No longer is being an addict confined to drugs, alcohol, sex or even being an obsessive cleaner. In this 21st Century there is a new phenomenon that has exponentially grown since its inception and is daily growing as technology expands its reach across the globe. Creeping so stealthily one may not even realise or recognise its hold until it is too late. Our young people are hooked and nowadays adults need to be seen, videoing themselves at every opportunity. So what is this compulsion to be visually stimulated or to have narcissistic behaviours though one is not a narcissist.
To me it boils down to one thing and one thing only…Social Mediaitis! Ok…is it or is it not a word? By definition (or my definition), it means the inability to refrain from using social media at any given time whether day or night, out and about, in or outside the home or workplace. We may even wish to extend the definition further to include the inability of leaving the dreaded cell phone behind anywhere. Heaven forbid!
I remember once, a good friend of mine in the U.S., was on her way to a very important meeting. She was already running late after getting up late, dressing late, grabbing her coffee late and dashing from the house late. While on the subway it slapped her that she had forgotten her phone at home. Now instead of continuing to the meeting, she turned back home. Upon snatching her “invaluable” phone off the coffee table, it dawned on her that she would not just be late but ridiculously, incomprehensibly, so. And, instead of calling and saying she would be incredibly late, she rang in sick, coughing and pluttering into the phone as if she was having a fit. Fortunately for her, the meeting was rearranged and her business eventually got the contract.