If you are on Facebook to read news, play games, look at the comments on your posts or make new friends, then you have the so-called Facebook dependency.
According to the research, the reason why people use Facebook reflects their level of dependency on the social networking site. It highlighted that those people who use Facebook to meet new friend are the most dependent on it overall, as per Eureka Alert.
The research also pointed that, the more people use Facebook to fulfill their goals, the more dependent they become on the site.
In order to arrive at this conclusion, the researchers studied 301 Facebook users aged 16 to 68 who post on the site for at least once a month.
Thus, from their assessment of the participants of the study, they found that individuals who see Facebook as a way to better understand theirselves use the site to meet new friends and get attention from the others. Additionally, the researchers also observed that those FB users were likely to have agreeable personalities but also lower-self-esteems.
Amber Ferris, assistant professor of communication at The University of Akron's Wayne College and co-author of the study, shared that this type of FB users tends to rely from other people to know theirselves. Ferris furthered that some users might be able to relate the situation of others to their current problems and situations.
"They might post that they went to the gym. Maybe they'll share a post expressing a certain political stance or personal challenge they're facing. They rely on feedback from Facebook friends to better understand themselves," Ferris said in the report.
Additionally, the researchers found that the users' need for information or entertainment also drives Facebook dependency.
Nonetheless, according to Ferris, Facebook dependency does not equate to addiction, adding that dependency on site is not totally a bad thing.
Besides this, the Eureka Alert report also emphasized the authors' previous studies wherein Ferris, along with Erin Hollenbaugh from Kent State University at Stark, revealed some personality traits common among Facebook users.
One such common trait is being extrovert. Ferris cited that extroverts are more inclined to give their personal information online, but are not always honest on what they give.
The researchers presented their findings at the National Communication Association conference in Las Vegas last November.
Facebook has been a big part of people's lives with many becoming obsessed to it. According to Tech Addiction, 57 percent of people talk to others more online than in real life. Moreover, the statistics also revealed that 48 percent of people check their Facebook before going to bed and after waking up while 61 percent of people under the age of 25 cannot finish the day without checking it.
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