If you use Facebook to fulfill goals or make new friends, you might have a Facebook dependency, according to a new study out of the University of Akron’s Wayne College. But the researchers note that being dependent on Facebook isn’t the same as social media addiction, and it’s not always a bad thing.

The study, presented at the National Communication Association conference in Las Vegas last month, examined 301 participants between the ages of 18 and 68 who used Facebook and posted on the site at least once a month. The participants who found Facebook helped them improve themselves in some way — either through gaining new friends, getting attention from others, or getting motivated to meet goals — were considered more Facebook dependent than others. The people who posted on Facebook and relied on feedback or validation from others to get a deeper understanding of themselves, in particular, matched this “dependency” definition.

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