Are You a Social Media Addict?

It can be a rush to find a former crush on Facebook, to text a pal while getting a pedicure or  to Tweet your latest mood swing in less than 140 characters. Lindsay Lohan knows this. According to the Daily Mail, the staff at the Betty Ford Clinic cut her cell phone use to two hours a day and cut her off from Twitter -- cold turkey.

Makes sense, given that Lohan was being treated for addiction. Says Peter J. Adams, author of Fragmented Intimacy: Addiction in a Social World, "It is not surprising that some people will find themselves entering an addictive relationship [with social media]." Adams places the blame on easy access to connectivity, and just how accepted it has become consider social media an integral part of daily life. “Addiction here refers to serious deteriorations in other parts of that person’s life, such as health, work and social involvements,” he says.

Sound familiar? Take this quiz to find out if you’re a social media addict.

By Josey Miller

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Welcome to Care Circle, an exclusive tool to help you take care of yourself and your loved ones. Here's how it works:

  1. Create profiles for yourself and your loved ones.
  2. Select the topics and conditions that interest each of you.
  3. Get customized news updates, original content, tools, and expert advice for each Care Circle member delivered directly to your personalized homepage.

The information you input is strictly private; you choose who has access to your Care Circle.

How do I add myself or someone else to my care circle?

Click on "Add someone." Fill out the short profile. Choose an avatar. Select the topics and conditions that interest this person from the pulldown menu. You can select as many as you want, but you must choose at least one. Click on "Add Someone" again. You should start getting updates immediately.

How do I save content to my Care Circle?

Click on "Manage My Care Circle." Select the tab of the person for whom you're saving content. Put your cursor over the piece of content that you want to save; a disk icon will appear in the righthand corner. Click on the disk and the piece of content will be moved to a save folder.

How do I add additional topics and conditions for someone in my Care Circle?

Click on "Manage My Care Circle." Select the tab for the person whose preferences you'd like to update. Under "Add More to Follow," select additional topics and conditions.

How do I delete topics and conditions for someone in my Care Circle?

Click on "Manage My Care Circle." Select the tab for the person whose preferences you'd like to update. Under "Follows," scroll over the topic or condition you want to delete. An "X" should appear on the righthand side. Click on the "X" and the topic or condition will be deleted from the list.

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