Developing a Facebook withdrawal Scale: Results of a Controlled Field Experiment

Particularly in the last years, IS research started to analyze threats due to technology, like the unhealthy misuse of the social network Facebook. This research examines withdrawal symptoms due to cessation and develops a Facebook withdrawal scale (FWS). At first, we identified withdrawal symptoms from substance related and behavioral addictions, which have been tested by scales from medicine and psychology research. In a second step, we developed the Facebook Cessation Model. Results of a controlled field experiment with 26 Facebook users being isolated from Facebook for in total 120h reveal that different withdrawal symptoms can occur: Agitation, annoyance, anxiety, increased appetite, difficulties in concentrating, craving for Facebook, disturbance of social contacts, not feeling happy or calm, fluctuation in mood, feeling left out, hostility, impatientness, inattentiveness, irritability, memory lapses, restlessness and feeling slowed down. Our results offer an opportunity to assess addiction and withdrawal without relying on participants’ self-reporting their behavior.