Are we all becoming zombie addicts to our phones?

This week’s column in The Kerryman newspaper

Michael Commane

In recent weeks I’ve seen on two occasions first hand the dire consequences of what it means to abuse alcohol. The lives that are lost, the families that are destroyed and the money it all costs. 

We lose between €9.6bn and €12bn annually due to alcohol related problems. That’s a lot of cash. What about the lives lost and maimed forever?

Is there a family in the country who has not been blighted by the scourge that drink can cause? I take my hat off to Alcoholics Anonymous and the great work they do.

All addictions are a scourge. I’ve no professional qualification whatsoever on the topic of addiction. 

But I think I have the good sense to realise addiction is a sickness or illness. The American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) defines addiction as a chronic brain disorder. Addiction doesn't happen from having a lack of willpower or as a result of making bad decisions.

People are addicted to all sorts of substances and behaviours. Are some people more prone than others? 

I don’t know. It’s a vast topic for research. It would appear to me that those from socioeconomic backgrounds have a better chance of becoming drug addicts than their wealthier counterparts but that is based on an ignorant observation of the number of people I see on the streets who appear to be under the influence.

What about addiction to nicotine? People who spend inordinate sums of money on gambling? I’m forever surprised at the number of betting shops I see all over the place. I counted three betting shops on one street in Dublin. What money is being frittered away every second of the day on betting apps on phones and laptops, and the waste of time it all is.

To add to all those addictions I have discovered a new one; being addicted to one’s phone. I’m wondering is it slowly happening to me. Maybe that’s why I’m writing this column. This might give me a jolt or the impetus to stop scrolling. And I’ve come to it an unusual way. I’ve been looking at right-wing facebook pages. They have been greatly irritating me. 

I keep asking myself are these people of sound mind. I consider it awful stuff.  Slowly but surely I’ve been drawn into it and that has led me on to other mad material. 

I’m a deep sleeper but recently I woke up in the middle of the night and what did I do? I started scrolling on my phone. I must have spent the best part of 10 to 15 minutes looking at total rubbish.

I’m on public transport most days of the week. I’m a nosey/curious person. These days I’ve been peeping into what people are watching on their phones on buses and trains. It looks as if they are doing exactly what I have begun to do, scrolling through nonsense. 

Are we all turning into zombie addicts? This stuff can’t be doing us any good. It must be frazzling our brains. Young and old are at it. And no-one is controlling it

I hope my admitting to this addiction will help stop me. And to think of the money it’s making the Musks and Zuckerbergs of this world.