However apart from these rather grave and serious uses, the word no longer holds the stigma it once did. I have often witnessed and participated in conversations where friends call each other addicts of some sort or another. I myself have been titled a Facebook Addict, Mxit addict(popular cellphone IM interface) and take these titles without any form of negative stigma.

Where am I getting with thiss you ask…well it is rather simple. do not try to remove a term which has ingrained itself in the very fabric of our current social situation but do change the way you use it. If you must describe someones usage of a certain software/hardware then rather than label it an addiction as some kind of horrible affliction rather say it jokingly. You'd be surprised how many brownie points you can gain with the youth if you use the "lingo" correctly.