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​A D D I C T I O N 

Presented by Matt Richardson
Avid social media user​
bbc.co.uk/iwonder © Copyright 2016

13  APRIL, 2016

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With ‘digital detoxes’ being the latest trend, it seems that many of us are seriously addressing our relationships with social media and trying to find a balance between our real lives and our digital presences.
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Social media and us
Social media can power a revolution, spread ideas and make us feel connected. Half the world’s population is now online. We are truly living in the Information Age. 

As well as all the benefits, however, the growth of our digital footprint raises concerns about privacy, bullying and the information we are handing over to corporations. Pair that with the pressures of displaying a perfect life online, and you could have a pretty poisonous cocktail.

With ‘digital detoxes’ being the latest trend, it seems that many of us are seriously addressing our relationships with social media and trying to find a balance between our real lives and our digital presences.

How it affects us
Researchers have been looking closely at how social media affects us physically and psychologically.

Matt: Like many of us I have a real love-hate relationship with social media, but even when I hate it I just can’t quit. Being a comedian I can use it for all sorts of things like interacting with fans, trying out jokes and following people who inspire me.

Matt: I’m here at the Nightingale Clinic in Central London, Britain’s first ever Rehabilitation Centre for internet addiction to meet Dr. Richard Graham, one of the pioneers of this world leading intervention program.

Matt: Already there’s lots of research about how social media can change our mood. What the research reveals can be contradictory.

Matt: Can you tell me what effect social media is having on our brains and our moods?

Dr Graham: So there are different strands in terms of what we’re seeing from research about the effect on the brain. The grey matter in the brain, your sort of thinking aspect of the brain seems to be greater the number of friends you have on Facebook per se.

Dr Graham: And then other studies that are perhaps a bit more troubling which show that whilst social media might improve your memory, if you multitask a great deal, actually your memory and concentration might become less effective.

Matt: Are our interactions on social media having an effect on our self-esteem?

Dr Graham: Self esteem can be affected in two ways, of course what we can often forget, which is perhaps was there more clearly at the beginning of the social media revolution was that people could link up with others, particularly if they were in a minority group or had specific interest. That actually made a very positive difference.

Dr Graham: But also some young people can get drawn into watching and comparing themselves with others, so that can have a negative effect really, where young people are struggling to build self esteem in this complicated new world.

Matt: What advice would you give me and the people watching to have a happy and healthy relationship with social media ourselves?

Dr Graham: My first advice would be that you need to make sure, more than anything else, that your getting a good night sleep. We know that the light from mobile devices and tablets, pushes down our sleep hormone and makes us think it’s time to wake up. So actually making sure you’re not on Social Media an hour before you should be asleep would be my top tip.

Matt: It was so interesting chatting to Dr Graham just then and it’s made me really look at my own Social Media habits. I think I’m going to definitely start putting my phone away an hour before bed, so I get a better nights sleep. 


Digital tribes
Social commentators and researchers regularly come up with new classifications for tribes of internet users. Based on a combination of their theories, we’ve created some categories of our own.

Here are some of our main social media tribes. Which one do you belong to?


The oversharers
You know who you are. Every detail of your life is documented. For you, there’s no such thing as too much information.


The lurkers
You lurk in the background, judging and watching others, never expressing your opinions or feelings.


The humble-braggers
You don’t want to show-off too obviously about your amazing life, so you rely on not-so-subtle status updates.


The peacocks
Always on parade, your life is carefully packaged before being shared on social media.


What can I do?
If you think social media is affecting your well-being, there are some small steps you can take.

Go offline from time to time 
It’s fine to switch off – you don’t always need to be available. Put a limit on daily use.

Think before you type
A simple rule – if you wouldn't say something to someone if they were standing in front of you, don't type it.

Audit your social profiles
Keep on top of what you are sending out to the world. Are you happy with what you are sharing?

Spring-clean your apps
Use what you need, dump what you don’t. Get rid of the fitness app if you don’t use it, as it still has some of your data.


How I quit my smartphone addiction and really started living
By Jenna Woginrich, www.theguardian.com

I don’t like being bothered or bossed around. I hated that anyone, for any reason, could interrupt my life, and I could interrupt my life just the same

The phone rings: it’s my friend checking to see if I can pick her up on the way to a dinner party. I ask her where she is and as she explains, I reach as far as I can across the countertop for a pen. I scribble the address in my trusty notebook I keep in my back pocket. I tell her I’ll be at her place in about 20 minutes, give or take a few. Then I hang up. Literally.

I physically take the handset receiver away from my ear and hang it on the weight-triggered click switch that cuts off my landline’s dial tone. 

I take my laptop, Google the address, add better directions to my notes and head outside to my 1989 pick-up truck (whose most recent technological feature is a cassette player) and drive over. If I get lost on the way, I’ll need to ask someone for directions. If she changes her plans, she won’t be able to tell me or cancel at a moment’s notice. If I crash on the way, I won’t be calling 911. 

I’m fine with all of this. As you guessed by now, I haven’t had a cellphone for more than 18 months. 

I didn’t just cancel cellular service and keep the smartphone for Wi-Fi fun, nor did I downgrade to a flip phone to “simplify”; I opted out entirely. There is no mobile phone in my life, in any form, at all. 

Arguably, there should be. I’m a freelance writer and graphic designer with many reasons to have a little computer in my holster, but I don’t miss it. There are a dozen ways to contact me between email and social media. When I check in, it’s on my terms. No one can interrupt my bad singing of Hooked on a Feeling with a text message. It’s as freeing as the first night of a vacation. 

“My phone” has become “the phone”. It’s no longer my personal assistant; it has reverted back to being a piece of furniture – like “the fridge” or “the couch”, two other items you also wouldn’t carry around on your butt.

I didn’t get rid of it for some hipster-inspired luddite ideal or because I couldn’t afford it. I cut myself off because my life is better without a cellphone. I’m less distracted and less accessible, two things I didn’t realize were far more important than instantly knowing how many movies Kevin Kline’s been in since 2010 at a moment’s notice. I can’t be bothered unless I choose to be. It makes a woman feel rich. 

When friends found out, I was told it was as insane a decision as leaving a rent-controlled apartment. But I was tired of my world existing through a black screen and even more tired of being contacted whenever anyone (or any bot) felt like it. I didn’t need to know every Facebook friends’ birthday or be emailed about a deal from Amazon on paper towels. These once novel complimentary services had turned as grating to my nerves as a little brother chanting “I’m not touching you. I’m not touching YOU!” as he incessantly poked a finger inches in front of my face.

I don’t like being bothered or bossed around. I hated that anyone, for any reason, could interrupt my life, and I could interrupt my life just the same. Even if I turned it off for a break from the conversations, I knew as soon as it powered back on there would be an hour or more of secretary work waiting for me. 

I can only speak for myself, but it wasn’t the handy features that were the reason we broke up – it was the addiction. I was constantly checking emails and social media, or playing games. When I found out I could download audiobooks, the earbuds never left my lobes. I was a hard user. I loved every second of it.

I even slept with my phone by my side. It was what I fell asleep watching, and it was the alarm that woke me up. It was never turned off. I’m certain I texted while driving, in dark movie theaters, and out with friends around restaurant tables. It got so bad that I grew uncomfortable with any 30-second span of hands-free idleness. I felt obligated to reply to every Facebook comment, text, tweet and game request. 

As an author I wrote it all off as reader interaction, free publicity and important grassroots marketing. These were the justifications of a junkie. 

I’ve been clean a year and a half now, and I’m doing fine. I get plenty of work, I don’t miss invitations, and I’m no longer scared of my own thoughts. These are not small victories in a world where constant communication isn’t just a convenient accessory – it’s a second skin. 

I got a landline and I got more sleep. I look people in the eye. I eat food instead of photographing it and am not driving half a ton of metal into oncoming traffic while looking down at a tiny screen. My business, social life, and personal safety have not evaporated overnight either. Turns out a basic internet connection and laptop is plenty of connectivity to keep friends informed, weekends fun and trains running on time. And while I might be missing out on being able to call 911 at any moment, it’s worth the sacrifice to me. Alcoholics can clean wounds with 100 proof vodka, but that doesn’t mean they should have it in their back pocket just in case. 
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I’m glad to be back in the world again. It beats waiting for the notification alert telling me that I exist.

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