Social Media: Are you powerless to stop?

by Team reSTART | Featured in the News

Are You Powerless Over Social Networking?

Titter all you want over Twitter addiction. The fact is, not being able to put the keyboard down is a growing concern—especially for sober addicts looking for a high.

by Laura Barcella

“My friend Allie knew her Internet stalking habit had gotten out of control when she had to install parental control software. Not for her kids (30 and based in San Francisco, Allie is single with no children), but for herself, to forcibly prevent her from peeking at her ex-boyfriend’s social networking profiles. “At times it felt incredibly compulsive,” she recalls. “Very much like the compulsions, before I got sober. I was thinking, ‘Don’t do this; it won’t end well,’ but I went ahead and did it anyway.”

“Allie’s case may be extreme, but she’s far from alone. Millions of people regularly use social networking hubs like Facebook and Twitter. Many of us, too, turn to everyday mood-alterers like food, sex, or caffeine to numb out. The Internet itself isn’t to blame for our overreliance on it. It’s how—and how often— websites are used that can become problematic. Some people innocently rely on social media to keep family, friends, and friendly strangers informed about their everyday lives. But in recent years, as American culture has Facebooked, Tweeted and Spotified its way into full-blown online overload, an unlucky few—some who are cross-addicted to other things, like Allie—have become outright Internet junkies.”