Criticism of "Moralizing and One-Sided" Discussion on Cell Phone Addiction
Jovicic is working on a project supported by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) that uses ethnographic and participatory methods. "This means that we do not necessarily invite people to a laboratory or office, but try to understand them in their different contexts," the anthropologist explained in an interview with APA.
Mobile Phone Addiction Is Often a Creative Strategy
For this purpose, Jovicic spent four months in an Austrian clinic that specializes, among other things, in internet addiction. There, she participated in group therapies and conducted interviews with the patients - mostly men in their twenties or thirties - as well as the clinic staff. The three-year research project will continue until May 2026, but initial statements about the results can already be made. Those affected, as well as therapists, would say that addictive substances like the smartphone are not the problem per se, but rather a solution to a problem. "This strategy often develops gradually, for example, due to reasons of escapism or the need for a sense of achievement. From this perspective, people deal with problems in their lives very creatively - even if they are not solved in the long term," explained Jovicic.
In the conversations, there was talk of family difficulties, bullying, loneliness, chronic illnesses, as well as conditions like autism or ADHD as reasons for high media consumption. "From a social science perspective, addiction is also a symptom of societal issues and not just individual," said Jovicic. Many affected individuals reported career disorientation and frustration accordingly. Jovicic refers to the concept of "cruel optimism" in this context: It is the contradiction that young people are taught very early on that they must find their inner calling and can then achieve anything, while at the same time, there is a very low level of social mobility. "What young people can actually achieve here is often decided very early on by the choice of school type or by the region or district in which someone grew up," she explained.
Mobile Phone Addiction: Moralizing Discussion About Youth - Not With Them
"At the same time, the use of mobile phones by young people is reported in a very moralizing and one-sided manner - with many assumptions about what is good or bad," said Jovicic. The view that high screen time is always bad is problematic, for example, because it does not take into account the various reasons why someone is online a lot. Those affected, meanwhile, hardly have a voice. For instance, it happens that young people are looking for a job or apprenticeship and spend a lot of time on the screen because they simply have nothing else to do, explained Jovicic. Social inequalities can also play a role, for example, when there are no financial means to organize leisure activities differently. Distraction from the pressure to perform at school is also a motive. "To concerned parents, I would advise talking to children and young people about these topics without judgment and without preconceived notions, building trust, and, if such addictive behavior is present, seeking solutions together," said Jovicic.
With the Mobile Phone Ban, It's "A Bit Too Easy"
Bans can be easily enforced in the short term, and the mobile phone ban in schools can certainly be sensible. "But it's a bit too easy to say - it's only the social media's fault. That doesn't mean, of course, that social media are unproblematic or have no commercial agendas," Jovicic clarified. Moreover, it is astonishing how much is discussed about mobile phone and online addiction here, while alcohol addiction receives relatively little attention, even though around 70 percent of those affected in clinics are alcoholics, said the researcher. She therefore called for more attention to the topic of addiction in general - a field "that is chronically underfunded and increasingly privatized, like many parts of the healthcare system." She also advocated for investments in low-threshold services outside the clinical setting.
(APA/Red)
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