A 12-Step AA-Style Program For Dealing With Media Addiction

Watching how and when children use technology is an eye-opener. From toddlers to tweens and teens, young people have grown up in the presence of small-screen devices, from smartwatches to smartphones, tablets, and laptops. On them, they interact with tens of thousands of apps that technology companies produce in large quantities.

If born after 2013, they are designated Generation Alpha and highly technology-adapted. They have never lived without the aforementioned devices. If born between 1997 and 2012, they are Generation Z, having grown up at the dawn of smartphones and social media. We refer to Millennials (aka Generation Y), born between 1981 and 1996, as the first “digital natives.” Before these comes Generation X, born between 1965 and 1980, the children of the post-World War II generation, the Baby Boomers.

I am a Baby Boomer whose first experiences with computing technology occurred in university and later with the advent of the first personal computers in the 1970s. I have witnessed the advances made in digital technology from then to now and bear witness to the phenomenon called media addiction. This is more than just falling in love with digital devices. This is about the compulsive need to use digital technology in daily living and sometimes as a substitute for human relationships.

What are the symptoms?

• The inability to be without or not look at a smartphone,
• A fixation on looking up anything mentioned in human conversation, seeking social validation through social media, and FOMO (the fear of missing out)
• Feeling distressed when away from digital devices,
• Constant checking of social media messages, video and other posted content to the detriment of social interaction with family, peers, and work,
• Health problems, including sleep, vision and physical fitness issues, depression, anxiety, lower self-esteem, and suicidal thoughts,
• Staying indoors more and an aversion to physical play,
• Defensive behaviour related to smartphone and social media usage leading to rule-breaking and aggression,
• Weakened personal relationships in favour of “likes,” “followers,” and online “friending,”
• A growing inability to discern what is misinformation and disinformation versus verifiable facts and truths,
• Becoming a victim of online interactions and algorithms designed to hook users,
• A growing dependency on artificial intelligence (AI) as a substitute for personal learning and independent thinking, leading to declining academic and job performance.

Of the generational groups mentioned above, who is most likely to become a media addict and begin to exhibit many of the symptoms described above?

Researchers point to children from age 6 to adolescence are the ones exhibiting most of the socioemotional symptoms described above, with one in three displaying media addiction. Game addiction occurs more often with young boys. Self-esteem and social validation addiction are more common in young girls.

Today, digital media addiction is recognized as real, requiring, in some cases, professional intervention.

Media Addicts Anonymous (MAA) offers a 12-step program similar to Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), which begins with an admission of powerlessness and a belief that turning to God is the first step in the path to overcoming the addiction.

Internet and Technology Addicts Anonymous (ITAA) follows a similar 12-step path. Both use peer support, daily meetings, and personal sponsors to create a shared self-help community. ITAA uses online meetings to supplement face-to-face get-togethers and is more religion-neutral than MAA, which, like AA, reflects the latter’s 1935 Christian evangelical founding roots.

SMART Recovery (SMART) offer a four-point program that includes building and maintaining motivation to overcome addiction, coping mechanisms to minimize urges and cravings, cognitive-behavioural and motivational therapies to manage thoughts and feelings, and goal setting to achieve a balanced life. SMART encourages program users to develop and utilize a program unique to them. SMART addresses digital and media addiction, alcohol and drugs, and compulsive behaviours.

All of these group addiction recovery programs work best with adults. What about addiction programs for Generation Alpha and Z? Online help guides exist, as do family programs and services offered by hospitals and health centres. In Toronto, CAMH, The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, has published family-oriented programs and guidelines for public use. The following infographic focuses on the consequences of smartphone and social media usage trends in youth. It is an eye-opener.

CAMH offers a digital addiction youth program for ages 16 to 25 with or without family involvement. It has programs for children from ages 13 to 24 called the Youth Addiction and Concurrent Disorders Service. It also offers mental health services to support children and youth aged 6 to 18. These are not specifically oriented to addiction.

There are similar U.S. and European Union youth addiction programs that use the AA 12-step approach along with peer support meetings. In addition, family programs aimed at youth addiction, along with customized treatment, can be found online. The irony of the latter is that to cure digital media addiction, online treatments are available.