Eek. I've Got Web 2.0 Syndrome

Like anything else that explodes out of nowhere, social computing is already developing its own neuroses. Well, not really, but sometimes it seems like it is. The Online Journalism Blog came up with seven “complaints as social media addicts adapt to the demands of new technologies and fluctuating social structures.”

Some seem almost real, especially if you work at a company that is all about social media and computing. Comment Guilt is defined as regrets “that they are not commenting more on other people’s blogs,” leaving “feelings of worthlessness and frustration.” And of course there is the RSS Reader Sisyphus Complex, which describes someone who spends an entire morning reading RSS feeds, “only to find there are still 8,978 posts unread.” (Hint: Delete them all.)

But my favorites are Twitterhoeia, the “uncontrollable urge to share most mundane experiences – or, more commonly, lack of experiences – with Twitter followers. Generally involves consumption of food,” and Six Degrees of Separation Syndrome, which is “the delusion that he or she is just one friend removed from anyone else in the world and compulsively adds friends on social networks.”

The authors came up with four more, including Meme Orphanism, in a later post. Los Angeles Times writers add their own, including FriendFeed Phobia, which is pretty self-explanatory, and Obsessive Compulsive Blogging Disorder, which might be why you’re reading about this here.