Are expats more at risk of social network addiction?

By Dan Cheeseman 

 

 

I know you should not bite the hand that feeds you, as the saying goes, as for me social networks are an integral part of my media here in Thailand but on a personal level I hate the addictive controls social networks have on me, my wife and just about all other expats I come into contact with.

 

Just recently, such was my frustration, I have started to leave my smartphone at home when I go out the evenings for dinner. Interestingly, I never missed having the phone on me, in fact it was rather pleasant.

 

There is indeed some irony in the premise of social networks, they are designed to make it easier for us to share what we are up to and see what our friends are up too. That is the premise but, for me, it is not the reality. Here is my theory, see what you think: Facebook, Instagram and the likes has made us narcissistic and ego driven. We post images and video to satisfy our inner needs. Apart from close friends and families why should we care about our friends needs to see what we are up too, it can only be for our own gain.

 

You can see where I am going in today’s blog, it is very much a rant and a rant out of frustration. Every evening when my family and I are in bed everyone has a mobile phone in their hand, it has turned into a habit. I often scroll through my social network feeds and always think to myself why I do it, as it does not make me feel good and a don’t anything from the experience, yet I am drawn to look every day, in fact multiple times a day.

 

The Smartphone is a global epidemic and expats are more at risk of addiction

 

We are in an epidemic. The average person, and you can google this to check for yourself, looks at their mobile phone 150 times a day. It is ridiculous, and I am part of this statistic too. I have tried more recently to use my ‘mobile phone’ time to enrich myself – so less time on the social networks and more time reading interesting articles or websites. It has certainly been far more beneficial than seeing my distant friends plate of food that they have shared on Facebook.

 

Full story: https://danaboutthailand.com/2018/06/02/are-expats-more-at-risk-of-social-network-addiction/

 

-- DAN ABOUT THAILAND 2018-06-07

 

'The average person, and you can google this to check for yourself, looks at their mobile phone 150 times a day''

 

 

Yes ok, I must remember to check this later!

I look at my phone mostly to check the time/weather. I do social media on my desktop, but just Reddit and Thai visa. I respond to texts usually within 24 hours, never instantly. I don't want people to get an expectation of a prompt reply - if it was important why not just call me? I mostly get into social media when I am avoiding doing something else. If there is something interesting going on I can forget my phone for days.

1 hour ago, webfact said:

... when I go out the evenings for dinner.

If you actually still go out evenings for dinner, your social addiction can only be minor.

any TV poster with 80k posts!?

i'm convinced its disability & pain that causes otherwise ok humans

to succumb to isolation and internet/TV.

that, and economic reasons can be the only two reasons

anyone wouldnt watch gogo all day long,

well, that and hangover & diarrhea

I have cracked this problem, I have a smart phone but no 3/4G connection, just phone and SMS, it's the perfect answer. It means I can pose like everyone else yet I'm never plagued by the thought I must check my phone because I know nothing will have changed. So why do I have a smart phone? Well, Mrs Simoh thought I was starting to look like a dork carrying around a Nokia 3310 since it didn't impress anyone. Also, my smartphone serves as a useful calendar, timepiece and camera so it's not a total waste. And when I get home I can use my desktop and turn my phone on to local wifi (which also works at certain key locations/hot spots I visit).

 

Am I a Luddite or not? Maybe, but at least when I go out with people I talk to them rather than look at my phone.

Thank God I'm a Baby Boomer.  I can't stand Smart Phones.  Yeah I do have one, but it functions as a phone, a camera (100% better than my Sony Sureshot), a Thai-English language translator, on rare occasion I use the GPS to find a location, and a way to read epub books when I'm away from home (more convienent than carrying a laptop).  Social Networking on a Smart phone with a teensy-tiny screen and keyboard?  Never. 

Using any application that requires a password on Andriod?  Never.

Addicted to books either paper or digital?  Aye!  Guilty as charged.

Edited June 8, 20188 yr by connda

I have seen a family of six all on their smartphones, even after the food arrived, at Boston Pizza.

  In  Hua Hin  Iseen a group of teens at an outdoor style restaurant doing the same and they

were all Thais.  I think this is a worldwide problem.

Geezer 

3 minutes ago, Stargrazer9889 said:

I have seen a family of six all on their smartphones, even after the food arrived, at Boston Pizza.

  In  Hua Hin  Iseen a group of teens at an outdoor style restaurant doing the same and they

were all Thais.  I think this is a worldwide problem.

Geezer 

Yeah, it irks the hell out of me when I take the family to dinner and everyone but me and the Mrs are nose-to-LED-screen with their smart-phones.  It tend to moderate my desire to take the family out to dinner.  Why bother? Cheaper to just take those willing to engage in a face-to-face conversation. Which leaves me, the Mrs, and a 4 yo grand-daugher. Yeah, I'm 'old school' alright.  And proud of it. Laughs. 

Many a tv poster needs to get a life

12 minutes ago, camble said:

Many a tv poster needs to get a life

Well that includes you.??

Smart phones, only thing smart about my phone is the buttons i press when making a call;.

I had work phones issued to me since 1998/99 time frame, starting with the venerable, nearly bullet proof Nokia 3310.  When I stopped working a number of years ago, it was odd but also very liberating not having one or more devices on me 24/7.  I did get a nice SS A3(2016) at Doha Duty Free a few years ago, only because I needed to burn off a load of frequent flier miles. 

 

I don't stare at it though.  In fact, the internet connection capability is disabled from the AIS side after I figured out the mystery behind my vanishing 12Call credit, brought about by their piss take with this "negative credit balance" nonsense.   Turns out they were charging for data use when my phone did daily tower pings, even though I NEVER had my phone's mobile data on.  ?    So yeah, even if I accidentally turned on mobile data, still no internet.  No problem with that.

"Are expats more at risk of social network addiction?

Said the social media network to the addicted expat...  WhoGAF?

Definitely addicted. I would leave my smart phone at home and liberate myself but I need Google Maps to find my way around bkk.

I never use the internet connection on my phone. If I want net access I either use my laptop or desktop at home.

 

The main use for my phone is to check the time.

A highly recommended read on this topic is Irresistible by James Altman.  I picked it up here in Asia Books.  He's an NYU psychologist who specializes in behavioral addiction.  Just being aware of the traps and the tricks companies use to pull you in helps.  Aside from that, it's an interesting topic since it's truly a disease of our time.

 

Just one example, the system of likes makes it much more addictive, because each time we log in we get a rush from receiving them.  Another is not giving the users closure to keep them coming back and building in some "goal frustration" to keep the rewards unpredictable so they feel better when they do come.  Same idea as battered wife syndrome.  I'm pretty sure many sites allow trolls to continue posting for this reason.

Edited June 8, 20188 yr by ChidlomDweller