Just like a photo, watch a video or see what your favorite singer does all day. For many people it is a daily activity. But what if your social media addiction takes over your life? It happened to 24-year-old Selina, who struggled with this addiction.
Selina spent more than ten hours a day on social media. She had her phone in her hand all day and that made her increasingly isolated from the outside world. “I just sat with my headphones on and on my phone. That was my life. I felt lonely.”
Friends wanted to meet up with Selina, but she kept putting them off. “Then I had another excuse that I was tired or couldn’t do it. And then I was back on the couch with headphones scrolling.” The relationship with her parents was difficult, because they walked on their toes. She had also dropped out of school.
Depression turned out to be addiction
After seeing a documentary, Selina decided to register with Yes We Can Clinics in Hilvarenbeek, a youth clinic for young people aged 13 to 27 with psychological problems, addictions and behavioral problems, because of her depression. During treatment it was revealed that Selina had a social media addiction.
She is certainly not the only one, says treatment culture director Derek van Enk. “Over the past ten years we have seen the rise of addiction to social media. Especially after corona, it is a really large group, often girls who struggle with it. In your phone you will find solutions to the complexities in your life. Meanwhile, school, work, friendships, sports and health are all declining due to social media. It becomes an obstacle to things that you should arrange in your life.”
Social media greatly influenced Selina’s life. “I used social media to mute my emotions and stop worrying about my feelings. I compared myself to other girls who I thought were prettier. This made me insecure. When girls promoted a makeup product on social media, I would go to the store to get it.”
In November 2023 she was able to visit Yes We Can Clinics. “They really hold up a mirror to you. I needed that truth and it helped me further,” she says. In ten weeks, Selina followed a program in which she discovered herself, discovered underlying problems and practiced and experienced new solutions.
“First we discover what the underlying problem is and then we look at what the solution to that problem is,” Van Enk explains. In Selina’s case it was the telephone. “So we removed that. Then we started treating the underlying problem and learning new solutions.”
One of the most difficult moments for Selina was when she and her therapist had to delete all her social media accounts. “It felt like I lost a part of myself. Very intense and intense. I cried all day. What is drink or drugs for others, is social media for me.”
Life back on track
It has now been two years since Selina was treated. The first weeks ‘outside’ were tough for her, because she had to find a new way to spend her day. She has now got her life back on track. She returned to school and obtained her diploma. She works at a day care center and plays a lot of padel in addition to her work.
She still misses social media sometimes. “It’s so normalized that it’s crazy that you can’t deal with it. When I’m away, I see girls on social media. Then I feel like I’m missing out on things because I don’t get it.” Yet she perseveres and tells her story. “I think it is very important that this is shared, because this addiction is an emerging problem.”
