ADDICTION UNCOVERED

Technology and Social Media

Our Society: Addiction and More Uncovered Ch 24

Kayla mentioned social media and its influence on youth, and how they think they are supposed to look like or act like based on what they see in the pictures.

Not eating enough because wanting to look a certain way is certainly a great concern.

This had been a great concern of many people I had talked with. Posing an image on social media is very different then real life. There is a lot of addiction and inability to put the phone down, people keep checking their messages, see who liked the picture they posted.

Does it really matter how many friends someone has on social media? How many friends do people have in real life whom they can count on? Have a conversation with? Grab a tea or coffee together?

Rory describes being terrified for the kids and youth now growing up with the phone in their hand at all times. He describes it as a new opiate and parents being helpless around it. What can parents do? Rory thinks this is it. The next addiction. Social media, smartphones. There are spec scans that are showing how the brain is being changed by social media outlets. The kids cannot get off of them. They cannot. Rory said:

“we have unleashed a monster” and parents don’t know how to deal with it.

The clinical community is also not sure what can be done about it. Not enough research out there. When we find out the brain is already been damaged. We had a conversation about conscious choices not to have our phone with us all the time or do not to look at our phone all the time. It is ok to miss a phone call; we can call back. I been making a choice not to take my phone in with me when I go somewhere. I don’t really need my phone in a restaurant. I want to enjoy the experience without interruptions. If someone has a private practice like Rory, he needs his phone in case a patient needs him. Still, it does not mean that we have to be on it all the time.

Tracy feels like technology and social media now is a huge problem when it comes to addictions. She describes technology as being harmful, not as harmful as drugs or alcohol. Tracy feels like that the way kids are addicted to technology it is the same as someone else is addicted to heroin, it does the same thing to the brain.

It rewires the brain. Takes over.

Chloe feels that screens, phones are an addiction that is not even recognized today yet as addiction. She describes people who just look at screens for days don’t eat or drink or do anything else. She feels more education is needed about this. Dolores gets this little flash on her screen that tells her how long she had been on the phone. Her voice here is full of surprise when she said oh, really? That many hours in a day. She is surprised. She chuckles. She finds it very interesting. She was talking to a patient who works for a nonprofit and what they are trying to do is have people talking to each other. That is their whole goal. She told Dolores that the world really changed with cell phones.

Lot of people don’t communicate by other means except through text and messages. It is easy to test she tells me. It is easier than having a conversation. Once we start and people go back and forth it can be hard to stop. It can go on for a long time.

Dolores sees this a lot with kids, during the day they are in school then they isolate, hideout they don’t have any social time other than in the classroom. She saw a lot of those. She tells me about a little girl who was having panic attacks and stopped when she went home. Dolores asked what changed. She never went out. Not the best solution. It is a very sad solution.

Talking to Bob he tells me that social media is good to use, but people can overuse it. He is scared for the kids growing up using their phones all the time. He heard about the brain chemistry changes. He knows it is probably not good for adults either, but more dangerous for kids. He feels we might not have enough research on it. We talk about social media where people check their phones all the time to see who liked their post.

Instant gratification. We talk about brain chemistry changes. Scary stuff for future generations.

Thank you for reading,

Gabriella

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My Books are available on my website here, Amazon here and on Barnes and Nobles here

This book is dedicated to the memory of

Bagóczky József my uncle who died at age 19 — alcohol-related car accident

and to everyone else who has been hurt or lost related to addiction

Many people had been supportive and inspiring to me so I could create this book. Both of my wonderful children told me, just write that book, mom. My mom. I could have not done this without all the stories provided and the encouragement love and caring from my family and friends, nurses, doctors, counselors, teachers, professors, friends who are dealing with addiction and staying sober; and children, wives, husbands, mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers of people who are dealing with addiction currently. Thank you for speaking up, sharing your stories and life experiences. Thank you to all the people who read this book while in progress to provide feedback, ideas, and encouragement for me to continue writing. I would like to say special thanks to my friends and family for believing me and encouraging me to go on.

Front cover acrylic painting created by Andrea Mihaly October 2019

Our Society: Addiction and More Uncovered. Hear the voices of everyday people — a collection of stories and experiences.

Copyright @ 2020. 1st addition on Amazon KDP. 2nd addition Jan 2021 Barnes & Noble. By Dr. Gabriella Kőrösi. All rights reserved. Dancing Elephants Press.