Plugged In: The True Story of a FaceBook Addict

By Connect2Mason Contributor Tierney Kain

Tierney is procrastinating and writing an article for Connect2Mason when she should be writing her 450 paper. 1 hr ago.

The other day, when I was supposed to be doing homework, I decided to sign onto Facebook to see if anyone loved me enough to write on my wall. An hour and nine Bumper Stickers later, I came to a realization.

Tierney is sleepy. Where’s my Rockstar? 54 minutes ago.

I’m addicted to sugar-free Rockstar.

I know what you’re thinking. I’m not going to say that I’m addicted to Facebook, simply because I am not. I mean, to prove to myself that I didn’t have an addiction, I deactivated my account and went all last week without it. I mean, sure, I reactivated it a few times to check on everyone’s life and make sure they were okay, but really, I was just being a concerned friend.

I’m not addicted...

But even if I was, what would be the problem? What’s wrong with liking to know how my friends are at all times? The fact that I know you are brushing your teeth at this very minute makes me feel connected to you at such an intimate level. I miss that awareness when it’s gone.

Tierney just drank a Rockstar and is still writing an article about the addictiveness of Facebook. She is conducting interviews over her wall. Leave comments as to why you use/love/hate FB. 49 minutes ago.

Demonstrating that there are ample people like me in the world, Maggie Cameron writes on my wall four minutes later. “I like facebook because of stalking opportunities.” Personally, I prefer more PC terms. I feel that by going through all of your pictures and wall posts, I’m not stalking. If you’re a close friend, I’m simply creating further insight into your life and thus building our relationship even stronger. If you’re an acquaintance, I’m merely investigating you so I know if we can become better friends or not.

Amanda Boerste, commenting thirteen minutes after Maggie, feels that Facebook’s “Mini-Feed” makes stalking easy. “Anyone can read comments between you and your friends and know what you’re doing at all times.” Several minutes later, she adds, “I guess it is addictive because if you’re not constantly on, you might miss an important status update. It’s about always being in the loop.”

See, this is what I’m talking about! Why should there be negative connotations with simply wanting to stay connected with your friends?

The positive feedback about Facebook continues when Jaclyn Azat comments through the Facebook messenger that “it breaks up the day between mindless hours of work. Kinda something to look forward to. I guess. Def addictive. It’s like crackberry. Gotta check it every 10 min to keep up with everyone.”

Tierney needs a more comfy office chair. 38 minutes ago.

Ian Kaine McGregor seconds Jaclyn. “I like the constant connection to my social circle. It’s also a great promotional vehicle for any would-be artist.” Ian also brings up the danger of Facebooking when inebriated. “The downside to FB is that it’s WAY too easy to use when you’re drunk. Too often I find that drunk FaceBooking is dangerous to you and everyone you know.”

Matt Tolley types, “I use facebook to humiliate myself on daily basis”, citing the instances when he comes home after the bar and sends out “ridiculous” messages to people. I actually laugh out loud at that one, especially since Matt’s first comment to me today was “birds and bees. words and peas.”

Tierney plays the Word Challenge application too often. Her vocabulary is just so massive! 30 minutes ago.

“Facebook is a bit like a drug. It’s really a useful drug, though,” Rachael Dickson comments. “Although I do have to be careful about what I put online (my bosses are all on facebook too), I think it’s a great tool.”

It seems like there’s more pros than cons to being a Facebook junkie, and really, I’m not alone. The “Im not addicted to facebook I just check it everyday” group has more than 8000 members.

One of my friends from Australia writes in that it’s good to be able to find friends from high school he hasn’t seen for years. (And, really, just the fact that I was able to get a comment from a guy in AUSTRALIA so quickly proves my point of FB’s usefulness even further.)

Tierney wishes it were warmer outside. 20 minutes ago.

Tierney is Brand New “Fork and Knife.” 19 minutes ago.

Tierney stinks at coming up for conclusions to articles. 17 minutes ago.

Facebook might tempt me to waste hours looking at pictures or checking status updates or playing Word Challenge (just try to beat my score!), but at the end of the day, it makes me feel connected while I work alone at my desk. I know my friends are only a few keystrokes away whenever I really need them. Maybe I am addicted, but you know what? I could think of worse things than being addicted to Friendship.

Tierney has finished. 6 seconds ago.