Are social media the ideal support for addicts?
On the t-shirt you will find the motion for the debate, and below it, arguments for and against.
Are you for or against or not sure?
For... Inevitably addiction leads to relationships breaking down and leaving people with no social support and especially so for those individuals who do not like mutual aid groups and who are reluctant to engage in treatment. It follows that people dealing with an addiction are particularly likely to benefit from social media.
Against... The world of social media is toxic and hard enough to navigate for people without an addiction problem. Being intoxicated would put an individual at risk of disclosing sensitive information or making badly judged posts on social media. Anyone with mental health problems would be vulnerable to abuse. So, avoid social media.
Here is something to inform your thinking…
Read the summary of this article on the use of social media: Many people with addiction problems have lost their real-world support, and their confidence in face-to-face interaction; therefore, it is tempting to suggest social media as an alternative form of social support. Read the study cited below, which highlights some of the risks involved. This summary of a research article should help you clarify your thoughts on the issues raised by the debate. Social media as a social support can become an addiction.
This study points to the importance of recruiting face-to-face sources of social support, of using social media as an adjunct for sources of social support and doing so with caution, looking out for social anxiety. People low in social anxiety and high in offline support have the lowest levels of social media addiction. People with high levels of social support online are more likely to experience addictive use of social media. People with high levels of social anxiety are more likely to experience social media addiction. The highest levels of social media addiction were observed in people with high levels of online social support, low levels of offline social support and high levels of anxiety..
Get the full text of the article
Luchtefeld C and Jordan KD (2022) Individual Differences Influencing the Relationship between Online Social Support and Addictive Use of Social Media. Telematics and Informatics Reports 8 100025 doi.org/10.1016/j.teler.2022.100025
Have you looked at the Building a Support Network page?