How to tell if you’re a social media addict
A few weeks ago, I swapped my smartphone for a “dumb” phone to see what life would be like without constant connection. It was for a feature I had originally pitched as “my week using a Nokia 3210!”; alas, the chirpily optimistic brief changed once I realised how pathetically dependent I am on my device. Three days was the most I could manage – and one of the main reasons was social media.
The slide from being someone who “used Twitter a little bit” for work to fully fledged junkie has been slow and insidious – a years-long process that crept up so stealthily that I didn’t notice it happening. But in the aftermath of my dumbphone experiment, I was finally forced to face the uncomfortable truth.
I scroll on social media as soon as I wake up; as soon as I feel bored or frustrated at work; as soon as I have 30 seconds of downtime. I do it while watching a film on Netflix, mid-conversation with friends and, yes, even on the loo.
Sometimes I catch myself reaching for my phone for no discernible reason and put it back down. Less than a minute later my hand will, unbidden, pick it up again –, scuttling around of its own accord.
