, scholars have tended to either create their own measures based on research from related addiction fields, or they have borrowed and modified existing measures of Internet addiction. A similar process also occurred when researchers began to create measures of Internet addiction ( Lortie & Guitton, 2013 ). Most Internet addiction instruments seem to be based on other addictive disorders, such as pathological gambling or substance-related addiction. This approach has led to confusion surrounding the appropriate criteria with which to measure Internet addiction, and has contributed to the underlying sense of conceptual chaos in the field ( Meerkerk et al., 2009 ). As a result, applying a similar approach to the measurement of Facebook addiction should be avoided.

In support of the above argument, examination of the Facebook addiction instruments that have been subjected to factor analysis (see Table 3 ) highlights inconsistency in measurement. For instance, both The Facebook Intrusion

Questionnaire ( FIQ; Elphinston & Noller, 2011 ) and the Bergen Facebook Addiction Scale ( BFAS; Andreassen, Torsheim, Brunborg & Pallesen, 2012 ) include factors tapping into salience, withdrawal and relapse; however, that is where the similarities between these measures end. Likewise, there are more differences than similarities between the Generalised Problematic Internet Use Scale ( GPIUS2; Caplan, 2010 ) and the BFAS, although both include a mood-related factor (mood alteration/mood modification) and a negative outcomes factor (negative outcomes/conflicts). These examples underscore a lack of construct validity surrounding Facebook addiction. Moreover, they highlight the inconsistencies underlying behavioural addictions research in general.

As Facebook is an application of the Internet, it could be argued that the manifestation of Facebook addiction would have more in common with Internet addiction than it does with other forms of addiction, such as pathological gambling. In support of this claim, Caplan ( 2010 ) argues that preference for online communication is the key factor associated with the development of problematic use of online forms of communication. Given that Lee et al. ( 2012 ) found this factor was also relevant to Facebook addiction, it seems that preference for online social interaction is a factor worth including in ameasure of Facebook addiction. The modified version of the GPIUS2 therefore possibly presents the best option for measuring Facebook addiction out of all of the measures in Table 3 ; however, it also has limitations. For example, it does not provide a cut-off point for recognising problematic use ( Spraggins, 2009 ), nor does it measure how long the use has been problematic ( Griffiths, 2000 ).

Another point to consider is that, in light of the unprecedented popularity of Facebook with Internet users across the world, it is possible that there may be unique aspects associated with the development of addiction to this site. For example, past research has linked Internet addiction to the desire to communication with new online acquaintances, but uses and gratifications research has shown that the main motivation of Facebook use relates to maintaining existing online relationships. In this way, Facebook may be different to other forms of social media; however, this has yet to be determined.

Furthermore, if it is true that maintaining existing online relationships leads to Facebook addiction, it is important to be clear about what ‘existing relationships’ means. Does it refer purely to current and strong existing offline relationships, or does it take into account relationships from the past that have been rekindled through Facebook? One way of answering such questions would be to conduct in-depth exploratory research with Facebook addicted individuals. As opposed to borrowing and amending measures from conceptually related disorders, proceeding with research in an exploratory direction could enhance the construct validity of Facebook addiction and its associated measures.

Conclusions

The aim of this paper was to extend the work of Kuss and Griffiths ( 2011 ) by synthesising literature relating to the uses and abuses of Facebook. By examining this research, several important and previously unreported points have been highlighted. First, researchers have recognised that the main uses and gratifications of Facebook are relationship maintenance, passing time, entertainment, and companionship. Some of these gratifications appear to be more common among particular groups, such as women and younger users. Although there is limited empirical research examining the links between uses and gratifications and Facebook abuse, it is possible that these motives may cause Facebook use that is habitual, excessive, or motivated by a desire to escape from negative moods.

Second, in regard to Facebook addiction, the findings discussed here paint the following picture: individuals with low psychosocial wellbeing, such as loneliness, anxiety or depression, are motivated to use Facebook to find social support or to pass time. The lift in mood that this provides (also known as mood alteration) leads to deficient self-regulation, possibly due to negative reinforcement. In severe cases, this can eventually lead to negative life consequences.

For the most part, this description appears to support Caplan’s ( 2010 ) social skill model of generalised problematic Internet use. On the other hand, it is also possible that there are multiple pathways to Facebook addiction; for instance, those triggered by non-socially motivated use or fear of missing out. Unfortunately, at this point in time, inconsistency in the measurement of Facebook addiction makes it difficult to propose compelling arguments regarding this condition. It seems, therefore, that researchers should focus on strengthening the assessment of Facebook addiction before examining alternative pathways to the development of this condition. Further research should also aim to explore Facebook use within the general population, rather than focusing primarily on university students.

Furthermore, the offline-to-online social interactions that appear to motivate most Facebook users may be different to other forms of social media. Therefore, when measuring Facebook addiction, it is important to use an instrument that takes into account the potentially unique symptoms of the condition. At present, the existing measures described within this paper fail to achieve this, as they are primarily based on research from other areas of addiction. While the inclusion of the core symptoms of addiction is important, researchers in this area should also aim to conduct detailed exploratory studies of Facebook addiction, using either qualitative or mixed methods. This process should facilitate the development of more focused instruments of Facebook addiction, which, in turn, should provide more concrete evidence to support the legitimacy of this addictive disorder.

Limitations

Prior to concluding this paper, it is worth mentioning the possibility that performing a meta-analysis rather than a systematic review may have led to greater understanding of the uses and gratifications of Facebook and Facebook addiction. It should be mentioned, however, that a lack of consistency in regard to Facebook addiction measurement made a metaanalytic approach difficult.

Broader implications

It appears as if there is some evidence to support the notion that the uses and abuses of Facebook are linked. At this point in time, however, research addressing this salient area is still in its infancy. While some tentative steps forward have been made with this review, it is clear that the construct validity of Facebook addiction and its associated measures must be strengthened before research continues.

In addition, there is a strong need for a systematic method of item development when measuring emerging forms of addictive behaviours. As demonstrated in the present review, researchers currently tend to take a haphazard approach, which could end up resulting in conceptual confusion. Until a more systematic process is established, behavioural addictions researchers should think carefully when borrowing criteria or items from other addictive disorders. Ideally, researchers should endeavour to perform exploratory research in the first instance. This would offer more clarity in regards to which symptoms are relevant to the addictive disorder in question. Furthermore, an exploratory approach would provide opportunities for the identification of unique symptoms, which should improve construct validity.

Funding sources

No financial support was received for this study.

Authors’ contribution

TR and AC are responsible for the study concept and design. JR and SX performed study supervision. No data is included in this review.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Ethical standards

This review did not involve human and/or animal experimentation.

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the reviewers for their insightful contributions to this paper.

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Question and Answer forum for K12 Students

Social Media Addiction Essay | Short and Long Essay on Social Media Addiction | Causes of Social Media Addiction

Social Media Addiction Essay: Social media is a mechanical application and site, empowering clients to have intuitive correspondence and cooperation in sharing data, conclusions, pictures, recordings, and so on through web association. Social media such as Facebook, Instagram, Whatsapp, Twitter, etc., have brought many benefits to society.  It permits the exchange of information with a flicker of an eye progressively. It is ending up being profoundly advantageous for business, work searchers, financial specialists, picture takers, news channels, craftsmen, bloggers, gourmet experts, homemakers, and some more.

The current youthful age is keeping away from open-air sports and squander their energy via Social media. It influences their own life, profession, studies, and associations with friends and family. To spread mindfulness on this subject schools, universities and different social foundations urge youth to partake in Essay, Speech contests. This subject is one of the normal themes in such discussions.

You can read more  Essay Writing  about articles, events, people, sports, technology many more.

Along these lines, we have given you an example exposition via online media fixation of like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and so on which discusses causes, impact, manifestations and arrangements of the Social media dependence. However, the substance is given in paper design, with little adjustments you can utilize it for discourse or article composing. You can likewise utilize this data for passage composing.

Short Essay on Social Media Addiction 200 Words in English

Social media compulsion has become a reason for concern. It is preventing the understudy’s schooling and is influencing their grades. Work has likewise become an impediment to the homegrown producers just as the work-creators. This relationship is likewise causing issues and is prompting issues like anorexia and gloom.

Maybe than joining Social media and associating with dear companions, individuals have begun rivaling them. They need to post preferable photographs and notices over others and need their profiles to be awesome. Online media addicts invest the greater part of their energy contemplating how they can improve their profile than others.

Online media addicts additionally consistently desire to look through Social media stages. They revive their data, stop individuals’ profiles, update their status, transfer their photos frequently and continue to remark to a great extent.

Numerous Social media Addiction locales like Facebook likewise offer to play a few games. These games are largely habit-forming. Players attempt to contend with different parts in their companion list. They invest the vast majority of their energy playing these games to expand their level and score. They become furious and disappointed when they can’t get it.

Side effects of Social media fixation ought to be recognized and the issue ought to be tended to before extremely late.

Long Essay on Social Media Addiction 500 Words in English

Online media is an incredible method to associate with our companions and family members living in far-off places. It is likewise an extraordinary spot to meet similar individuals, support our business, follow our number one superstars, upgrade our insight and see what’s going on around the world. Be that as it may, utilizing online media unreasonably can have negative repercussions. Numerous individuals become dependent on Social media and this affects the typical working of their lives.

Students can also find Internet Addiction Essay and Paragraph on Social Media from here

Why Social Media Addiction is Increasing?

Online media has brought the world nearer. Individuals of various age bunches all throughout the planet have Social media accounts. While numerous online media clients keep their profiles serene others stay up with the latest. There is one more class of Social media clients. These individuals post nearly everything occurring in their life on their online media accounts and burn through most pieces of their day looking through changed pages via Social media locales. They have profiles on every one of the online media stages and are dependent on them.

The quantity of online media addicts is expanding as time passes. This is on the grounds that Social media stages are thinking of a few new and intriguing approaches to keep individuals connected with and snared on to them.

How to Overcome this Addiction?

It might appear to be hard to conquer online media enslavement immediately anyway you can do as such with little exertion over the long haul. Here are some approaches to beat Social media fixation:

• Make your time useful: There are applications that help you limit the time spent on various applications on your portable. They send a ready when you surpass the time set for utilizing a specific application. It is a smart thought to download such an application to restrict your Social media utilization. You can diminish this time bit by bit.
• Turn off your app notifications: Mood killer the warnings for all your Social media stages on your telephone. At the point when you realize you will not be informed about any new update, you won’t trust that your telephone will blare or have the inclination to continually see the notice. There will be no unsettling influence and you will actually want to focus better on the job that needs to be done.
• Remove unnecessary app: It is proposed to erase not many Social media applications from your telephone and stay dynamic just on a couple of them. Additionally, don’t put these applications on your home screen. This basic stunt can likewise go far in defeating your Social media compulsion.
• Make your Social life physical not digital: Keep your telephone to the side when you are with your loved ones. Converse with them, enjoy exercises you appreciate and pay attention to all that they need to say. Plan to invest increasingly more energy with them as you attempt to conquer your online media enslavement. This can fill in as a decent interruption from the bogus world you have made for yourself.
• Follow your hobbies: Recognize the exercises you love the most. It very well might be moving, planting, singing, running or whatever else, so far as that is concerned. Participate in these exercises for an hour or somewhere in the vicinity every day to keep your psyche off online media.

Side-effects of Social Media

• Social media consumes a lot of time and decreases the productivity of the person day by day.
• Social media makes a person completely isolated from the outer world. Sometimes they become so introverted, that they can connect to another person through social media only.
• Students can lower their academic marks because of the excess use of social media.
• People get too much dependent on social media for the likes and views on their posts. Hence, their happiness is more dependent on the public reactions, which makes them more depressed and sad when do not get a good number of likes.
• One of the major drawbacks of social media is it affects our health drastically. Our eyes get tired by constantly watching mobiles phones and laptop screens. Also, we do not prefer to go out much for a walk, which makes us gain weight and lose stamina.

Final Conclusion

Social media addicts show urgent conduct. They regularly separate from this present reality and become socially segregated. Perceive this issue and conquer it to lead a cheerful and sound life.

FAQ’s on Social Media Addiction Essay

Question 1. What is social media addiction?

Answer: Individuals invest more energy in their cell phones over various online media applications. They track down a virtual existence where it is not difficult to get virtual regard, love, appreciation, acknowledgement. Our current age is having an exceptionally low capacity to focus, they are anxious, they need things to occur in a flash. Which is hauling them into this virtual universe of Social media and applications.

Question 2. What is the cause of social media addiction?

Answer: The main motivation for this human conduct is the requirement for acknowledgement, appreciation, approval, fondness, and love. Social media introduced a virtual existence where individuals address themselves with the persona they need others to see, as and love. These online media stages are simply innovation, it is the longing in the human psyche which is catching them in this endless loop.

Question 3. What is the type of social media addiction?

Answer: There are different types of social media addiction:

• Having accounts on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc, to post your stories or photos or videos, to get public attention and likes.
• The habit of chatting through WhatsApp is another kind of addiction.
• Cybersex addiction, watching illegal pornographic videos especially for youth is a big cause of addiction
• Online games available nowadays also causes addiction
• Surfing information from social media platforms
• Watching movies or videos on free youtube channels

Question 4. What are the advantages of social media?

Answer: Social media is just not a curse but it has brought a lot of boons to society. Using social media you can contact huge crowds,  have an immediate association with your crowd, can make natural substance, approach paid promoting administrations, assemble your image, direct people to your site and can assess your exhibition.

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Break the Twitch

Love Your Attention, Build Better Habits

9 Ways to Overcome Facebook Addiction

Written by Anthony Ongaro

On a day like any other, I was standing at my desk working on a blog post, trying to come up with the appropriate words to write. Frustrated at my lack of progress, I turned, looked out the window for a moment then looked back to my screen.

My blog post had disappeared, but the infamous blue and white website we all know so well had replaced it.

Later that afternoon while working on another written piece, a co-worker walked into my office and interrupted me mid-sentence. After a quick conversation, I looked back at my Word document and found a sentence that looked approximately like this:

The efficiencies of quantum mechanics determine that sevfacebook

While that sentence is 100% fabricated, the example of what happened to the end of it is 100% true. For the second time that day, I had subconsciously typed the word “facebook” without realizing it, and it scared the crap out of me.

I knew it was time for a change.

What started out as a simple way to connect with college classmates has become an all encompassing communication hub where we get our news, updates on family members while spending a heck of a lot of our time.

The  average user now spends about 50 minutes per day on Facebook.

I’d venture to guess that the 50 minutes aren’t in a solid block either, occurring in small 2-3 minute chunks as notifications come in throughout the day.

These bursts create small interruptions, pulling us away from what we may be doing, eating, working on, or creating. It’s no accident that Facebook brings us back as frequently as possible. For the company, our attention equals dollars.

Like any habit loop, Facebook is designed to work its way into our brain as a trigger-habit-reward cycle that is incredibly difficult to break.

At the surface, Facebook is a tool—not inherently good or bad—but its impact on our lives is determined by how we use it.

Imagine picking up a hammer 35 times per day and using it wherever you happen to be. When you need to drive in a nail, picking up a hammer makes a lot of sense. Otherwise, it would seem quite ridiculous.

Facebook is the hammer and connecting with friends and family is the nail. Everything else gets diminished by the hammer— our personal lives, intentions, and meaningful connections to the world.

If you feel like you’re losing the battle against the Facebook addiction twitch, there is help.

These suggestions to overcome facebook addiction are ordered from least extreme to most, allowing you to choose the options that are right for you., 1 / log out of the website.

Make it so that you have to manually log in every time you want to use Facebook. Doing this will give you a few seconds to decide if you actually need to log on, creating  intentional friction in the process. This strategy works best when on the computer, but can also work if you don’t use the Facebook app on your phone.

2 / Temporarily block the site

By using a productivity browser extension like Strict Workflow , you can hit a button that will block any websites you don’t want to visit for a specific duration of time. Once break time comes around, it will allow you to go to the sites of your choosing. Click the button again, and the sites will be blocked while you focus. These blockers help reduce the number of times you may bounce to Facebook during a focus period.

3 / Turn off all app notifications

This is definitely recommended if you’re wanting to overcome Facebook addiction. Let’s face it, it’s hard not to check when you see there are notifications. And Facebook doesn’t hesitate to show you as many as possible to get you back on the scroll. It’s best when you intentionally decide to check Facebook, without hearing an alert that triggers your attention. Reduce distractions and the urge to check and scroll by turning off all notifications in the app.

4 / Delete the app

While you can still use your mobile browser to check Facebook, doing this significantly reduces the notifications. The app is made to be as low friction as possible and deleting it will help you avoid using Facebook when it’s less appropriate. Not having the app helps break the twitch of being able to check the site so quickly. Even more powerful is if you use the first tip and log out of the site, forcing yourself to log in on your phone.

5 / Kill the newsfeed algorithm

If you’re habitually checking Facebook, one way to reduce the desire to do so is to have no new content come up when you do. You can use a browser extension called FB Purity to automatically reorder the newsfeed into chronological order. That way, Facebook won’t show you new content every time you open the site. And as a result, it will be much less interesting when you do visit and scroll.

6 / Block the newsfeed completely

Using the same FB Purity app, you can select an option to delete the newsfeed all together. It will show up as a blank space in the middle of your screen and won’t entice you to scroll down if you need to log on to Facebook to post something or check on one of your business pages. You can take care of whatever you might need to for work and then be done with it.

7 / Deactivate your account

Unfortunately, Facebook has made it ridiculously easy to reactivate your account. All you have to do is just log in again. But, the best way to break a habit cycle is to detox and rewire your brain from that habit. I’ve found that it takes at least five to seven days to break the initial ‘twitch’ habit cycle, so commit to at least that. Deactivate your account and log back in when you’re ready.

8 / Delete your account

You have to dig around in your Facebook settings to find this option. But if you feel that Facebook isn’t benefiting you in meaningful ways, just get rid of it. If you want to keep your content, you can download your entire Facebook history in one small zip file and backup everything you’ve ever posted. To continuing sharing with others, you can start a blog where people can find you with a quick Google search and where you can share your life updates and learnings.

9 / Throw your phone and computer into a ravine

If all else fails, find a property on which to homestead, grow your own food, and throw your electronic devices into the fire river of Mordor. There are fewer things better than some quality time in nature to help beat an addiction. Perhaps we need to take some extreme measures to ensure our own progress. Getting rid of your electronic devices is a solid move in overcoming extreme Facebook addiction.

Facebook is a tool that just like any other, should benefit us when we use it. When used intentionally, it’s a valuable resource that allows you to connect in meaningful ways. If you feel like it’s controlling your life more than it should, use the strategies above to overcome Facebook addiction.

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Interested in learning more? Check out what it was like for me to deactivate my Facebook account for 60 days, and my friend’s experience taking a social media sabbatical .

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What Facebook Addiction Looks Like in the Brain

For many Facebook users, the urge to like a kitten video or snoop on a high-school flame is almost irresistible.

As it turns out, this type of "Facebook addiction" may show up in the brain: A new study found that the brains of people who report compulsive urges to use the social networking site show some brain patterns similar to those found in drug addicts.

However, the parallel isn't perfect: Compulsive Facebook users may have more activity in impulsive systems in the brain, but the brain regions that inhibit this behavior seem to work just fine, unlike in the brains of cocaine addicts. [ The Top 10 Golden Rules of Facebook ]

One possibility is that, in cases of Facebook addiction, people are sensitized to respond strongly to positive triggers associated with the site, said study co-author Ofir Turel, a psychologist at California State University, Fullerton. "They have the ability to control their behavior, but they don't have the motivation to control this behavior because they don't see the consequences to be that severe."

Wide-reaching impact

Several studies have suggested that Facebook and other social networking sites have a profound impact on people. For example, Facebook can hurt a woman's body image , allow people to obsess over a failed relationship and even lead some people to fall into depression. In fact, so many people end up feeling left out after seeing pictures of friends at a rooftop party or eating opulent meals, for example, that there's even a word for it: " fear of missing out ," or FOMO.

In recent years, researchers have coined the term "Facebook addiction" to describe people with an unhealthy desire to spend hours checking the social networking site.

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But whether this type of compulsion is truly an addiction is hotly debated.

Facebook brain

To understand how this process affects the brain, Turel and his colleagues asked 20 undergraduate students to fill out a questionnaire that gauged addiction-type symptoms associated with Facebook use, such as withdrawal, anxiety and conflict over the site.

The researchers then used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to study the participants' brains while they looked at a series of computer images — some Facebook logos, and others of neutral traffic signs. The students were told to either press or not press a button in response to each image.

The higher people scored on the Facebook addiction survey, the more likely they were to quickly hit the button when viewing Facebook images compared to neutral images. Similarly, the participants were more likely to mistakenly press the button when they saw a Facebook logo versus a neutral traffic sign. Essentially, the Facebook cues were much more potent triggers in people's brains than the traffic signs, Turel said. [ Understanding the 10 Most Destructive Human Behaviors ]

That means that, if you're driving on a street next to someone who has a compulsive relationship with Facebook, they are "going to respond faster to beeps from their cellphone than to street signs," Turel told Live Science. "That's the power of Facebook."

The Facebook "addicts" showed greater activation of their amygdala and striatum, brain regions that are involved in impulsive behavior. But unlike in the brains of cocaine addicts , for instance, the Facebook users showed no quieting of the brain systems responsible for inhibition in the prefrontal cortex.

That could be because Facebook "addiction" is fundamentally unlike substance addiction, or it could be that the study only looked at people whose daily lives weren't much impaired by their desire to be on Facebook, Turel said.

Hooked on Facebook?

Addiction to social networking is likely caused by a collision of biological, psychological, social and cultural factors, Cecilie Schou Andreassen, a psychologist at the University of Bergen in Norway who was not involved in the study, said in an email.

The study looked at a relatively small, homogeneous group with relatively low levels of Facebook addiction, so "it is therefore questionable whether this sample is appropriate for investigating Facebook addiction," Andreassen told Live Science.

Social networking sites like Facebook "hook" people using four elements: a trigger, such as loneliness, boredom or stress; an action, such as logging in to Facebook; an unpredictable or variable reward, such as scrolling through a mix of juicy and boring tidbits in the newsfeed; and investment, which includes posting pictures or liking someone's status update, said Nir Eyal, a startup founder and author of "Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products," (Nir Eyal, 2013).

"Facebook is a poster child for a company that has these hooks," Eyal told Live Science.

Getting "unhooked" is a matter of breaking that chain by putting some friction into the process — for instance, by using a website blocker or putting an Internet router on a timer that shuts off at night, Eyal said.

The new study was published in December 2014 in the journal Psychological Reports: Disability and Trauma.

Follow Tia Ghose on Twitter and Google+ .   Follow Live Science @livescience , Facebook & Google+ . Originally published on Live Science .

Tia is the managing editor and was previously a senior writer for Live Science. Her work has appeared in Scientific American, Wired.com and other outlets. She holds a master's degree in bioengineering from the University of Washington, a graduate certificate in science writing from UC Santa Cruz and a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. Tia was part of a team at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that published the Empty Cradles series on preterm births, which won multiple awards, including the 2012 Casey Medal for Meritorious Journalism.

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Drugs, Brains, and Behavior: The Science of Addiction Treatment and Recovery

Can addiction be treated successfully.

Yes, addiction is a treatable disorder. Research on the science of addiction and the treatment of substance use disorders has led to the development of research-based methods that help people to stop using drugs and resume productive lives, also known as being in recovery.

Can addiction be cured?

Like treatment for other chronic diseases such as heart disease or asthma, addiction treatment is not a cure, but a way of managing the condition. Treatment enables people to counteract addiction's disruptive effects on their brain and behavior and regain control of their lives.

Does relapse to drug use mean treatment has failed?

No. The chronic nature of addiction means that for some people relapse, or a return to drug use after an attempt to stop, can be part of the process, but newer treatments are designed to help with relapse prevention. Relapse rates for drug use are similar to rates for other chronic medical illnesses. If people stop following their medical treatment plan, they are likely to relapse.

Treatment of chronic diseases involves changing deeply rooted behaviors, and relapse doesn’t mean treatment has failed. When a person recovering from an addiction relapses, it indicates that the person needs to speak with their doctor to resume treatment, modify it, or try another treatment. 52

While relapse is a normal part of recovery, for some drugs, it can be very dangerous—even deadly. If a person uses as much of the drug as they did before quitting, they can easily overdose because their bodies are no longer adapted to their previous level of drug exposure. An overdose happens when the person uses enough of a drug to produce uncomfortable feelings, life-threatening symptoms, or death.

What are the principles of effective treatment?

Research shows that when treating addictions to opioids (prescription pain relievers or drugs like heroin or fentanyl), medication should be the first line of treatment, usually combined with some form of behavioral therapy or counseling. Medications are also available to help treat addiction to alcohol and nicotine.

Additionally, medications are used to help people detoxify from drugs, although detoxification is not the same as treatment and is not sufficient to help a person recover. Detoxification alone without subsequent treatment generally leads to resumption of drug use.

For people with addictions to drugs like stimulants or cannabis, no medications are currently available to assist in treatment, so treatment consists of behavioral therapies. Treatment should be tailored to address each patient's drug use patterns and drug-related medical, mental, and social problems.

What medications and devices help treat drug addiction?

Different types of medications may be useful at different stages of treatment to help a patient stop abusing drugs, stay in treatment, and avoid relapse.

• Treating withdrawal. When patients first stop using drugs, they can experience various physical and emotional symptoms, including restlessness or sleeplessness, as well as depression, anxiety, and other mental health conditions. Certain treatment medications and devices reduce these symptoms, which makes it easier to stop the drug use.
• Staying in treatment. Some treatment medications and mobile applications are used to help the brain adapt gradually to the absence of the drug. These treatments act slowly to help prevent drug cravings and have a calming effect on body systems. They can help patients focus on counseling and other psychotherapies related to their drug treatment.
• Preventing relapse. Science has taught us that stress cues linked to the drug use (such as people, places, things, and moods), and contact with drugs are the most common triggers for relapse. Scientists have been developing therapies to interfere with these triggers to help patients stay in recovery.

Common medications used to treat drug addiction and withdrawal

• Buprenorphine
• Extended-release naltrexone
• Nicotine replacement therapies (available as a patch, inhaler, or gum)
• Varenicline
• Acamprosate

How do behavioral therapies treat drug addiction?

Behavioral therapies help people in drug addiction treatment modify their attitudes and behaviors related to drug use. As a result, patients are able to handle stressful situations and various triggers that might cause another relapse. Behavioral therapies can also enhance the effectiveness of medications and help people remain in treatment longer.

• Cognitive-behavioral therapy seeks to help patients recognize, avoid, and cope with the situations in which they're most likely to use drugs.
• Contingency management uses positive reinforcement such as providing rewards or privileges for remaining drugfree, for attending and participating in counseling sessions, or for taking treatment medications as prescribed.
• Motivational enhancement therapy uses strategies to make the most of people's readiness to change their behavior and enter treatment.
• Family therapy helps people (especially young people) with drug use problems, as well as their families, address influences on drug use patterns and improve overall family functioning.
• Twelve-step facilitation (TSF) is an individual therapy typically delivered in 12 weekly session to prepare people to become engaged in 12-step mutual support programs. 12-step programs, like Alcoholic Anonymous, are not medical treatments, but provide social and complementary support to those treatments. TSF follows the 12-step themes of acceptance, surrender, and active involvement in recovery.

How do the best treatment programs help patients recover from addiction?

Stopping drug use is just one part of a long and complex recovery process. When people enter treatment, addiction has often caused serious consequences in their lives, possibly disrupting their health and how they function in their family lives, at work, and in the community.

Because addiction can affect so many aspects of a person's life, treatment should address the needs of the whole person to be successful. Counselors may select from a menu of services that meet the specific medical, mental, social, occupational, family, and legal needs of their patients to help in their recovery.

For more information on drug treatment , see Principles of Drug Addiction Treatment: A Research-Based Guide , and Principles of Adolescent Substance Use Disorder Treatment: A Research-Based Guide .

Helping Someone with a Drug Addiction

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Dual Diagnosis: Substance Abuse and Mental Health

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Understanding drug abuse and addiction

Risk factors for drug addiction, myths and facts about drug abuse and addiction, how drug abuse and addiction develops, signs and symptoms of drug abuse and addiction, warning signs that a friend or loved one is abusing drugs, warning signs of prescription drug abuse , when a loved one has a drug problem, when your teen has a drug problem, next step: getting help for drug abuse or addiction, drug abuse and addiction.

Do you or someone you know have a drug problem? Explore the warning signs and symptoms and learn how substance abuse problems develop.

People from all walks of life can experience problems with their drug use, regardless of age, race, background, or the reason they started using drugs in the first place. Some people experiment with recreational drugs out of curiosity, to have a good time, because friends are doing it, or to ease problems such as stress, anxiety, or depression.

However, it’s not just illegal drugs, such as cocaine or heroin, that can lead to abuse and addiction. Prescription medications such as painkillers, sleeping pills, and tranquilizers can cause similar problems. In fact, next to marijuana, prescription painkillers are the most abused drugs in the U.S. and more people die from overdosing powerful opioid painkillers each day than from traffic accidents and gun deaths combined. Addiction to opioid painkillers can be so powerful it has become the major risk factor for heroin abuse.

When drug use becomes drug abuse or addiction

Of course, drug use—either illegal or prescription—doesn’t automatically lead to abuse. Some people are able to use recreational or prescription drugs without experiencing negative effects, while others find that substance use takes a serious toll on their health and well-being. Similarly, there is no specific point at which drug use moves from casual to problematic.

Drug abuse and addiction is less about the type or amount of the substance consumed or the frequency of your drug use, and more about the consequences of that drug use. If your drug use is causing problems in your life—at work, school, home, or in your relationships—you likely have a drug abuse or addiction problem.

If you’re worried about your own or a loved one’s drug use, learning how drug abuse and addiction develops—and why it can have such a powerful hold—will give you a better understanding of how to best deal with the problem and regain control of your life. Recognizing that you have a problem is the first step on the road to recovery , one that takes tremendous courage and strength. Facing your problem without minimizing the issue or making excuses can feel frightening and overwhelming, but recovery is within reach. If you’re ready to seek help, you can overcome your addiction and build a satisfying, drug-free life for yourself.

While anyone can develop problems from using drugs, vulnerability to substance addiction differs from person to person. While your genes, mental health, family and social environment all play a role, risk factors that increase your vulnerability include:

• Family history of addiction
• Abuse, neglect, or other traumatic experiences
• Mental disorders such as depression and anxiety
• Early use of drugs
• Method of administration—smoking or injecting a drug may increase its addictive potential

Six common myths

Overcoming addiction is simply a matter of willpower. You can stop using drugs if you really want.

Prolonged exposure to drugs alters the brain in ways that result in powerful cravings and a compulsion to use. These  brain changes  make it extremely difficult to quit by sheer force of will.

Using drugs like opioid painkillers are safe since they’re so commonly prescribed by doctors.

Short-term medical use of  opioid painkillers  can help to manage severe pain after an accident or surgery, for example. However, regular or longer-term use of opioids can lead to addiction. Misuse of these drugs or taking someone else’s medication can have dangerous—even deadly—consequences.

Addiction is a disease; there’s nothing that can be done about it.

Most experts agree that addiction is a disease that affects the brain, but that doesn’t mean anyone is helpless. The brain changes associated with addiction can be treated and reversed through therapy, medication, exercise, and other treatments.

Addicts have to hit rock bottom before they can get better.

Recovery can begin at any point in the addiction process—and the earlier, the better. The longer drug abuse continues, the stronger the addiction becomes and the harder it is to treat. Don’t wait to intervene until the addict has lost everything.

You can’t force someone into treatment; they have to want help.

Treatment doesn’t have to be voluntary to be successful. People who are pressured into treatment by their family, employer, or the legal system are just as likely to benefit as those who choose to enter treatment on their own. As they sober up and their thinking clears, many formerly resistant addicts decide they want to change.

Treatment didn’t work before, so there’s no point trying again.

Recovery from drug addiction  is a long process that often involves setbacks. Relapse doesn’t mean that treatment has failed or that sobriety is a lost cause. Rather, it’s a signal to get back on track, either by going back to treatment or adjusting the treatment approach.

Speak to a Licensed Therapist

BetterHelp is an online therapy service that matches you to licensed, accredited therapists who can help with depression, anxiety, relationships, and more. Take the assessment and get matched with a therapist in as little as 48 hours.

There’s a fine line between regular drug use and drug abuse and addiction. Very few drug abusers or addicts are able to recognize when they’ve crossed that line. While frequency or the amount of drugs consumed do not necessarily constitute drug abuse or addiction, they can often be indicators of drug-related problems.

If the drug fulfills a valuable need, you may find yourself increasingly relying on it. You may take illegal drugs to calm or energize yourself or make you more confident. You may start abusing prescription drugs to relieve pain, cope with panic attacks, or improve concentration at school or work. If you are using drugs to fill a void in your life , you’re more at risk of crossing the line from casual drug use to drug abuse and addiction. To maintain a healthy balance in your life, you need to have positive experiences and feel good about your life without any drug use.

[Read: Self-Medicating Depression, Anxiety, and Stress]

Drug abuse may start as a way to socially connect. People often try drugs for the first time in social situations with friends and acquaintances. A strong desire to fit in to the group can make it feel like doing the drugs with them is the only option.

Problems can sometimes sneak up on you, as your drug use gradually increases over time. Smoking a joint with friends over the weekend, or taking ecstasy at a rave, or painkillers when your back aches, for example, can change from using drugs a couple of days a week to using them every day. Gradually, getting and using the drug becomes more and more important to you.

As drug abuse takes hold, you may miss or frequently be late for work or school, your job performance may progressively deteriorate, and you may start to neglect social or family responsibilities. Your ability to stop using is eventually compromised. What began as a voluntary choice has turned into a physical and psychological need.

Eventually drug abuse can consume your life, stopping social and intellectual development. This only reinforces feelings of isolation.

Drug addiction and the brain

While each drug produces different physical effects, all abused substances share one thing in common: repeated use can alter the way the brain functions . This includes commonly abused prescription medications as well as recreational drugs.

• Taking the drug causes a rush of the hormone dopamine in your brain, which triggers feelings of pleasure. Your brain remembers these feelings and wants them repeated.
• When you become addicted, the substance takes on the same significance as other survival behaviors, such as eating and drinking.
• Changes in your brain interfere with your ability to think clearly, exercise good judgment, control your behavior, and feel normal without drugs.
• No matter which drug you’re addicted to, the uncontrollable craving to use grows more important than anything else, including family, friends, career, and even your own health and happiness.
• The urge to use is so strong that your mind finds many ways to deny or rationalize the addiction. You may drastically underestimate the quantity of drugs you’re taking, how much it impacts your life, and the level of control you have over your drug use.

With the right treatment and support, you can counteract the disruptive effects of drug use and regain control of your life. The first obstacle is to recognize and admit you have a problem, or listen to loved ones who are often better able to see the negative effects drug use is having on your life.

Although different drugs have different physical effects, the symptoms of addiction are similar. If you recognize yourself in the following signs and symptoms, talk to someone about your drug use.

Common symptoms of drug abuse

Neglecting responsibilities at school, work, or home (e.g. flunking classes, skipping work, neglecting your children).

Using drugs under dangerous conditions or taking risks while high , such as driving while on drugs, using dirty needles, or having unprotected sex.

Experiencing legal trouble, such as arrests for disorderly conduct, driving under the influence, or stealing to support a drug habit.

Problems in your relationships, such as fights with your partner or family members, an unhappy boss, or the loss of friends.

Common symptoms of drug addiction

You’ve built up a drug tolerance. You need to use more of the drug to experience the same effects you used to attain with smaller amounts.

You use to avoid or relieve withdrawal symptoms. If you go too long without drugs, you experience symptoms such as nausea, restlessness, insomnia, depression, sweating, shaking, and anxiety.

Loss of control over your drug use. You often do drugs or use more than you planned, even though you told yourself you wouldn’t. You may want to stop using, but you feel powerless.

Your life revolves around drug use. You spend a lot of time using and thinking about drugs, figuring out how to get them, or recovering from the drug’s effects.

You’ve abandoned activities you used to enjoy, such as hobbies, sports, and socializing, because of your drug use.

You continue to use drugs, despite knowing it’s hurting you. It’s causing major problems in your life—blackouts, financial issues , infections, mood swings, depression, paranoia—but you use anyway.

Drug abusers often try to conceal their symptoms and downplay their problem. If you’re worried that a friend or loved one might be abusing drugs, look for the following warning signs:

Physical warning signs 

• Bloodshot eyes, pupils larger or smaller than usual.
• Changes in appetite or sleep patterns.
• Sudden weight loss or weight gain.
• Deterioration of physical appearance, personal grooming habits.
• Unusual smells on breath, body, or clothing.
• Tremors, slurred speech, or impaired coordination.

Behavioral warning signs 

• Drop in attendance and performance at work or school.
• Unexplained financial problems; borrowing or stealing.
• Engaging in secretive or suspicious behaviors.
• Sudden change in friends, favorite hangouts, and hobbies.
• Frequently getting into trouble (fights, accidents, illegal activities).

Psychological warning signs 

• Unexplained change in personality or attitude.
• Sudden mood swings, irritability, or angry outbursts.
• Periods of unusual hyperactivity, agitation, or giddiness.
• Lack of motivation; appears lethargic or “spaced out”.
• Appears fearful, anxious, or paranoid.

Warning signs of commonly abused recreational drugs

Marijuana: Glassy, red eyes; loud talking, inappropriate laughter followed by sleepiness; loss of interest, motivation; weight gain or loss.

Stimulants (including amphetamines, cocaine, crystal meth): Dilated pupils; hyperactivity; euphoria; irritability; anxiety; excessive talking followed by depression or excessive sleeping at odd times; may go long periods of time without eating or sleeping; weight loss; dry mouth and nose.

Inhalants (glues, aerosols, vapors): Watery eyes; impaired vision, memory and thought; secretions from the nose or rashes around the nose and mouth; headaches and nausea; appearance of intoxication; drowsiness; poor muscle control; changes in appetite; anxiety; irritability; lots of cans/aerosols in the trash.

Hallucinogens (LSD, PCP): Dilated pupils; bizarre and irrational behavior including paranoia, aggression, hallucinations; mood swings; detachment from people; absorption with self or other objects, slurred speech; confusion.

Heroin: Contracted pupils; no response of pupils to light; needle marks; sleeping at unusual times; sweating; vomiting; coughing, sniffling; twitching; loss of appetite.

In recent years, prescription drug abuse has become an escalating problem, most commonly involving opioid painkillers, anti-anxiety medications , sedatives, and stimulants . Many people start taking these drugs to cope with a specific medical problem—taking painkillers following injury or surgery, for example. However, over time, increased doses are needed to achieve the same level of pain relief and some users can become physically dependent, experiencing withdrawal symptoms if they try to quit.

One of the earliest warning signs of a developing problem is going through the medication at a faster-than-expected rate. In other cases, people start abusing medication not prescribed for them in order to experience a high, relieve tension, increase alertness, or improve concentration.

[Read: Anxiety Medication]

To avoid developing problems with a prescription medication, it’s important to take it only as directed, use the lowest dose for the shortest period possible, and to talk to your doctor about other methods of treating the problem. Being aware of any signs of dependency can help identify prescription drug problems at an early stage and help to prevent them progressing into an addiction.

Warning signs of commonly abused prescription drugs

Opioid painkillers (including OxyContin, Vicodin, Norco):  Drooping eyes, constricted pupils even in dim light, sudden itching or flushing, slurred speech; drowsiness, lack of energy; inability to concentrate, lack of motivation, decline in performance at work or school; neglecting friendships and social activities.

Anti-anxiety medications, sedatives, and hypnotics (including Xanax, Valium, Ambien):  Contracted pupils; drunk-like, slurred speech, difficulty concentrating, clumsiness; poor judgment, drowsiness, slowed breathing.

Stimulants (including Ritalin, Concerta, Adderall, Dexedrine):  Dilated pupils, reduced appetite; agitation, anxiety, irregular heartbeat, high body temperature; insomnia, paranoia.

If you suspect that a friend or family member has a drug problem, here are a few things you can do:

Speak up. Talk to the person about your concerns, and offer your help and support without being judgmental. The earlier addiction is treated, the better. Don’t wait for your loved one to hit rock bottom! List specific examples of your loved one’s behavior that have you worried and urge them to seek help .

Take care of yourself. Stay safe. Don’t put yourself in dangerous situations. Don’t get so caught up in someone else’s drug problem that you neglect your own needs. Make sure you have people you can talk to and lean on for support.

[Read: Helping Someone with a Drug Addiction]

Avoid self-blame. You can support a person with a substance abuse problem and encourage treatment , but you can’t force an addict to change. You can’t control your loved one’s decisions. Letting the person accept responsibility for their actions is an essential step along the way to recovery.

Don’t…

• Attempt to threaten, punish, bribe, or preach.
• Make emotional appeals that only add to the user’s feelings of guilt and increase their compulsion to use drugs.
• Cover up or make excuses for the drug abuser, or shield them from the consequences of their drug use.
• Take over the drug abuser’s responsibilities, diminishing their sense of self-worth.
• Hide or throw out drugs.
• Argue with the person when they are high.
• Use drugs with the person.
• Feel guilty or responsible for a drug abuser’s behavior.

Discovering your child uses drugs can generate fear, confusion, and anger. It’s important to remain calm when confronting your teen, and to only do so when everyone is sober. Explain your concerns and make it clear that your concern comes from a place of love. It’s important that your teen feels you are supportive.

Warning signs of teen drug abuse

As with adults, teenage drug abuse isn’t limited to illegal drugs. In fact, teens are more likely to abuse prescription and over-the-counter drugs, including painkillers, stimulants, sedatives, and tranquilizers. In many cases, these drugs are much easier for teens to procure, yet they can have dangerous, even lethal, side effects.

While experimenting with any kind of drug doesn’t automatically lead to drug abuse, early use is a risk factor for developing more serious drug abuse and addiction down the road. Risk of drug abuse also increases greatly during times of transition, such as changing schools, moving, or divorce. The challenge for parents is to distinguish between the normal, often volatile, ups and downs of the teen years and the red flags of substance abuse. These include:

Having bloodshot eyes or dilated pupils ; using eye drops to try to mask these signs

Skipping class ; declining grades; suddenly getting into trouble at school

Missing medications, prescriptions, money or valuables

Acting uncharacteristically isolated , withdrawn, angry, or depressed

Sudden mood changes or repeated health complaints, constant fatigue

Dropping one group of friends for another ; being secretive about the new peer group

Loss of interest in old hobbies ; lying about new interests and activities

Demanding more privacy ; locking doors; avoiding eye contact; sneaking around

7 steps parents can take to curb teen drug use

• Talk openly about the dangers of both illegal and prescription drug use with your kids. Providing a safe and open environment to talk about these issues can make a real difference in the likelihood that they’ll use or abuse drugs.
• Lay down rules and consequences. Your teen should understand that using drugs comes with specific consequences. But don’t make hollow threats or set rules that you cannot enforce—and make sure your spouse agrees and is prepared to enforce the rules. Remind your teen that taking someone else’s prescription or sharing theirs with others is illegal.
• Monitor your teen’s activity. Know where your teen goes and who they hang out with. It’s also important to routinely check potential hiding places for drugs—in backpacks, between books on a shelf, in DVD cases or make-up cases. Monitor your teen’s online activity to check for illegal purchases.
• Keep prescription medicines in a safe place, avoid stockpiling them, and dispose of any unused prescription medicines. Monitor your prescription refills carefully.
• Encourage other interests and social activities. Expose your teen to healthy hobbies and activities, such as team sports and after-school clubs.
• Talk to your child about underlying issues. Drug use can be the result of other problems. Is your teen having trouble fitting in? Has there been a recent major change, like a move or divorce causing stress?
• Get help. Teenagers often rebel against their parents but if they hear the same information from a different authority figure, they may be more inclined to listen. Try a sports coach, family doctor, therapist, or drug counselor.

Addiction is a complex problem that affects every aspect of your life. Overcoming addiction requires reaching out for support and making changes to the way you live, deal with problems, and relate to others. Recovery is within your reach but don’t try to go it alone; it’s very easy to get discouraged and rationalize “just one more.”

Whether you choose to go to rehab, rely on self-help programs, get therapy, or take a self-directed treatment approach, support is essential.

Read: Overcoming Drug Addiction .

Support organizations

Most of these 12-step programs have worldwide chapters:

Narcotics Anonymous

Cocaine Anonymous

Crystal Meth Anonymous

Marijuana Anonymous

Read: NA and Other Peer Support Groups for Drug Addiction

Professional help for drug treatment and recovery

Use the  Substance Abuse Treatment Facility Locator  , call the  SAMHSA helpline  at 1-800-662-4357,  Get One-on-One Help to Address Your Child’s Substance Use , or call the Partnership for Drug-Free Kids helpline at 1-855-378-4373.

Find  NHS drug addictions support services  or call the  Frank helpline  at 0800 776600.

Finding Quality Addiction Care   (Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction)

Find  drug and alcohol services in your State/Territory  (Department of Health & Aging).

More Information

• How can prescription drug addiction be treated? - Treatment options for prescription drug addiction including addiction to opioid painkillers. (National Institute on Drug Abuse)
• Drugs: What to Know - Information on drug and alcohol abuse for teens. (TeensHealth)
• If You Have a Problem with Drugs: For Adults - Step by step guide to getting treatment. (National Institute on Drug Abuse)
• Drugs, Brains, and Behavior: The Science of Addiction - Booklet on drug addiction, including its effects on the brain. (National Institute on Drug Abuse)
• One Breath, Twelve Steps - Buddhism-inspired mindful practices for overcoming addiction from a  HelpGuide affiliate . (Sounds True)
• Substance-Related and Addictive Disorders. (2013). In Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders . American Psychiatric Association. Link
• 2019 National Survey of Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) Releases | CBHSQ Data. (n.d.). Retrieved July 23, 2021, from Link
• Lipari, R. N. (2019). Key Substance Use and Mental Health Indicators in the United States: Results from the 2018 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Link
• GBD 2016 Alcohol and Drug Use Collaborators. (2018). The global burden of disease attributable to alcohol and drug use in 195 countries and territories, 1990-2016: A systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2016. The Lancet. Psychiatry, 5(12), 987–1012. Link
• Lopez-Quintero, Catalina, José Pérez de los Cobos, Deborah S. Hasin, Mayumi Okuda, Shuai Wang, Bridget F. Grant, and Carlos Blanco. Probability and Predictors of Transition from First Use to Dependence on Nicotine, Alcohol, Cannabis, and Cocaine: Results of the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC). Drug and Alcohol Dependence 115, no. 1–2 (May 1, 2011): 120–30. Link
• Hallfors, D. D., Waller, M. W., Ford, C. A., Halpern, C. T., Brodish, P. H., & Iritani, B. (2004). Adolescent depression and suicide risk: Association with sex and drug behavior. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 27(3), 224–231. Link
• Grant, Bridget F., Frederick S. Stinson, Deborah A. Dawson, S. Patricia Chou, Mary C. Dufour, Wilson Compton, Roger P. Pickering, and Kenneth Kaplan. Prevalence and Co-Occurrence of Substance Use Disorders and Independent Mood and Anxiety Disorders: Results from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions. Archives of General Psychiatry 61, no. 8 (August 2004): 807–16. Link
• Santucci, Karen. Psychiatric Disease and Drug Abuse. Current Opinion in Pediatrics 24, no. 2 (April 2012): 233–37. Link
• NIDA. 2018, August 1. Comorbidity: Substance Use Disorders and Other Mental Illnesses. Retrieved from National Institute on Drug Abuse on July 15, 2021. Link
• Self-medication of anxiety symptoms with drugs or alcohol associated with increased risk of developing substance use disorders. (n.d.). ScienceDaily. Retrieved July 15, 2021, from Link
• Harris, Katherine M, and Mark J Edlund. Self-Medication of Mental Health Problems: New Evidence from a National Survey. Health Services Research 40, no. 1 (February 2005): 117–34. Link

More in Addiction

Supporting a loved one’s recovery from drug abuse

Choosing Drug Rehab and Addiction Treatment

A guide to drug addiction services

Coping with addiction and a mental health problem

A guide to alcohol addiction treatment services

Cutting down on alcohol doesn’t have to mean losing your social life

The health risks in young people and how to quit

The hidden risks of drinking

Binge Drinking

Help if you have trouble stopping drinking once you start

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Home — Essay Samples — Nursing & Health — Drug Addiction — The Causes, Effects and Prevention of Drug Addiction

The Problem of Drug Addiction: Causes, Effects and Solutions

• Categories: Drug Addiction

About this sample

Words: 1196 |

Published: Jan 15, 2019

Words: 1196 | Pages: 3 | 6 min read

Table of contents

Causes of drug addiction, effects of drug addiction, how to prevent drug addiction (essay), works cited.

• Doan, H. (2007). Police dogs will sniff out drugs at city schools. The Roanoke Times.
• Mayo Clinic. (2019). Drug addiction (substance use disorder).
• National Institute on Drug Abuse. (2022). Principles of drug addiction treatment: A research-based guide (third edition).
• New York Times. (2009). Drug-sniffing dogs are in demand.
• Psychological Studies and Support to Drug Users. (2014). Teenagers and drug use: Facts and figures.
• Smith, M. J., & Stevens, A. (Eds.). (2013). Drug Policy and the Public Good.
• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2018). Key substance use and mental health indicators in the United States: Results from the 2017 National Survey on Drug Use and Health.
• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2021). Treatment for substance use disorders.
• United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. (2021). World drug report 2021.
• Volkow, N. D., Koob, G. F., & McLellan, A. T. (2016). Neurobiologic advances from the brain disease model of addiction. New England Journal of Medicine, 374(4), 363-371.

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Neuroscience

Separate brain circuits drive fentanyl addiction, new therapies might be able to treat addiction by selectively targeting withdrawal, by alla katsnelson, special to c&en, may 23, 2024 | a version of this story appeared in volume 102, issue 16.

• Samantha Du builds biotechs, and everyone in China follows
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Distinct brain circuits drive two key components of addiction to the synthetic opioid drug fentanyl, according to a new finding published in Nature (2024, DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07440-x ). The research significantly revises researchers’ understanding of opioid addiction, and it points to approaches for more targeted treatment.

Opioids are extremely addictive, and fentanyl —which is 50–100 times as potent as morphine or heroin and causes addiction in about a quarter of people who use it—is often deadly. In 2022, almost 82,000 people in the US died of opioid overdoses , the vast majority because of fentanyl. Researchers know that opioid addiction is driven both by positive reinforcement (a pull to the substance’s euphoric effects) and by negative reinforcement (an effort to avoid deeply unpleasant withdrawal symptoms). Yet how opioids hook the brain isn’t fully understood.

Fentanyl and other opioid compounds bind to mu opioid receptors in neurons in a part of the midbrain known as the ventral tegmental area (VTA). According to the leading hypothesis, activating these receptors drives the release of dopamine, a neurotransmitter thought to be involved in the reward pathway. This causes positive reinforcement, and the dopamine depression that results when access to the drug ends causes the withdrawal and negative reinforcement.

But when Christian Lüscher at Geneva University and his colleagues hampered the mu opioid receptor’s activity in the VTA of mice and then gave them fentanyl, the animals displayed fewer signs of positive reinforcement but still showed behaviors reflecting negative reinforcement. That finding suggested the two processes might be separate, so the researchers quantified neuronal activity in different parts of the brain during withdrawal by tracking the expression of a quick-acting gene. They found increased activity only in a brain area called the central amygdala. Selectively knocking out mu opioid receptors there eliminated withdrawal behaviors.

“The role of the central amygdala opioid mu receptors is novel and really interesting,” says David H. Root, a neuroscientist at the University of Colorado Boulder who was not involved in the work. “They show pretty good evidence that these neurons are selectively activated under this very specific condition of withdrawal from opioids.”

The researchers took a close look at the circuitry in this brain area. Giving the mice fentanyl followed by naloxone, an opioid receptor blocker that induces withdrawal, resulted in activity in opioid-receptor-expressing neurons in the central amygdala. And when they stimulated those neurons directly using a technique called optogenetics, the mice quickly learned to press a lever to turn the stimulation off.

“Modern circuit neuroscience now allows us to disentangle” the many different effects that a drug like fentanyl has when it enters the brain of a living animal, Lüscher says.

Lüscher and his colleagues are now investigating how the positive and negative reinforcements interact “and whether they both contribute to the transition from a controlled use to a compulsive use.”

But knowing the two systems are separate means addiction therapies can target each independently, Lüscher says. Currently, opioid addiction treatment often involves prescribing methadone to avoid withdrawal—the negative reinforcement—even though it still activates opioid receptors, which can help maintain dependence on the medication. The new findings might lead to more efficient therapies that target negative reinforcement alone, Lüscher says.

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