Today I had fun chatting to the Doha team of Aljazeera TV (Arabic) about internet addiction and specifically problem behaviour with social media. I was on a live feed in the London studio (based in the Shard) and my views were sought through a translator about the universal problem of overusing smartphones and social media apps.
I am often asked what constitutes problem behaviour around the internet and mobile telephony. You might have a problem when you can’t stop checking social media updates in spite of negative consequences in other parts of your life. It is not the number of devices you own but rather the amount of time on the devices and the negative consequences on other parts of your life. So, you may have a mobile phone, tablet, laptop and main computer in your possession but your life may well be better for it if you are using social media apps to further your career and social life. However, if you start to experience anxiety and depression from seeking emotional satisfaction through social media engagement then you find have a problem. Try setting time boundaries about your use of mobile devices and also set phone and non phone time in your day. See what happens? Do you panic at the thought of restricting your access?
Addicts tend to be ‘do it yourselfers’, to coin an expression, so will tend to be reluctant to seek help and if they do attend therapy they can stay in a very defended position. Asking an addict why they did something might risk a very long answer as addicts tend to have massive self-justification and rationalisation for everything they do. If you think you or a member of your family has a problem click on the links below.
See the attached link for the interview (scroll to 23:30 in the timeline).
See also
Do you have a problem overusing your smartphone
Digital detox from smartphone addiction
How to digitally detox and stay connected