Social media: friend or foe?
IS checking your Facebook page the first thing you do in he morning?
Do you find 'logout' the hardest button to click?
If your answer to either of these question is yes, you could be well on the way to becoming a Facebook addict.
A new study by Boost Mobile has found the desire to use social media like Twitter or Facebook has grown more addictive than cigarettes and alcohol.
The survey analysed hundreds of people across Australia aged 16 to 25 years, with almost half saying they felt "addicted" to social media.
About 68% confessed to checking their social media feeds up to 10 times a day, with some checking up to 50 times.
Oxley student Marilyn Bello said monitoring her Facebook page was like catching up on the daily news.
The 18-year-old believed many people kept an eye on their social networks because they didn't want to miss out on news or an important event or status update.
"I would probably check my Facebook about six times a day," she said.
"It helps keep me up-to-date with everything."
Miss Bello said the desire for social media was difficult to control because of the easy-access availability of it.
"With handheld devices like smart phones now you can't really escape it," she said.
"It's right there and you feel compelled to check it."
Author, lecturer and expert in contemporary culture Dr Karen Brooks said people could find it hard to resist social media because of a desire to feel connected.
"Some people yearn to be part of the imagined community of cyberspace," she said.
"To belong to the eternal conversation and register their presence."
Dr Brooks said social media was a form of recognition and validation that could be both stimulating and fun as well.
"I think in moderation it's fine, but for people who can't stay away, it must fulfil a need that their real life does not," she said.
"So they may need to re-examine their life and priorities."
Dr Brooks said overuse of social media could result in people alienating their real world friends.
"I do think at the more emotional and psychological level, something is being sacrificed if you're constantly checking Twitter and Facebook," she said.
"And I suspect that it's personal relationships.
"As for long term consequences of this - it remains to be seen. We are the guinea pig generation.
