health – TechAlcoholics

A type of content that is less commonly known to provoke dependency is news. By news, I mean not just the regular news bulletins in the media (TV, radio, social media, Internet) but also any kind of media content about current issues – social, political, cultural, sports, entertainment, etc. One might ask, what harm is there in watching or reading news? The answer is that, like many other forms of content addiction, news addiction leads to serious consequences in the psychological life of those impacted by it. This is not about the occasional, dispassionate consumption of news, but about a full life-altering dependency that changes the way you view yourself and the world.

Imagine for a second how a techalcoholic with a news addiction leads their life. They watch news on the TV while simultaneously reading an article on the Internet. They also check out posts and comments on multiple social media platforms, then revert back to watching talk shows or listening to podcasts on the same topic. They perform these activities almost concurrently, going back and forth from one device to another, from one channel to another, from one piece of content to another. They absorb internally whatever the algorithms and the daily trends and ratings decide is important for that day, like a drug addict consuming the drugs they are addicted to. They are in an informational whirlwind, which takes them mentally from one place to another in an erratic, forced, unstable way. They get a diabolical enjoyment and sense of satisfaction from watching and seeing all the confrontation, misery, and tragedy of the world from their comfortable armchair at home, but this enjoyment doesn’t last very long and is always replaced by an inner emptiness that they cannot hide. They feel satisfied that they are a modern, evolved person belonging to the civilized modern world, unlike those primitive savages in exotic places who are incurring all sorts of catastrophes.

The psychological effects of news dependency are manifold:

Superficiality and egotism
Overrating and overtrusting their own reasoning abilities
Inclination to judge others negatively
Seeing evil in everything, including themselves
Starting to believe the most ludicrous ideas and theories
Being easy to manipulate while considering themselves very smart and educated
Experiencing depression, despair, and an apocalyptic state of mind

The problem that techalcoholics have with the news deluge is essentially a matter of perspective. They believe that the more information they have from the outside, the better off they are. But they don’t know what someone like St. John Chrysostom said a long time ago: “Happiness can only be achieved by looking inward [not outward] and this requires transforming greed [incl. greed for information and knowledge] into gratitude”.

Techalcoholism manifests in two forms:

Hardware or Device Addictions: This occurs when an individual becomes addicted to a specific piece of hardware, such as a phone, TV, tablet, or car.
Software or Content Addictions: This involves addiction to specific types of content, including pornography, gaming, social media, movies, or news.

Often, individuals develop a combination of both types. For instance, a person may initially use a phone normally but later become addicted to pornography, leading to a content addiction that eventually results in a device addiction, making it difficult for them to live without the phone.

Generally, overcoming device addictions is easier than content addictions. While a device can be physically discarded, content addiction operates on a psychological level, making it more challenging to address. Since most techalcoholics experience a combination of both, effective therapy must incorporate both hard and soft elements. Hard elements involve reducing or eliminating device usage, while soft elements focus on reducing or eliminating the consumption of addictive content and replacing it with more positive activities.