The Birth of Facebook

Facebook is one of the most popular – if not the most popular – social networking sites in the world. As of January 2001, Facebook registered over 600 million users the world over (1). The thing about this site is that it doesn’t merely attract young people. In fact, people of all ages and in all walks of life go online for Facebook.

But how did this all begin?

Facebook was not originally created as Facebook. Mark Zuckerberg, the creator of the popular networking site, named it initially as Facemash while he was still a student at Harvard. It wasn’t even his intention to make it a global phenomenon.

The Facemash was merely created by him as a part of a hobby project. Being a computer whiz, he always did a lot of unusual things on his computers. In fact, one of the things that he did was hack into the supposedly highly secured computer network of the university where he was able to get hold of the pictures of the students. He then posted the pictures onto his Facemash so all the students had the opportunity to take a good look at their pictures alongside the others. Zuckerberg dared even further by actually posting two pictures side by side and asked viewers to choose who is the ‘hotter person’ (2).

Instantly, this made Facemash and Zuckerberg instant hits among the students of Harvard. On the not-so-bright side, Facemash was shut down by the administration, and he was nearly expelled from the university.

But this did not deter Zuckerberg. In fact, this incident gave him the idea that people actually like to gather together in the internet; he realized that people socialize in the web as much as – if not more than – they would socialize in the real and physical life. Thus, he improved Facemash further, and renamed it thefacebook.com. At first, membership was only limited to Harvard pupils. But as its popularity started to overflow, he decided to extend it to other Ivy League schools with the help of his co-founders, and then to other universities where they also became instant hits; thus confirming his theory that people, indeed, love to socialize in the internet.

A month after it became a student phenomenon in the US, Zuckerberg, along with a co-founder, Dustin Moskovitz, dropped out of college to focus full-time on thefacebook (2). Afterwards, they pushed beyond the usual limits and included high school students into thefacebook world. Again, it received a warm reception. Days later, they also moved in to incorporate employees of some companies thereby effectively increasing their scope.

By August 2005, thefacebook.com officially became Facebook.com after they brought its franchise for an amount of $ 200,000.

It was not all smooth-sailing for the founders of Facebook. Even before they left Harvard, they had been haunted by legal issues. They were even accused of stealing the idea of UConnect, a networking site which is relatively similar to the facebook concept. Later, however, a court decided in favour of the latter.

As of today, Facebook continues to attract hundreds of millions of users every day, making Zuckerberg and Moskovitz among the richest people in the world.

Symptoms Of Facebook Addiction

Symptoms Of Facebook Addiction

If you noticed these pattern in your life or a friend, they are all indication that you are addicted to facebook.

1.You always think about it when you are offline

If you struggle to focus on things, thinking about who is contacting you, how many people are viewing your Facebook, and whether you wrote something that puts you in a bad light? Then you may be starting an addiction.

2. You check your accounts from your Blackberry

Originally a Blackberry was designed as a business tool.-but in Countries like Indonesia, a Blackberry became a "status symbol" and a favorite phone to connect to Facebook. If you find yourself using your Blackberry phone to simply check your Facebook, instead of using it for business. This is a sure sign you are facing an addiction.

3. You are late for meetings because you are on Facebook

If you are late for a meeting or any appointment because you were busy checking your Facebook or finishing a game then you are addicted. This is the typical behaviours of an addict.

4. You get stressed when a "Friend" does not add you to Facebook?

When you start wondering why someone has not added you, and it starts affecting the way you behave. Then probably you are on the road to becoming an addict. Established addicts, continually check their Facebook, and see if they have been added.

5. Your friends, coworkers or family comment on your internet use?

Usually when trusted people around you are commenting that you are online too much, then it is time to consider they may be indicating an addiction. If this time is mainly spent on Facebook, then you are on the road to addiction.

Facebook is fun, it is useful and a great way to keep in touch with friends. But once it cuts into affecting your life in a negative way, then you may be addicted and need to cut down on the hours you use it. There is life outside Facebook, it may just take time to realize it and I will suggest to you that you should go seek for that life outside Facebook. Hope this piece of information helps.

Facebook Addiction

Facebook Addiction

Addiction is often a loose term, but an "addict" means someone who could spend more time on his/her "habit," often sacrificing work, friends and even their loved ones. Anything can be addictive, and Facebook, addiction is one of many social media that may turn you into an "addict" in no time.

We have millions of users on the social network today, Facebook. For most it’s just a way of staying in touch with old friends and connecting with new ones. For others Facebook has become a massive addiction. Many people spend hours on this everyday either chatting with friends or playing games. There is so much to do that it dominates many people’s days creating a big problem as it affects other parts of life. If you really want to break free from facebook addiction, then follow the points given below and you will be on your way to the freedom that you desire:

Limit yourself to logging into facebook once a day. This requires a high level discipline. The problem many people have is sitting at a computer and checking their facebook account all day long. Then the day goes away while constantly getting involved in something else. Make sure you log in once a day and be done with it.

Make sure you set a time limit when you do log in. Do the most important tasks on Facebook that you need to do and stop as soon as the timer is done. Be careful about not going too long or you will get sucked back into it all again.

Avoid the computer if all you do on it anymore is Facebook activities. Turn it off, unplug it, and even disconnect your internet if you have to. This will make it harder to jump right back on randomly throughout the day. You can see the computer off as a reminder that you don’t need to be on Facebook.

Find something else in life to replace your Facebook time. Get a new hobby. Most of the time you will realize that new things are more fun than Facebook. These things can be a blessing to you and give you something else to do instead.

Get rid of your Facebook applications if you have these on your phone to avoid temptation.

You have to get rid of Facebook completely if it continues to be a problem and you lack the discipline to change.