“Encourage one another with your words and actions." ~ 1
Thessalonians 4:18
Brooke had all the usual sign of
addiction – the need for more to get the same effect, careless obsession, and excessive
misuse when feeling anxious or depressed.
Add to that list tension, irritability, and anger when faced with
withdrawal.
Neither heroin nor cocaine had robbed her of
personality. The evil culprit was a cell
phone.
Brooke got her first taste of social media at a friend’s house
at age 10 and received an iPhone of her own for her 11th birthday. She quickly became obsessed with it and
social media.
Brooke continually refreshed her shallow posts, often
staying up until 4:00 in the morning.
Facebook, Twitter and Snapchat further fueled her narcissistic
impulses. She couldn’t put the phone
down … it became part of her.
As her exposure to the internet increased, Brooke’s parents noticed
that she became increasingly ill-tempered at home. Taking away the phone didn’t help; Brooke
quickly found other ways to ‘feed’ her addiction. Their previously healthy relationship
dissolved. They were no longer a source
of support and encouragement but simply a means to provide food, shelter and
money (for the latest iPhone upgrade).
“At least at home she’s safe,” they reasoned - a naive sense
of security as they found out when a cyber-patrol officer showed up at their
home. The officer informed them that
Brooke was involved in a dangerous online relationship with a known predator. He’d been blackmailing their daughter for obscene
pictures of her.
Brooke was immediately committed to a Residential Treatment
Center specializing in mental health issues related to the excessive use of mobile
devices and social media. The first
thing they took away was her phone.
It was tough at first not knowing what her friends were up
without feeling like she was missing out.
But over time, she’s become less attached. “My phone” became “the phone”
reverting 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.
In her words: “I’m less
distracted and less accessible. I can’t
be bothered unless I choose to be!”
Brooke has been ‘clean’ for 21 months and 5 days and doing
great. She doesn’t miss important invitations
and no longer feels the pangs of her own insecurities; not small victories in a
world where constant communication isn’t just a convenient accessory - it’s a
second skin.
“I get more sleep now. 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,” she said. I’m glad to be
back in the world again. It beats
waiting for an alert telling me that I exist.”
Lord, “I know firsthand that the most
challenging aspect of lasting recovery is fighting the temptation to return to my
addiction. Please help me; especially in
those moments when fighting the beast of Internet addiction is hardest.” ~ Brooke
