04. Facebook stole my soul
Natalia Kekic

It's only a website. I heard a BBC reporter describe it to Middle England as 'a very technological address book'. This is more than a guilty pleasure, I have to confess I am a Facebook fanatic. Never have I been so obsessed with something and yet so embarrassed to admit my involvement.

For those of you who have been living underground (or even worse, offline) for the past six months, Facebook is a social networking website. It is the new MySpace, the new MSN messenger and even the new email. With over 18 million members worldwide, I'm sure I'm not the only grown-up with a secret Facebook fixation.

My addiction has taken me completely by surprise, as I am about as far away from a computer or internet geek as possible. It wasn’t that long ago that I found out how to turn my PC on (I’m still not sure whether I could switch on a Mac). But my new IT skills may not have been the best new ability to develop.

Facebook has taken procrastination to new levels. Whenever I settle down to do some work, I find the naughty website calling out to me. I check my page more often than an IBS sufferer pops to the loo. Whilst writing this article I have already checked Facebook four times. I am seriously worried that this silly pastime will be my downfall. Students everywhere are in danger of failing their degrees and employees across the country are being chastised for the time they are wasting on virtual socialising. There is, ironically, a group on Facebook dedicated to this fear. Despite the nagging in my head about how much time and energy is going into this website, the lure of potential new friend requests or the danger of being tagged in a dodgy photo pulls me back again and again.

Recently I went to stay with a friend in Birmingham for the weekend and my guilty pleasure was again a problem. Said friend is a non-Facebook fanatic and was quite startled by my incessant wall post checking. It's come to the point that if I am not logged in to Facebook for too long my friends start to worry.

Beware the Facebook effect on your social life and your work life. Employers and potential dates are using Facebook to screen potential bad eggs; so be sure to keep an eye on those drunken pictures your friends think are hilarious to tag.

I want to assure you that I do in fact, surprisingly, have a life and a busy one at that. With my relative normality and good social skills, I have been surprised by the way a website has enhanced my social life. It's suddenly easier to organise drinks, stay in touch with distant friends and sharing photos.

Just be careful, there is a dark, stalky side to this web phenomenon.If you are not currently on Facebook, take this article as a word of warning. Switch off your computer now before someone tags you...