The Path to Change

 Internet Addiction Disorder

                -Controversy: Is being addicted to the internet inherently a bad thing? Computers can be productive but it can also get sorely in the way of your productivity.

I recently listened to a podcast by Stuff You Should Know about computer addiction. When I stumbled upon it, I had already made the resolution to get rid of my Facebook for one year. It struck me as fascinating, so I decided to write a whole post about it; I will be paraphrasing much of the podcast here, but for anyone who wants to listen to it for yourself, click here.

                Addiction to the computer or internet is similar to any alcohol or drug addiction. Here are some questions that the diagnostic and statistical manual for mental disorders (DSM) asks to prompt symptoms of a diagnosis: Do you stay on longer than intended? Not notice the passage of time? Do you make conscious efforts to cut back and repeatedly fail? Do you think about it a lot when you’re not using it or constantly look forward to the next opportunity to use it? Hiding the extent of your computer use from family/friends? Use it as an escape when stressed or depressed? Missing events or missing important activities? Poor job performance or failing at non-computer tasks? It can also lead to marital problems, negative consequences, and getting in trouble at work. Some of these are a little extreme, but still highly symptomatic for people. And admittedly, I’ve said yes to plenty of those questions myself.

There are even cases where gaming addicted people have died. By neglecting your health, sitting around too much, etc. you can definitely compromise your body. I dare you to Google “game binge death.” In Taiwan, two people in 2015 within weeks of each other died in an internet café. One man was even laying deceased for 10 hours, unnoticed, and when the paramedics did come to retrieve him, the other people playing didn’t even stop or pay attention to the fact that a dead body was being removed. Here is the article on it.

Obviously I don’t suffer from something like that, but I can tell you that Facebook addiction is a thing, and I know some most of you can relate to that. The very nature of the site is problematic. It feeds on preservation of the social reputation. What’s spooky is that people have jobs specifically for behavioral design; there is a persuasive technology lab at Stanford. “A great idea doesn’t amount to anything unless you get people to use it and use it a lot.” Smartphone apps are now designed the same way that cigarettes were to make them addictive. There is literally a formula! Behavior = Motivation + Ability + Trigger. Behavior = interacting with Facebook; Motivation = loneliness, boredom, or stress; Ability = super easy access, instant ability to open it, low hanging fruit (this is key); Trigger = red Facebook alerts, news feed, clickable things that you suddenly get immersed, auto-play on videos, etc.  You could justify this by saying that it’s your own responsibility to exert self-control, but there are a thousand people on the other side of the screen whose career it is to break down whatever responsibility you can maintain. Let that sink in for a minute.

The problem is the bottomless stream – in a psychology experiment about self-control (article here), people ate 73% more soup with a self-refilling bowl without even realizing they did than the group with a normal bowl. You rationalize by opening up Facebook and saying it will only take a minute to reply to a friend, but then 5, 10, even 30 minutes later, you’re still scrolling. Different types of Internet Addiction Disorder (IAD) have things in common; there’s anonymity and riskless interaction. Internet usage also plays on emotions like avoidance, fear, pleasure, and entertainment. It’s controversial and situational to describe overactive internet usage as a mental disorder; lots of studies are being conducted though and they all conclude by mentioning that more research needs to be done.

Productivity vs. Curing boredom

The situation breaks down to asking oneself: Am I utilizing my time when I do use my computer or smartphone or am I merely avoiding 30 seconds of boredom? We can make so much better use of boredom than checking Facebook. In fact, a little bit of boredom or daydreaming is actually good for us, research has found. When we don’t have external stimuli, we tend to turn our focus inward. Here is an article reflecting on this notion.

“We always assume that you get more done when you’re consciously paying attention to a problem,” Schooler told me. “That’s what it means, after all, to be ‘working on something.’ But this is often a mistake. If you’re trying to solve a complex problem, then you need to give yourself a real break, to let the mind incubate the problem all by itself. We shouldn’t be so afraid to actually take some time off.”

                It’s become a problem in my own life; whenever I’m waiting for an elevator, standing in line, sitting at a bar, experiencing a lull in conversations—pretty much any time I’m not focused on a specific task—I’m checking my phone. It’s stressing me out and distracting me from a lot of personal goals, which is why I’ve resolved to disable my Facebook account until the end of the year. I won’t be able to see what friends and distant relatives are up to, but that gives something to talk about during reunions. If anyone wants to get a hold of me while I’m traveling, I’ll have my laptop for Skype (k.hawkinson22) and to check email (hawkinson.ka@gmail.com), and please email me if you’d like any other contact info (sometimes emailing is too much or not enough—I’ll still use my phone for calls, texts, Snapchat). This will be difficult, but I know it needs to be done if I want to make a better impact on this world.


*Edit: While writing this post, I checked facebook 6 times, for absolutely no reason. -_-