Nearly 80 per cent of users can't go 24 hours without Facebook

NEARLY 80 PER CENT of people who use Facebook cannot go 24 hours without checking it, according to a recent survey, revealing how addictive the social network can be.

The online survey of 2,500 people was carried out by Coed magazine, College Candy and Busted Coverage, according to All Facebook, showing that Facebook might need a 'consume sensibly' notice at some stage in the near future.

The survey found that 44 people out of 100 check Facebook before brushing their teeth, but that if the service was changed to a paid one then 70 per cent would delete their profiles. However, 20 per cent have already deleted their profiles and signed back up again, which shows that going cold turkey isn't as easy as it might seem.

Many Facebook-aholics are not in denial, however, as nearly half of those asked revealed that they were scared of how dependant they have become on the social network.

Another worrying trend is that more than half of those asked were angry that they couldn't see the photos of their ex's new partner due to privacy settings. We're not sure what's more shocking, that stalking seems to go hand in hand with social networking or that Facebook actually has privacy settings that appear to work.

Perhaps more worryingly, 65 per cent said they would be embarassed if other people could see how many times they view certain people's profiles. This probably applies to the stalkers more than anyone else.

They don't seem that embarassed about being caught on camera intoxicated, however, as 46 per cent said that they were tagged in photos that showed them as being clearly drunk. A different survey a few weeks ago showed that these people have a higher chance of becoming alcoholics. The addiction to Facebook is probably bad enough.

There's some good to be said about Facebook, however, as it was recently revealed that the social network saves the CIA millions in intelligence gathering costs. µ