Just as Facebook can keep us connected and cognitively stimulated in positive ways, though, it can also lure us into the black hole of despair, jealousy, obsession, procrastination, and worse. Misuse of Facebook can get you into serious trouble, threatening your family, job, and reputation. In extreme cases, Facebook abuse can lead to death. Fortunately, psychology offers suggestions for how to avoid the bad and benefit from the good that Facebook has to offer.

With each sin, I've provided a cure or even better, some preventive measures. Ask yourself if you are guilty of each of these sins, and if so, you may wish to try one of the suggested cures.

Sin #1: Facebook Jealousy

People who commit the sin of Facebook jealousy spy on their romantic partner for hours, seeking evidence of real or imagined infidelity. They torture themselves by wondering what it means when he or she adds a new friend or posts an ambiguous status update. This problem is exacerbated by the fact that you don't know what's going behind the scenes of a Facebook update. People who post what they think is innocent or obviously fake information are actually not aware that the friends in their network don't necessarily know the facts because they're not there to see what's going on. It's this ambiguity of context that sows the seeds of many subsequent misunderstandings.

What's more, if you're naturally a bit on the untrusting side, you may be particularly prone to Facebook jealousy. A team of Canadian researchers reported in their study of over 300 college undergraduates that people who scored high on the trait of jealousy were far more likely to fall prey to Facebook Sin #1.

Facebook jealousy can also extend to ex-spouses and former girlfriends or boyfriends, sometimes going on for years after the breakup. One survey of "Your Tango" website users reported the incidence of ex-partner stalking to be as high as 50%. This is probably an exaggeration given the self-selected nature of the sample, all of whom are on a relationships website. In any case, it happens, and if it happens to you, then you've just committed Facebook Sin #1.

Cure:  It may be painful, but if you're making yourself miserable over an ex, you have to force yourself to hide this person's comments or unfriend them altogether if you haven't already. In the case of current partners, remind yourself that when viewing other people's Facebook statuses, there's often a context that you're not aware of at the moment. Don't jump to conclusions or you'll create real distance in your relationship.

Sin #2: Fear of Missing Out (FOMO)

A variant of Facebook jealousy occurs when you realize that your friends are currently somewhere that you are not. In this syndrome, known as "Fear of Missing Out," your insecurities about not being popular are painfully brought to the surface. In Facebook Sin #2, you think that your friends don't care about you anymore because they haven't invited you to their party. Now you're stuck imagining the good times they're having, or worse, you can actually see what they're doing in their uploaded photos or videos. Perhaps you resort to posting a fake update, so now you're not only a loser but a lying loser. Not good for your self-esteem.

Cure: Although the social events that you're not attending may seem to be more fun than what you're doing now, recognize that if the event was so spectacular the people writing about them wouldn't have the time or interest to be updating their Facebook status.

Sin #3: Facebook One-Upsmanship

Your attempt to make your friends feel that they're the ones missing out, not you, is part of a larger phenomonen which we can call Facebook "impression management." Why is it, you wonder, that your Facebook buddies can always come up with snappier updates than you can?  Why do they get so many "likes," and you get none?  Instead of using your own updates to provide your friends with news, you now are on the hunt for the perfect witticism. The Facebook One-Upsmanship game is on.

Cure: Don't get drawn into the competition. Not everyone can be a Facebook Shakespeare. Take pleasure in knowing that you have such clever friends and enjoy the laughs they provide.

Sin #4: Too Much Information (TMI)

In everyday conversation, you know how tedious or perhaps frightening it is when a person's response to your casual and rhetorical question "How are you?" produces a litany of detailed and overly revealing complaints about life. If the person is a good friend, this might actually be appropriate, at least as long as it happens when this person is having a truly bad day. But if the person is a stranger or a casual acquaintance, all of these gory revelations may make you uncomfortable. The same thing can happen on Facebook but in the online world, the problem is magnified by the fact that people communicate through theseeming anonymity of Facebook.Twitter, a related social media tool, seems to present less of a danger of TMI because there's potentially less damage you can do in 140 characters. 

Perhaps the worst examples of Sin #4 occur when two people decide to have a personal conversation through wall postings (which can be viewed by all) instead of through friend-to-friend messages. They cover everyone's wall with details about their sex lives, medical conditions, or problems with their boss. It's not very interesting, and potentially highly embarrassing for everyone involved.

In one almost unbelievable situation, a female juror communicated the details of a sexual abuse case and asked for opinions from her friends while the case was in progress.  You may have your own horror stories to share of friends who told the world about what they were drinking, smoking, or inhaling, all illustrated with embarrassing, if not indecent, photos.  

Cure: Imagine that your Facebook updates were to be reported in the local paper. Would you really want this information publicly accessible? Later I'll talk about avoiding the sin of Facebook regret, so if this applies to you, read on.

Sin #5: Oversharing Status Updates

Related to the sin of TMI is the sin of oversharing. It's not what you say about yourself but the fact that you say it. "Checked into Starbucks" is perhaps my favorite example of Sin #5. The location feature of Facebook can be fun to use if you're actually going someplace interesting ("such-and-such has just checked into the Taj Mahal"). Most of the time, however, the check-in feature is just plain annoying.