Status: Wet - Woman walks off pier while checking Facebook on her phone

The young tourist was on St Kilda's pier in Melbourne when she was spotted falling into the cold water of the bay. Photo / File / Thinkstock

According to a recent Harvard University study the act of disclosing information about ourselves stimulates the part of the brain associated with pleasure.

That's the reason social media is so addictive, researchers claim.

One candidate for a fine case study in social media addiction could be the Taiwanese tourist who was so engrossed with checking the Facebook feed on her phone that she accidentally walked off the end of a pier in Australia.

The young tourist, who has not been named, was on St Kilda's pier in Melbourne when she was spotted falling into the cold water of the bay.

Passers-by who witnessed the fall called the police and officers at the shore were able to point out the position of the distressed woman.

She was spotted floundering in the water and was rescued about 20 metres from the pier. According to a statement from police the woman, who did not know how to swim, was taken to hospital for treatment.

Senior Constable Dean Kelly told The Age newspaper: "She wasn't splashing around too much. She wasn't in a panic even though she was in the water for probably 20 minutes. The woman had a backpack on, which may have helped her to stay afloat," he said.

"She wasn't a good swimmer but she was floating OK...on her back."

According to police the woman kept hold of her phone throughout the whole ordeal.

- UK Independent