Hard to resist Facebook addiction

There are concerns online surfers in Saudi Arabia are spending too much time on Facebook. Some have gone as far to describe this phenomenon as a new form of addiction that requires professional help. When Arab News interviewed several Facebook users, some said they were addicted while others dismissed it as a passing fad. In a recent study Saudi based academic Fayez Al-Shiri said: “Addiction to social media has become a matter of concern. Essentially, social media addiction is part of the general problem of Internet addiction. Researchers are still conducting more studies on how to tackle and deal with it.” “Naturally, using Facebook or any other social networking should not get in the way of people’s studies or work. The issue is that users here in Saudi Arabia, including children, started getting used to expecting updates on their walls, or comments on their status, to which they have to respond immediately,” said 24-year-old Hala. Several Saudi corporations have stopped their employees from using Facebook during working hours. Office mangers claim Facebook causes employees to be less productive. Others complained that it is almost impossible to stop people from "Facebooking." “A friend of mine works for a bank here. He told me once he used the company’s computer to check Facebook profile. Once he was caught by his manager and was told to stop otherwise he might lose his job, so instead he does all his 'Facebooking' on his iPhone,” one 26-year-old Jeddah resident told Arab News. Others said the reason behind their Facebook addiction is because social media sites are so popular. Ironically, several groups and individuals have taken the initiative to resolve their addiction on the site itself. Searching for the phrase “Facebook addiction” in Arabic brings up several results, including groups whose aim is to end addiction to the social networking website. “I think it’s counterproductive to the cause. I mean the way to treat this online addiction is to try not to log-in and disconnect from these services instead," said Majid, a 25-year-old university student.