Lending a Hand for Typhoon "Ondoy" victims

Lending a Hand for Typhoon "Ondoy" victims

Are you a Facebook addict?

Facebook users beware. Psychologists are now probing a new kind of addiction called Facebook Addiction Disorder (FAD).

Psychologist Dr. Michael Fenichel, who has published numerous writings on FAD online, describes it as a situation in which Facebook usage "overtakes" daily activities like waking up, getting dressed, using the telephone, or checking e-mail.

"The amazing thing is that, like cellphones, nobody seems to notice the vast amount of time and energy - at work, at home, and now while on the move - people are devoting to Facebook. It has become a given," Fenichel writes in an online post titled "Facebook Addiction Disorder- A New Challenge?"

FAD could be classified under the more broad "internet addiction disorder" or internet overuse.

Academic papers have already posed theories on internet addiction and social networking addiction, and even less, cellphone addiction.

"Like most activities, moderation and integration are key. Those that may seriously label and treat FAD as a behavioral addiction will clearly need to use context in determining if a behavior has become demonstrably harmful to overall social, work, or face-to-face interpersonal efficacy," Fenichel added.

You are a Facebook addict if...

According to Joanna Lipari, a clinical psychologist at the University of California, Los Angeles who was interviewed for a CNN report, here are some signs that you are addicted to Facebook:

1. You lose sleep over Facebook. When using Facebook becomes a compulsion and you spend entire nights logged on to the site, causing you to become tired the next day.

2. You spend more than an hour a day on Facebook. Lipari said it is difficult to define how much is too much when it comes to Facebook usage, but that an average person need only spend half an hour on the site.

3. You become obsessed with old loves or exes you reconnect with on Facebook.

4. You ignore work in favor of Facebook. This means you do not do your job in order to sneak time on Facebook.

5. The thought of getting off Facebook leaves you in cold sweat. If you try going a day without Facebook and it causes you stress and anxiety, this means you need help.

According to the same report by Elizabeth Cohen, Senior CNN Medical Correspondent, Facebook addiction is not yet an actual medical diagnosis.

However, the report notes that several therapists in the United States have noticed a rise in the number of clients who get hooked on social networking, to the point of social dysfunction.

Facebook fun

Facebook, launched by the world's youngest billionaire Mark Zuckerberg, has over 300 million users worldwide, half of whom log on to the site every day.

Further, about 2 billion photos and 14 million videos are uploaded on various Facebook pages a month and about 6 billion minutes are spent on Facebook a day, worldwide.

According to Willis Wee, founder of the social media and marketing blog Penn-Olson.com, this is twice as much time that people spend on Google.

The global social networking website allows users to post and share content (like photos, links, videos, and notes), play casual games and applications, and interact with friends and family through messaging and chat.

Government In Action

Ondoy (international code name Ketsana), the worst typhoon to hit the country in 42 years, has caused a pathetically large swath of destruction in the country's main island of Luzon on Sept. 26 as the rains ruthlessly pounded Luzon before sunrise.

And it will be some time, after counting the death toll, that we may be able to fully appreciate the damage to agricultural crops and infrastructure projects.

And the Philippine National Red Cross has raised warning signals the death toll, as the silted floodwaters started to recede, albeit very slowly, was continuing to rise.

Two days after the rivers and creeks in Metro Manila swelled their banks, as the rice-rich Central Luzon plain and nearby low-lying provinces were virtually transformed into rampaging seas, many streets in the metropolis and areas north of the capital have remained impassable.

Never mind that Ondoy dumped rains during a 24-hour period with a volume equivalent to the average rainfall in a non-rainy season month and that, weather observers were saying, the heavy volume of water overwhelmed normal drainage channels which led to an unexpected overflow into outlying areas.

Even the president was fully aware that more rain had fallen in Metro Manila and surrounding areas than in New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina devastated the city in 2005.

The 410 mm of rain which fell in 24 hours on Saturday was twice the amount that drenched the United States during Hurricane Katrina.

What we have seen during this period, even as the president declared a state of calamity in the metropolis and nearby provinces, is a government truly in action, its hands full as it tries to help those marooned by the floods even as it sought out international aid to help the victims both in the national capital and beyond the city limits.

Soldiers in rubber boats were deployed by the government, through the National Disaster Coordinating Council or NDCC, to evacuate the victims to safety and higher grounds.

First reporters suggested army troops, police and civilian volunteers have rescued nearly 7,000 peopl.

Even military leaders, led by Armed Forces Chief Victor Ibrado, flew over Marikina, Cainta, and Pasig on Sunday on board Air Force helicopters.

They were greeted by sights of drenched survivors still marooned on top of half-submerged buses and rooftops along the major thoroughfares or in private subdivisions.

And, as expected, there will be those who will criticize the president for the government's response to the crisis - not knowing that the president is on top of the situation, getting strategic briefings while monitoring the situation.

Criticisms, particularly when misplaced and have no leg to stand on, must be reined in at this time when we should concentrate our energies to helping our fellowmen.

The president, beyond the tympanic membranes of her critics, is doing exactly what she needs to do as chief executive officer of the republic.

But even as the president barks out orders left and right to the appropriate agencies, the wrath of Ondoy should provide some lesson to everyone, who must rise to the challenges of global warming, the improper disposal of plastic and other waste materials in the water arteries.

Moving On with BAYANIHAN

The "bayanihan" spirit resurfaces anew among us Filipinos in the wake of the unexpected rains, flooding, deaths and devastation wrought by typhoon "Ondoy."

Time for moving on. Bayanihan to the rescue!

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Likewise, the United Nations and the international community respond to the calamity by offering financial aid and other forms of assistance.

Hooray to the brotherhood of men and global assistance in time of need!

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The DepEd and CHEd suspend classes till Saturday in Metro Manila and nearby provinces ravaged by "Ondoy" to make schools available for temporary evacuation/relocation and encouarage students to help in relief efforts.

Assignment for the week is Rescue and Bayanihan 101.

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President GMA orders government agencies and calls on various sectors for coordinated action in relief assistance and clearing operations.

Help and share first. Walang turuan, walang sissihan, saka na lang!

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Concerned organizations, including the Manila Bulletin and its Chairman Don Emilio T. Yap who donated P2 million, launch fund drives for the victims of "Ondoy."

Time for concern and generosity. Let's all give our support.

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The nation exhorts the heroism shown by ordinary folks, concerned leaders and celebrities who tried to extend help to their friends and kababayans during and after the calamity.

May their sincerity be remembered and may their tribe increase.

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The "Ondoy" calamity dramatizes the need for disaster preparedness from the barangay/community to the national level and for general concern against forest/environmental destruction, global warming and climate change.

God's wake up call. Henceforth, no more contributory neglect nor indiference!