Several social media such as Facebook, Instagram and Whatsapp have been down for hours on Monday night.

Facebook alone has 2.9 billion users - and many of them now express their frustration at not accessing the site in other available social media such as Twitter.

There are now trending hashtags like "#facebookdown" - and many people post jokes and memes about the crashed websites.

Frustration when a habit is broken

Siri Helle is a psychologist with a special focus on social media, and has written the book "Smarter than your mobile".

She describes social media as an important communication channel for people who like to keep track of others.

Feeling uncomfortable or alone with the apps being down is no wonder, she says.

- It's normal.

This is how we function psychologically when it comes to expectations.

If you are used to being able to take up Instagram or Facebook at any time as soon as you feel the slightest annoying feeling, and you can not do that now, it arouses feelings of frustration and loss. 

What can be done about it?

- You can think about what other ways there are to get an outlet for the needs you have.

If you want to have contact with friends, you can call, if it is to follow the news, there are other channels for that.

And it can be an important alarm clock around our dependence on digital infrastructure, says Siri Helle.

- You can have an awareness that this can happen again.

And maybe think a little about "how do I really enjoy my weekday evenings?"

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"These are important parts of our infrastructure now," says internet expert Måns Jonasson about the Facebook crash.

Photo: SVT / Getty Images / TT