What's the first thing you did when you woke up in the morning?
I pressed snoozed but then I picked up my phone (I'm ashamed to admit this) and I trawled social media. You know those startling numbers about how long teens spend online that came out yesterday? Let's just say I'm in no place to be wagging my finger at today's youth. Some of it can be excused as work: Twitter is often the place you see news alerts first and trending things you might need to know about show up on Facebook.
But in reality, I'm an addict. Yep. My name is Nadine Higgins and I'm a social media addict. The scary thing is I think half the country might need to be in a support group with me and I'm worried our addiction is making us less social, and more depressed.
Be honest. Are you guilty of checking your phone constantly, even when it hasn't beeped? Do you feel anxious when you can't find your phone? Do you check it at the lights, scroll through like a zombie when you're walking down the street and while you're meant to be listening to your partner or watching TV?
And look around. In the doctor's waiting room, the park or the bus stop - everyone has their heads buried in their phones, opting for online world over real life. Sometimes you see groups of friends at dinner all sitting around on their phones when they could be like, I dunno, talking to each other. It's considered such an accepted communal space that they even report what people say and do there on the news.
