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Getting Sober…on Facebook?

by | Nov 17, 2014 | Addiction Articles, Recovery

Can We Use Facebook to Get Sober?

Recently, The Atlantic published an essay about one woman watching her friends fall into, and recover from, heroin addiction. While their sheer volume often drowns these stories out, this particular one was interesting.

online sobriety

What made this essay different from the other 10,000 we see everyday? Well, it looked at addiction and recovery through the lens of Facebook!

I use Facebook pretty much all day. I’m always peeking in to see if I was tagged in anything and what my friends are up to. Add Instagram, Twitter, etc. to the mix and it becomes plain to see that we’re surrounded 24/7 by social media!

But what if we could use Facebook, and all the others, to spread a message of hope and recovery? I mean, you’re probably reading this article right now because you saw it on social media!

So, how can we, as women in recovery, use social media for more than a five-minute distraction?

Social Media and Active Addiction

It’s funny how accurate The Atlantic’s essay was. They talk about how friends and family of addicts can gauge someone’s addiction through their activity on social media.

That is 100% my story! I can’t tell you how many times I deactivated my Facebook when I was getting high. My Myspace and LiveJournal (I’m dating myself, I know!) fell out of use when I was drinking. Concerned comments would pile up and give me even more guilt.

There’s the other side, too. I remember posting countless pictures of friends and myself playing beer pong or at a party with our white girl wasted faces.

Classic teenager and young adult move, right? Except, for me, these “fun” pictures were less a chronicle of youthful mistakes and more snapshots of my active addiction.

Facebook and Sobriety

And then I started trying to get sober. Suddenly, Facebook became less terrifying. Rather than hiding from concerned friends’ messages, I could post how great life was! Of course, relapse would send me running from the computer.

The Atlantic’s article touches upon this very idea. The author writes about seeing her addict friends post things like “Today is ninety days!!” I’m pretty sure I made that exact same post…more than once!

This is where Facebook, and the rest of the social media family, can become useful, and even indispensible, to sobriety.

Imagine if you lived in a small town and didn’t have access to around the clock meetings. Imagine it’s two a.m., you can’t sleep, and all you can think of is drinking. What’s a girl to do?

Simple! You can hop on Facebook and instantly connect to millions of other recovering addicts and alcoholics. You can get support, encouragement, and general positive messages no matter the time or location.

That sounds pretty awesome to me!

Let’s Spread a Message of Hope!

Can we all agree, right here and right now, to start a new trend? Let’s switch from liking pictures and status to liking God and our sisters in recovery!

Let’s start using Facebook to spread a message of hope and recovery!

The Dangers of Social Media For Women in Early-Recovery

by | Apr 18, 2014 | Addiction Articles, Body Image / Eating Disorders

Written By: Fiona Stockard

Facebook Is The Biggest Thing Around

In the HBO show Girls, Shoshanna and Jessa have the following conversation –

Shoshanna: Your not serious, that’s like not being on Facebook!
Jessa: I’m not on Facebook.
Shoshanna: You’re so f**king classy.

Since way back in 2004, when Facebook started, it’s been a HUGE part of our society in every way. Facebook lingo has infiltrated our language with “likes” and “add me” becoming common phrases. Hell, Facebook’s even had a major motion picture made about it. When the company went public in 2012, they had a market value of over one hundred billion dollars. One hundred. Billion. Dollars. Dang!

Facebook isn’t without its haters though. Many people believe it’s ruined our culture and society. They argue that we’re so obsessed with capturing and posting our lives, that we miss out on them! This has gotten even worse since smartphones came out. Today, people go into a state of panic if they’re missing their phones.

facebook logo

So, How Is Facebook Detrimental to Women in Early-Recovery?

I think it’s obvious that Facebook is a dangerous place for women who tend to compare themselves. Who doesn’t have the tendency to do that every once and awhile?

In another Girl’s scene, Marni finds a picture of her recent ex-boyfriend on vacation with his new girlfriend. What twenty-something can’t relate to Facebook stalking an ex?

For women in recovery though, social media is a perilous place. For people trying to live by spiritual principles, looking at Facebook and judging, or becoming jealous, leads to a place far away from God.

In early-recovery, seeing others drinking and drugging can be difficult. Scratch that, it IS difficult! Glorifying the party lifestyle, while trying to stay sober, is dangerous. On the flip side, seeing friends from high school and college having success is also hard. In short, Facebook is dangerous if you’re freshly sober.

For women suffering from body dysmorphia and eating disorders, Facebook is also a difficult place. Comparing our bodies with other women’s isn’t healthy. Comparing our pictures against thinner versions of ourselves isn’t healthy either.

What’s My Point?

It might be a smart idea to delete your Facebook during early-recovery. At the very least, limit the amount of time you spend on social media. Use it to check in with family (if your family relationship is healthy!).

Your free time might be better used reading recovery literature. Your free time might be better used working the twelve-steps. Your free time might be better used making real friends, not Facebook friends. Your free time might be better used finding out what you really like, not what you Facebook like.