I didn’t realize it was an intervention at the time but as I look back on the event it is obvious that it was just that.

Several years ago I purchased an iPad. My children jumped into action immediately and helped me set it up so that I could become a member of the Facebook crowd. I was excited!

I have shared in previous blogs that I am an ‘entertainer’. I was born that way and it’s in my DNA. So the Facebook gig really fit my personality and I enjoyed making posts designed to entertain my growing list of Facebook friends.

They say when one receives Facebook ‘likes’ endorphins are released in the brain which makes one feel good. Well that certainly sounds like a good thing to me. It’s much healthier than drinking large amounts of alcohol or sucking in marijuana smoke.

So I was enjoying the experience. Besides entertaining my friends as well as complete strangers (I’m still not sure how that whole complete stranger thing works?) I was enjoying the opportunity of introducing my eight books to the Facebook crowd.

Then the intervention thing kicked in. Our families were all together for a holiday gathering when the discussion of time spent on Facebook came up. During this discussion I proudly announced that I was not addicted to Facebook.

The gasps, chuckles and even some boisterous laughter resulted and it shocked me! My family thought of me as a Facebook addict!

The more I protested the more the family laughed, rolled their eyes and shook their heads in disbelief. And of course the more they behaved in such a ridiculous manner I became even more sure that Facebook addiction was not my problem.

As the days passed and I began to analyze my Facebook habits I realized I was spending a lot of time planning a hilarious post or checking for likes. Maybe I did have a ‘mild’ problem.

Now I have long been aware of AA (Alcohol Anonymous) but I began to wonder if FA(Facebook Anonymous) existed? Perhaps I should ‘Google’ it and find out. Not that I would actually ever need their services if the organization indeed did exist.

Two weeks ago I met my reckoning. A bridge just down the road from our house is in the process of being replaced. Little did I know the telephone line which carries our land line services as well as our internet was attached to the bridge.

We realized that when suddenly in the middle of the day our phone went dead and we lost internet connection. It seems as the bridge was being dismantled so was our connection to the outside world.

We called the phone company to report the tragedy and then we were at the mercy of their repair personal. The hours passed at a snail’s pace as I would attempt to bring up my Facebook information to no avail.

I became very short tempered and I believe I even noticed a slight tremor in my hands as I attempted to dial up my endorphin producing Facebook likes. I even snapped at the recorded ladies voice when she helped me set up an appointment which turned out to be two, yes two complete days, in the future. Two days without Facebook, my homepage and my blog. The withdrawals that had already begun only worsened as the two day hiatus from phone calls and internet service dragged on.

Do you realize all the important emails I could be receiving? What if the editors from several of my upcoming projects were trying to get ahold of me? What if my blog went from the normal twelve readers to several thousand during those three days and I would be completely unaware of the excitement that would result from that discovery? What if I had received a dozen new friend requests?

It had been a miracle. The bridge project had been a blessing in disguise as it had put the intervention with my family in the correct light! I was an addict to Facebook, my emails, LinkedIn, and possibly even spam!

I was filled with shame and admitted my failings to my family and they reacted lovingly if you consider loud laughter and hand clapping a display of family affection. 🙂

So what to do now? I thought of getting a tattoo with the words ‘Facebook addict’ on my forehead but that might be a little much. I think I’ll monitor my iPad use more carefully and see if I can control my internet use rather then my internet use controlling me.

I am a better person for discovering my addiction. But right now I have to sign off because I just got this great idea for a really hilarious Facebook post! 🙂

Until next time!