BY MCKAYLA HELM,  Editor

With all of the social media being created and used, it can occasionally be hard to pinpoint what’s most important in life.

“Facebook was annoying because I would be with friends, and sometimes, we would literally just stop talking and be on our phones,” senior Emily Gulanczyk said.

Mark Zuckerberg created Facebook so that people could connect, but people are becoming addicted.

“It is only a matter of time before large numbers fall prey to the lures of a 24/7 social network with so many wonderful things to offer, a home among friends and shared applications (games, quizzes, personality-types “tests”, awards, gifts and various “silly stuff”), not to mention sharing laughs and creative feedback via photos, graphics, videos and more,” Ph.D. Michael Fenichel said.

Social media was originally made to help “save” time and “simplify” life, but it seems to be doing the opposite. Instead of saving time by quickening the communication, people become distracted by trivial things posted to their wall at times. Some people actually find that Facebook makes their lives more difficult because there isn’t a face-to-face conversation going on.

“People act more daring behind the comfort of their computer, and people are more willing to say things on the computer that they wouldn’t say in person,” Gulanczyk said.

Facebook has become a daily, almost constant part of some people’s lives. This addiction to Facebook has been called the Facebook Addiction Disorder (FAD) by Doctor of Psychology Cecilie Schou Andreassen.

However, to counter FAD, people have begun taking “Facebook vacations” in which they will stay away from the site for weeks or more.

Takng a break hasn’t had an impact on some people’s social lives.

“Quitting Facebook hasn’t really affected my social life. I get asked why I deleted it quite often, though,” sophmore Elle Tattoni said.

Taking a Facebook vacation could be beneficial since there won’t be a social media site to use to keep in touch with friends and family, forcing individuals to connect outside of the Internet.

When it comes down to it, Facebook isn’t real. All of the “friends” on people’s lists may not actually be their friends in real life.

“Face-to-face communication remains the most powerful human interaction. As wonderful as electronic devices are, they can never fully replace the intimacy and immediacy of people conversing in the same room and it has worked for millions of years,” Ed.D Kathleen Begley said.

Facebook allows people to connect with others whom aren’t seen everyday, but it shouldn’t replace the people that one actually knows in person. The FAD may not even be a disorder because technology isn’t alive.

“People are so used to talking to each other through a phone/computer screen that they don’t know how to have an in person conversation. Social media shouldn’t take the place of personal, face-to-face interactions,” Gulanczyk said.

A suggestion is that people should try taking a Facebook vacation in order to catch up on the lives they might have been missing out on.