The EU is considering stricter limits on children’s use of social media and digital devices. But addiction is not only a problem for children. Adults, too, are constantly being drawn into alcohol, smartphones, games, and social media.
I woke up close to dawn and could not get back to sleep. In the end, I had slept for only about four hours.
I had drunk two glasses of red wine again last night, so that may have had something to do with it.
In the morning, I firmly decide that I will not drink that evening. But once work is over and I finally relax, the conversation in my head begins.
“Maybe I’ll have one glass tonight.”
“But didn’t you just declare on your blog this morning that you wouldn’t?”
“Well, just one glass.”
And so it goes.
I sometimes think I am halfway to becoming dependent on alcohol. Perhaps the reason it does not occupy my mind all day is that I have work to do. In that sense, work may serve as a kind of breakwater protecting the rest of my life.
The European Union is reportedly considering measures to restrict children’s use of social media.
An expert panel has proposed that children under the age of three should not be exposed to smartphone or tablet screens, and that those under thirteen should be allowed limited use only under the supervision of parents, teachers, or other adults.
When I see a baby in a stroller completely absorbed in a tablet that has been handed over as a toy, I cannot help feeling that such measures may already be rather late.
Still, that does not mean we should simply stand by and do nothing.
Smartphones and tablets are double-edged swords. They are useful and often indispensable, but for children in particular, their more dangerous side cannot be ignored.
Sometimes I see a mother pushing a stroller while looking at her smartphone, as the baby inside plays with a tablet.
Scenes like this remind me that the risk of addiction exists at every age.
I am in no position to criticize young mothers. I myself became absorbed in Pokémon GO for a while, despite being old enough to know better.
Ordinary people have little chance of resisting the many forms of digital alchemy designed to capture our attention and turn it into money.
As an ordinary person who has used personal computers since their early days, I am no longer sure what exactly counts as social media.
Is a blog different from social media?
Where should we place a blog that actively encourages its readers to connect through social media?
Everything in the digital world has become so thoroughly mixed together that it is difficult to know where one thing ends and another begins.
Adults can, at least in theory, leave a platform when they realize that it is harming their state of mind.
In my case, I almost stopped using Facebook because I disliked the feeling of envying other people’s lives.
I found X too aggressive and exhausting, so I moved to Bluesky, a calmer social network, where I mostly post photographs of my lunch.
As for Pokémon GO, I simply lost interest one day.
Helping children avoid addiction is surely the right thing to do. Digital platforms should also be designed in ways that reduce, rather than encourage, compulsive use.
It would be convenient if someone could make my fondness for wine disappear in the same way.
Unfortunately, that does not seem to be so easy.
For now, I suppose my small consolation is that I have not yet seriously damaged my health.
We may be trying to protect children from addiction, but adults are hardly standing outside the same danger.
・・・
get back to sleep
再び眠りにつく。
“I woke up and could not get back to sleep.”
breakwater
防波堤。比喩的に、生活や心を守るものという意味でも使われる。
stand by and do nothing
何もせず傍観する。
double-edged sword
諸刃の剣。利益と危険の両方をもつもの。
be in no position to criticize
批判できる立場ではない。
digital alchemy
直訳すると「デジタルの錬金術」。ここでは、人の関心や時間を利益に変える仕組みを皮肉に表現している。
capture someone’s attention
人の注意を引きつけ、離さない。
compulsive use
自分で抑えることが難しい、強迫的な使用。
small consolation
わずかな慰め、せめてもの救い。
#DigitalAddiction #SocialMedia #AlcoholDependence #JapaneseDoctor #Pathology
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