"I'm an addict. I just get lost in Facebook," Newton said. "My daughter gets so PO'd at me, and really it is kind of pathetic. It's not something I'm particularly proud of. I just get so sucked in."
Newton (that's not her real name; she's embarrassed by her Facebook use and requested anonymity) says she spends about 20 hours a week on the social networking site, half the time for work -- she runs an online business -- and half just for fun. She's tried to cut down on her Facebook use but failed.
"I can go a whole day without Facebook," she said. "But I've never made it through an entire weekend."
Although there are no statistics on "Facebook addiction" -- it isn't an actual medical diagnosis -- therapists say they're seeing more and more people like Newton who've crossed the line from social networking to social dysfunction.
(CNN) -- One day recently, Cynthia Newton's 12-year-old daughter asked her for help with homework, but Newton didn't want to help her, because she was too busy on Facebook. So her daughter went upstairs to her room and sent an e-mail asking her for help, but Newton didn't see the e-mail, because, well, she was too busy on Facebook. "Last Friday, I had three clients in my office with Facebook problems," said Paula Pile, a marriage and family therapist in Greensboro, North Carolina. "It's turned into a compulsion -- a compulsion to dissociate from your real world and go live in the Facebook world." 
So how do you know when your Facebook use has turned into a compulsion? You can take Pile's "Facebook Compulsion Inventory" to find out.
Pile and the other therapists interviewed for this article were quick to say that Facebook itself isn't the problem and that the vast majority of its 200 million users probably function just fine.
She says problems arise when users ignore family and work obligations because they find the Facebook world a more enjoyable place to spend time than the real world.
I think that websites like facebook and twitter are a contribution to the death of discourse, among many other things. I personally know a lot of people whose relationships have been ruined because of Facebook, and i also know people who prefer to talk through facebook rather than actual person-to-person communication. Is this an issue with anybody else? How do you think people can realize that this website is another factor with the death of discourse?
I do feel like facebook and twitter are helpful if they are used properly. Unfortunately, both Facebook and twitter have turned into an addiction, much like AIM used to be for our generation. Face to Face communication has been limited because you can find out what someone is doing or has done just by getting on their page. Facebook was originally a social networking tool created for college students and has turned into a world wide communication trend. This problem can only be solved when people realize it and begin using it the way it is supposed to be used.
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