Addiction II

None of us good people are really addicted to anything. We just enjoy our earthly pleasures. But, look at the definition of addiction and then tell me you are addicted to nothing.

Addiction is an inability to stop using a substance or engaging in a behavior even though it is causing psychological and physical harm.

Facebook uses algorithms: software that analyzes your behavior online and determines what content is most likely to keep you engaged with the platform; what will keep your eyes on the page longer so they can show you more advertisements. This is how they make money.

There is no problem with making money. There is no problem advertising your product to make more money. Advertising may be enticing in some situations, but it is always obvious it’s an ad.

There is also no problem and nothing illegal about using an algorithm to determine what you see on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X or Google (yes, all the others select what you see). as long as they are transparent about their application of the algorithm.

Then, we could assume that the user has the mindfulness to realize that they are being manipulated. This is not the case! I was the poster child for going down the rabbit hole of interesting engineering videos. But how is this “causing psychological and physical harm?”

When I was consuming on Facebook, I was not exercising my body; not interacting socially with the other people in the room; not using my mind in a creative manner; let alone being mindful. I was consuming information in a way that was mindless. I allowed the experience to keep me in the same spot, eyes glued to the screen.

I don’t fault Facebook for my behavior. I fault them for not being transparent about their manipulation techniques. Once I realized what was happening, I went “cold turkey” and dropped the app completely. I have been “clean” and recovering for a few years. BUT, was I really addicted if I could just stop cold turkey?

Well, my wife continues to monitor my Facebook page, just to see family photos, etc. Occasionally should would find an interesting photo, and say, “Honey, look at the cute picture of the twins.” Innocent enough. But what did I do? I took the tablet, looked at the photo, smiled, and could feel my right hand going up to the screen to scroll down to the next post! Almost out of my control, my body had been programmed to scroll.

Fortunately, I was mindful enough to be aware of desire to scroll and handed the tablet back to my wife. I almost slipped, but recovered in time. Being mindful is a full-time job.

Be careful! There is a lot of distraction out there.