Media Addiction

    We are accustomed to hearing about alcohol and drug addiction, but what about addiction to entertainment and media? Media and entertainment addiction is essentially the compulsion for, devotion to and/or obsession with one or more types of media or entertainment. The addiction can be hard to recognize due to the fact that today's culture heavily endorses media and entertainment.

Media and entertainment addiction is essentially the compulsion for, devotion to and/or obsession with one or more types of media or entertainment.

Warning signs

    How does the journey begin? What red flags do we need to be aware of? Following are 12 behaviors that serve as warning signs.

1. Growing preoccupation: Much of our time begins to be centred on one or more forms of media.
2. Consequences: We begin to experience a variety of consequences as a result of over-involvement—such as withdrawal from friends, colleagues and family.
3. Pursuit of opportunities: We find ourselves constantly looking for opportunities to be entertained, looking for the next thrill.
4. Defiance: An aggressive and rebellious behaviour often develops as we begin to act out behaviours learned from the media.
5. Obsession and fantasy: We begin to spend much of our mental energy dreaming, scheming and envisioning attitudes or acts portrayed in the media.
6. Tolerance: We slowly develop a tolerance for negative themes. Media forms that once excited and entertained us are now boring. We thirst for more excitement, more indulgence and more portrayals of action, violence and sex.
7. Emotional mood swings: Some forms of media involve intense concentration and participation. After periods of involvement, there is a letdown. We may become impatient with rigid schedules and the slowness of reality.
8. Overuse: There is an inability to set limitations. Excessive amounts of time are spent watching, interacting with and taking part in various forms of entertainment.
9. Neglect of responsibilities: Regular activities and responsibilities in school, at work and at home are neglected. School grades drop and work performance declines.
10. Denial: When confronted or questioned on our over-indulgence, we respond with resentment, denial and avoidance of discussion.
11. The state of the family: Often the environment and values of our family contribute to the addiction. Lack of accountability and lack of personal discipline encourage excessive involvement in media.
12. Financial investment: An over-investment financially in rentals and purchases of magazines, videos and computer software is a further warning sign.

Making changes

    To make changes in our lives requires that we surrender our life to God. God wants to be involved in our life and help us change. Below are 10 steps to overcoming addiction to media and entertainment. They have been adapted from the familiar 12-step programs.

1. Admit that you are powerless over the media/entertainment and that your life has become unmanageable (Psalm 51:12b).
2. Believe that God's power is greater than your own will power and that God can restore you (Romans 7.18).
3. Make a decision to turn your will and your life over to the care of God (Psalm 32:5).
4. Take a searching and fearless moral inventory of yourself (Psalm 139:23-24).
5. Confess the exact nature of your wrongs to God, to yourself and to another human being (John 1:9).
6. Humbly ask for forgiveness, and allow God to remove all your wrongs and shortcomings (Romans 4:7).
7. Make a list of all persons you have harmed, and make amends wherever appropriate and whenever possible to each one of them (Matthew 5:23-24).
8. Continue taking personal inventory on a regular basis, and when you are wrong or slip, admit it (Psalm 62:1).
9. Through prayer and meditation, improve your relationship with God, praying for the knowledge of His will in your life and the power to live out His will (Luke 11:1).
10. Share your experience of renewal with others (Psalm 51:15).

Adapted from Mueller's seminar workbook In the World But Not of the World (BBI, 1996). Reprinted from Mennonite Brethren Herald, Herald Vol. 38, No. 1