Addictions: Are we hooked or in-hook?
In a presentation I made at a youth conference last year, I reviewed issues of addiction and growing moral decadence among youth. This article, therefore, is more about laying the foundation of the facts and seeking your response to the question asked as the title of this article.
According to www.medicalnewstoday.com, “addiction is an inability to stop using a substance or engage in behaviour even though it causes psychological and physical harm”.
The above definition indicates that addiction is not only related to substance addiction, but also to the inability to stop participating in activities.
In response to this question, it is important to distinguish between substance use and misuse. Allow me to begin this discussion with the most neglected and contentious form of addition, which is religious addiction.
Let us note that a disconnect from God and the fact of not living according to the will or guidance of God is the main cause of addiction. However, toxic faith is strongly linked to religious addiction.
Many are obsessed with religious activities, forgetting that true and sound religion is a relationship, not a religious practice. Pleasantly, religious practices may help us to focus our attention on God. Religious addiction is difficult to recognize in individuals, because of its veil of spirituality. A wholesome relationship with God means that we focus on Him and others more than ourselves.
Religious addicts often drift away from family and friends, isolating themselves with others with similar views. Preoccupation with future spiritual things may lead us to justify ignoring current less exciting concerns and avoiding dealing with important emotional issues and personal responsibilities.
In all this, the power, which is associated with the position of spiritual leadership, is used not for the glory of God, but for the misdirected agenda of the leader. Examples of this abound everywhere.
Secondly, religious addict avoids responsibilities and allows worship to get in the way of going to work, taking care of family duties and maintaining relationships, and any other type of responsibility. In most cases, such addicts elevate the spiritual leader above God and what the Bible says.
Some may encounter financial problems caused by unhealthy devotion to the church and tithing beyond the individual’s means. The money they cannot afford is spent on religious activities and other spiritual retreats.
Certainly, being spiritual implies a certain detachment from material goods, but for a religious addict, this can go to the extreme. Religious addicts also experience shredded mood swings and can feel wildly happy and optimistic while praying or attending a service. And mope and feel bad when not in a service.
Drug addiction is one of the worst forms of addictions in the world. Approximately 275 million people consumed drugs around the world in 2020, and more than 36 million people suffered from drug-related disorders, according to the 2021 World Drug Report. In our environment today, we see a lot of madmen roaming our streets, while others are down with one form of illness or the other (including kidney failures, liver inflammation, etc).
Substance abuse involves more than heroin, cocaine or other illegal drugs. Some of us are dependent on alcohol, nicotine, sleeping pills and anxiety medications, as well as other legal substances (including prescriptions and other illegal narcotic analgesics, or opioids).
In 2018, opioids were reported to have been responsible for two-thirds of overdose deaths. Around 300 million people worldwide suffer from alcohol-related disorders and alcohol addiction accounts for 5.3% of deaths worldwide.
Many also have sex addictions. Researchers estimate that between 3% and 7% of the adult population has some form of sexually addictive behaviour. A 2006 study found that about 84% of 18- to 49-year-olds watched pornographic, rented, or television movies. Another 82% had viewed pornographic magazines.
According to other available data, over 35% of all internet downloads are related to pornography and 34% of internet users have experienced unwanted exposure to pornographic content through ads, pop up ads, misdirected links or emails. Every second, millions of users watch pornography online, and more than 200,000 Americans are classified as porn addicts.
In United States alone, on daily basis, over 37 pornographic videos are created, 2.5 billion emails containing porn are sent or received and 116,000 queries related to child pornography are received.
Unfortunately, starting at age 7 or 8, children are exposed to porn. Conquer Series reports that 94 per cent of children will see pornography before the age of 14. The British Board of Film Classification in its report in 2020, recorded that 57% of teens search out porn at least monthly.
Sadly, 75% of parents thought their children had never seen pornography, despite the available data and negative effects of pornography on children.
Porn has been identified to increase the odds of teenage pregnancy and hinders sexual development. Pornography viewing by teens disorients them during the developmental phase when they have to learn how to handle their sexuality and when they are most vulnerable to uncertainty about their sexual beliefs and moral values. It also increases the risk of depression and creates false expectations that interfere with healthy sexual development. Teens exposed to high rates of pornography have reduced self-esteem. In adults, the use of pornography increases the rate of marital infidelity by over 300%.
More than 68% of divorce cases involve a party encountering a new paramour on the Internet, while 56% involve a party with an “obsessive interest” in pornographic websites.
Similarly, more than 40% of those identified as “sex addicts” lose their spouses, 58% suffer considerable financial losses and approximately 33% lose their jobs.
The internet and its interconnectivity for society are beneficial in many respects. Sadly, the time spent on the internet by users becomes addictive, despite the benefits and comes with grave consequences on society.
On average, in 2019, one person spends 6 hours and 42 minutes on the Internet every day. In fact, 81% of adults spend some time online daily and 12.4% of internet users spend more time online than intended very often or often, while 13.7% of internet addicts find it hard to stay away from the internet for several days at a time.
More than 61% of internet users are addicted and this is common across all age groups. Generation X users are more dependent on the Internet, especially social media, compared to millennials. Both men and women are addicted to the internet. In fact, 64% of females and 55% of males, who use the internet, are internet addicts.
According to Mental Health America, the most endemic types of internet addiction include cybersexual, cyber-relationships, net compulsions, online gaming and information retrieval. There are 45% or three and a half billion people worldwide who use social media.
Interestingly, the result shows that more than 20% of Internet addicts wake up in the middle of the night to consult their social accounts. In addition, 34% of Internet addicts access their preferred websites and check for status updates before going out of bed.
Unfortunately, statistics on internet addiction show that Internet addiction disorder can have far-reaching negative effects on an addict’s relationships and career. Studies have found that Internet addiction can lead to Internet gambling disorder, which in turn has adverse effects on psychological functions. It causes psychiatric problems, either directly or indirectly. For example, internet addiction is associated with mood disorders, poor sleep quality, impulsiveness, self-esteem and suicide.
Even worse, internet addiction has an adverse effect on the part of the brain that is involved in decision-making, executive attention, cognitive control and emotional treatment. Due to internet addiction, 50% of workers today suffer from a serious work disability, and many have also lost their jobs. Beyond this, internet addiction propels victims into a self-reinforcing virtual space, making them massively detached from the real world. As a result, addicts become silent sufferers and watch their relationships and mental health deteriorate.
According to the American Psychiatric Nurses Association, increasing social media use has been found to have a significant impact on the mental health and well-being of adolescents. Psychologists estimate that between 5 and 10 per cent of the population meets the criteria for social media addiction.
Suicide rates are rising among children, teenagers and young adults. Furthermore, the use of social media in adolescents is linked to low self-esteem, poor body image and risk-taking behaviours.
About 27% of children who spend 3 or more hours a day on social media exhibit symptoms of poor mental health. Also, 67% of social media users are recorded to feel worse about their own lives because of social media, while 73% felt pressured to post content that boosted their appearance to others and 80% reported being affected by social media drama.
Social media risks include heavy and problematic use, sleep interference, exposure to self-harm or suicidal content. It also leads to inauthenticity or being false to oneself, negative upward social comparison, and thwarts unmet belonging or unmet need to connect to others.
In Nigeria today, it is clear that gambling and criminal activities have been intensified with the introduction of betting, gambling and lotto. In every nook and cranny, we see offices/kiosks for betting, gambling/lotto as we see children, adolescents and adults frequent these places.
Students abandon school to play betting. Approximately 50% of compulsive gamblers/bettors commit crimes and 80-90% of individuals who gamble or engage in betting has the propensity to engage in illegal acts to get more money for gambling and/or betting. Ease of access to gambling and betting has led to a 3.2% to 5.6% increase in crime.
In addition to the various addictions listed above, many people are addicted to food, shopping, risky behaviours, video games, work, among others. Recently, in the church program, I observed an elderly woman who is believed to be spirit-filled struggling with her phone all through the program. She seems to be hooked on telephone games because that is all she did throughout the event.
Work addicts not only work hard, but also set unreachable standards and are burdened by the feeling that they are never good enough. In most cases, these targets are designed to please others and this prevents them from noticing the impact of overwork on their health and wellness. The addicted worker has a great need to control others and situations, therefore, finds it difficult to delegate responsibilities.
Those addicted to shopping indulge in compulsive and impulsive shopping. These individuals shop till they run out of money or even borrow or run a deficit on their bank accounts. For such a person, they believe shopping makes them happier. Food addicts steal food or money to buy food and sometimes experience discomfort in situations where food is not available.
For them, losing control of food means losing control of life. Food addicts become involved in self-illusion and deceit of others, rationalization of irrational behavior and excuses for mountains of food consumed. The addict becomes lethargic, irritable and depressed when every attempt to control food fails.
In conclusion, whereas addicts are naturally destined for failure on their own and suffer continuous blows to self-esteem, the situation can be reversed. Many of us may be more prone to doing the right thing, in the right way, at the right time and in the right place. However, to achieve this, we must focus much more on the important things that await us and pay no attention to distractions. Unlearn the past and unleash your potentials! One need not despair in a life full of mysteries and changes. A life full of ups and downs.
Stay focused and reach out to others for assistance. Above all, I encourage you to reconnect with God properly and to live in accordance with His will or direction. There is no better time to do this than today. My question to you is, are you hooked or in-hook of addictions? God is with us!
Dr. Chiwuike Uba is the Board Chairman of Amaka Chiwuike-Uba Foundation (ACUF) and writes from Enugu. He can be reached via:+234 803 3095266