A
quick note: In no way, shape, or form am I promoting or supporting alcohol,
minor consumption of alcohol, or binge drinking. I am a recovering alcoholic
who is forever sympathetic to the calamities of substance abuse, and to those
who have fallen victim to it.
The addiction of
the consumption of alcohol, or the mental illness resulting from alcohol
dependency, alcoholism is a worldwide problem that is responsible for roughly
2.5 million deaths annually. At one point in my life, I was close to becoming
part of this ghastly statistic. Luckily for me, the birth of my son saved my
mortal vessel, and washed away seven years of horrible abuse. Social media has
become one of my personal saviors in these early stages of my recovery – and
ironically, I use to shy away from it. Why, you may ask? I was too busy working
for my family, myself, and the drink. Of course, the ever changing force that
is social media has its harsh realities for anyone at any stage of personal
recovery, and also, many benefits that can aid in continued sobriety.
The
three biggest factors that I find to be a constant in my day to day usage of
social media are marketing, relapse triggers, and trending. The simplest
motions of looking at your buddy’s photo album to catching up on your favorite
sports team can include all three concepts simultaneously. In 2012, it was
estimated that 1.43 billion people use some form of social networking, with 54%
of this being for Facebook, and only 8 % for twitter. Regardless, millions of
alcoholics – either recovering or still battling in the trenches – use social
media, and can find themselves facing liquor, wine, or beer in a negative,
enticing setting at any given time.
Marketing
The Good
Having
the ability to customize your social media account to filter out anything that
you do not personally want to see or be affiliated with is huge. For me, I tend
to stay away from posts, images, or tweets that contain anything related to
booze. Your entire experience with Twitter, Google+, or Facebook can be altered
to achieve most levels of personalization, security, and comfort. But there is
a chance for an anomaly to slip through, either in the form of good old
fashioned advertisements, or a common picture of your best bud downing some
brews.
The Bad
Advertisements
can be seen by those who are not intended to as well. That is the name of the
game, after all. Traditional means, such as television or print, are still
visible to those either underage or in recovery, but social media is a service
that is chiefly operated by minors. In 2011, 69% of children, or young adults,
used social media, and are suspectible to targeted marketing of alcoholic
products and trends. Anyone in recovery can be just as impressionable.
The Ugly
One
argument of the direct influx of underage drinking in Thailand is the use of
social media. Top companies find ways to target the youth with virtual games
that require the player to design an avatar that waits in lines outside of
parties, and once inside, they can dance, purchase drinks, and interact
sociably with other players. Of course, this is a country with less
restrictions, enforcements, and consequences for the minor consumption of
alcohol. Americans are subsequent to this as well, but less due to the FTC.
Triggers for Relapse
The Good
Social
networking offers sanctuary from every day cravings. AA (Alcoholics Anonymous)
praises anonymity as one of their highest tenants, and most options of social
media offer just that. Not only AA, but thousands of support groups have a Facebook
or Twitter account to spread their messages. I find that if images or wording
of alcohol can’t be avoided, then the repetitive motions of tweeting, liking
anything, or staying connected keeps the mind preoccupied to stifle any
pyshcological cravings.
The Bad
Alcohol is
everywhere on social media – be it intentional or by accident. The number one
abused substance around the globe has exploded onto any and all platforms.
Every nanosecond someone posts, uploads, or likes something on the internet, the
chances are that it is likely related to alcohol (or some other mind/mood
altering substance) are good. As much as I try to avoid my personal demons on
the net, it is highly probably that I am going to see something first on my
Twitter or Facebook account before anything else that could create some sort of
obstacle for me to overcome: small or big, high risk, or no risk.
The Ugly
Relapse.
Evidence suggests that 90% of recovering alcoholics suffer a relapse within the
first 4 years of post-treatment. Treatment in this sense is to be referred to as
my personal favorite: rehab. Most cases show that episodes of relapse are
triggered by high-risk situations – anger, frustration, social pressure and
interpersonal temptation are to name a few. Any of these emotional dynamite
sticks can be sparked at any time during a single sitting of your favorite
website; and for the problem drinkers, this can lead pack to the pits of
destructive monotony.
Trending
The Good
As with the
prior two categories, being able to steer clear from trends that are influenced
by alcohol is easy. In reality, this boils down with how bad one person is
suffering from addiction. Real-world tie-ins, interactive games, or suggested
drinking-times are three common trends found on social media that can influence
others to possibly drink. Designing your own personal network to exclude any
temptation or self-sabotage through alcohol acts as a solid foundation to
protect your own emotional triggers from firing off.
The Bad
The odds will
forever be against the recovering alcoholic, regardless of the road anyone can
travel. One of the largest real-world tie-ins is NEP (Nightlife Exchange Party).
NEP targets themed nightclub events around the globe on conventional and social
media, and represents the largest marketing outlay that Diageo (Smirnoffs
parent company) has ever launched in history. Now, this might not compare to
advertisements and events that are promoted by Anheuser Busch (Budweiser) on a
yearly basis, but these are obviously targeted to a group of impressionable,
young adults, to where many stages of early alcoholism can be detected.
The Ugly
Be it social
or conventional, impressionable trends can be very harmful – both physically,
and mentally. One article suggests (hands down the finest I have read thus far
on the subject) that for PENN State students, the number of alcohol related
incidents during their school orientation rose 76% from 2009 to 2010. Out of
314 college students who used Facebook, 32% reported having posted pictures of alcohol-related
content. It is indicated that alcohol trends among sororities and fraternities
are on the rise, and are heavily mimed by the younger students during the first
semester of their first year.
One
acronym I will hold above the rest from my short military career was Drill
Sergeant Pearson’s Six P’s: Prior Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance. I certainly feel that by spending a
little time in the beginning, customizing all of your settings on whatever
outlet you choose will hopefully minimize the risk of relapse, the trap of
falling into harmful trends that will compromise sobriety, and filtering out
tempting garbage from every day advertising and marketing for alcohol. The
battle with addiction will always be eternal, but maybe with a little extra
elbow grease and insight, we can make it through the war with fewer casualties.
No comments:
Post a Comment