«Social media is as addictive as cocaine»
Mr Yazdi, you write about social media addiction, but you don't have a single social media account yourself.
Well, I'd rather meet people in person for a coffee than communicate via a virtual channel.
What prompted you to write this book?
When we opened the outpatient clinic for behavioural addictions in Linz eight years ago, we had internet-addicted patients, most of whom were already adults - many of them students who were addicted to the online role-playing game «World of Warcraft». That has changed drastically since then: Our patients are getting younger and younger. We are now treating 12 and 13-year-olds. Parents with 9-year-olds are also coming to us. In comparison: the other addictions, with the exception of cannabis, have remained constant during this time. Social media and online addiction is the only addiction that affects children on such a large scale. The addictive potential of social media is comparable to that of cocaine or heroin, especially as the brain makes little distinction between addiction to addictive substances or addiction to certain behaviours.
Instagram or Snapchat are much more popular with young people today than Facebook, yet your book focuses on Facebook?
On the one hand, Facebook generally stands for so-called social media, which incidentally are not social. On the other hand, Facebook has often been declared dead and is still by far the most successful platform with over 2 billion members.
Why is the online world so extremely addictive?
Every drug stimulates the reward system. This reacts to curiosity and when we communicate with other people. The extremely seductive thing about the internet and social media is this illusory world that conveys the idea that you seem to have lots of appreciative friends, that you can be attractive and popular and that you can apparently have adventures.
Is there a certain personality profile that is particularly susceptible to this?
Children and young people who have difficulty finding their way around are particularly at risk of getting completely lost in the online world. But even children who have a good social life can lose themselves in it. When boys are addicted, it is usually to online games, whereas girls are mainly addicted to social media such as Instagram.
The brain makes little distinction between dependence on addictive substances or dependence on certain behaviours.
Dr Kurosch Yazdi, psychiatrist and addiction specialist
How does this manifest itself?
They are online non-stop, whether they are travelling, eating or at school. Or they stay up all night and then fall asleep on their desks at school. As a result, these children and young people become completely socially isolated in the real world.
When does Internet use become critical from a psychiatric point of view?
As long as a child is diverse, i.e. meets friends, performs acceptably at school, has hobbies or does sports, parents need not worry if they spend a few hours online, as long as this is not the case every day. It becomes unhealthy when this diversity disappears and the child only spends time on the internet and sits in the nursery, neglecting everything else.
Does a child's Internet addiction manifest itself differently from that of an older teenager or an adult?
Yes, there are differences. An adult who is addicted to the internet is currently experiencing problems, for example by suffering from chronic sleep deprivation, neglecting their work or not keeping up with their studies. In children, online addiction is more profound.
If children spend a lot of time online, they miss out on learning social skills.
In what way?
Children learn important things in this phase of their lives that they will need later in life. I'm not thinking of algebra, but of social behaviour, conflict resolution and communication with other people - things that they will need later in life and that will make them successful. If children spend a lot of time online, they miss out on learning exactly these skills and find it very difficult to catch up later on.
I can also learn how to communicate online. I also have social contacts on the Internet, don't I?
If you have 800 online friends and get into a conflict with one of them, you can simply hide them. In the real world, you may have eight friends. If you get into an argument with one of these eight real-life friends, you will endeavour to maintain the friendship and try to resolve the conflict. Children also need to learn to develop a stable ego. To do this, they have to come to terms with their own reality: How do I deal with supposed ideals of beauty and what does that mean for my self-worth? How do I deal with people? Do I have the courage to go my own way? These are all questions that help us grow.
Studies now show that the number of young people addicted to the Internet is rising steadily and rapidly.
According to various studies, four to seven per cent of 15-year-olds alone are already addicted to the internet. This means that they are actually unable to function professionally or socially. The question is, what will happen next? Should we expect an epidemic? I fear that this development has by no means reached its peak. The main problem with this addiction is the constant availability of the Internet as a drug.
I'm not in favour of giving a 9-year-old a mobile phone.
These are gloomy prospects. What will become of these children when they grow up?
There is no need to speculate about this. You only need to look at high-tech countries such as Taiwan or South Korea, where this problem has existed for some time. When I talk to my colleagues from these countries at conferences, they tell me that there is an ever-increasing number of young adults between 20 and 30 who are unable to survive socially on their own. At 30, they are still living at home, sitting in their children's room at the computer while their parents take care of everything.
What can parents do preventively?
In Taiwan and South Korea, much more educational work is done at school and with parents than is the case here. This needs to be done even more intensively. It is important that parents accompany their children when they use the Internet. For example, I am not in favour of giving a smartphone to a 9-year-old.
However, some 9-year-olds can react quite aggressively if you take their smartphone away from them.
You have to understand why the child reacts aggressively. The internet represents the pack to which we humans want to belong as social beings. So if you take away this child's access to its (virtual) pack, it gets angry. A wolf reacts in the same way if you take it out of its pack.
How can parents defuse such a situation?
You have to offer the child a different relationship in order to be able to take the virtual pack away from him. The question is, what can I offer him? First and foremost, there is the family and the real circle of friends. Addicted young people have often lost contact with their families and friends. This contact has to be painstakingly re-established. Parents have to be «annoying» and put up with this aggression.
In concrete terms, this means setting boundaries.
That's the parents' job - but set boundaries with appreciation. That means: don't say «put your stupid mobile phone away» but «I understand that you'd rather keep playing computer games, but I'm going to switch it off now because you're important to me». This works with children. With teenagers, you as parents need to enter into a dialogue and explain that you are worried. And above all, try to actively do something with your teenage child.
How would you like to get young people who are addicted to the Internet to read a book?
A legitimate question. The first book I published met with very positive feedback - from all those who agreed with me. But unfortunately it missed the target group. We did it differently this time: we designed a book specifically for young people who normally only read short things like Twitter messages. Short and sweet, lots of pictures and hopefully with a lot of humour.
About the book:
Together with author Ben Springer, Dr Kurosch Yazdi has published the book «Klick und weg. The Facebook Quit Book». In it, the authors provide instructions on how to channel your social media consumption into healthy channels and how to find your way back into real life. Ben Springer, Kurosch Yazdi: Click and go. The Facebook quitting book. Verlag edition a, Vienna 2018. 203 p., approx. 29.90 Fr.
