Media addictions as Apparatgeist: What discourse on TV and smartphone addiction reveals about society

Abeele, Mariek Vanden; Mohr, Victoria

doi:10.1177/13548565211038539

Cited by 10 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…The concept gained recent popularity, in parallel with growing attention on 'digital disconnection'-the placement of temporary limits to digital connectivity [2]. Social media are central to public debates over digital well-being and disconnection, as social media overuse is identified as a primary problem resulting from being permanently online [3]. Individuals increasingly address this problem with disconnection, such as taking breaks from social media or using apps to limit social media access (e.g., [4,5]).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Drug, demon, or donut? Theorizing the relationship between social media use, digital well-being and digital disconnection

Abeele

Halfmann

Lee

2022

Current Opinion in Psychology

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Drug, demon, or donut? Theorizing the relationship between social media use, digital well-being and digital disconnection

Abeele

Halfmann

Lee

2022

Current Opinion in Psychology

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“…'Disentangling' from digital media would imply to 'disentangle' from society itself (Adams and Jansson, 2021). It seems reductive because it frames problems experienced by users across generations, geographies and socio-economic cultures as individual problems that can be quickly fixed through small measures (Jorge et al, 2022) instead of acknowledging the societal and commercial character of media dependence (Orben 2020;Vanden Abeele and Mohr 2021) The individualization of problems about digital overload and invasive media manifests itself as a flourishing consumer market, offering digital detox services and -products that promise to facilitate digital disconnection (Beattie, 2020;Guyard and Kaun, 2018;Natale and Treré, 2020). The fact that digital detox has become a cultural megatrend and a rising industry can be seen as proof of the insufficiency of self-regulation; many users find it so difficult to disconnect that they are willing to seek professional help to pay their way out of their problems.…”

Section: Digital Disconnectiona Political Mattermentioning

confidence: 99%

“…‘Disentangling’ from digital media would imply to ‘disentangle’ from society itself (Adams and Jansson, 2021). It seems reductive because it frames problems experienced by users across generations, geographies and socio-economic cultures as individual problems that can be quickly fixed through small measures (Jorge et al, 2022) instead of acknowledging the societal and commercial character of media dependence (Orben 2020; Vanden Abeele and Mohr 2021)…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Political Solutions or user Responsibilization? How Politicians understand Problems Connected to Digital Overload

Enli

Fast

2023

Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Med

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Politicians are decision-makers responsible for policy and opinion leaders with unique powers to construct challenges and problems as political. An emerging problematic issue pertains to users’ experiences of digital overload and invasive media (Syvertsen 2020; Lomborg and Ytre-Arne, 2021). Existing studies report that users struggle to self-regulate their digital media use – or ‘disconnect’. This relates to how connectivity platforms develop increasingly advanced techniques to keep them from logging off (Karppi 2018; Zuboff, 2019; Ytre-Arne et al., 2020). This article aims to unpack how politicians understand problems about digital overload and invasive media and to what degree they regard digital disconnection as a potential political issue. We have selected Norway as our case country because of the population’s level of digital connectivity and the tradition of media regulation in the Nordic region (Syvertsen et al., 2014). Based on 16 research interviews with politicians and think-thank experts and a document analysis of official party-political platforms, we ask to what degree the politicians experience digital overload and invasive media as problematic, and if so, whom they believe is responsible for causing and solving the problems, and what specific solutions they suggest to the issues. In addition to digital disconnection literature, we draw on theoretical perspectives from media policy, political theory, and responsibilization. Key findings indicate that politicians regard digital overload and invasive media as highly problematic. However, they are reluctant to suggest political interventions as solutions to these problems but rather place responsibility on the users and the platform industries. The politicians struggle to imagine political interventions that could help users disconnect while respecting personal authority and are doubtful about their power vis-à-vis the global tech companies. The article concludes with a critical discussion about the politicians’ acceptance of the neoliberal idea of responsibilization. This ultimately produces a reluctance to discuss disconnection as a political issue, not just an individual challenge.

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“…Digital disconnection refers to practices of the voluntary and reflective non-use of digital media for varying periods of time and can take different forms in everyday life (Vanden Abeele & Mohr, 2021, pp. 1538–1539).…”

Section: Digital Disconnectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In light of the perceived negative consequences of digital media use to well-being, a public discussion has arisen about the need for digital disconnection, that is, a conscious self-regulation of digital media use (Nguyen, 2021; Vanden Abeele & Mohr, 2021). This discussion is, for instance, reflected in discourses on Instagram under the hashtag #socialmediadetox (Jorge, 2019), newspapers framing disconnection as a solution to digital media overuse (Vanden Abeele & Mohr, 2021), or self-help books on “digital minimalism” (Newport, 2020). Acknowledging its social relevance, digital disconnection is also gaining scholarly attention as demonstrated by recent special issues (e.g., Karsay & Vandenbosch, 2021; Lomborg & Ytre-Arne, 2021; Treré et al, 2020; Vanden Abeele & Nguyen, 2022).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Conflicting Norms—How Norms of Disconnection and Availability Correlate With Digital Media Use Across Generations

Geber,

Nguyen,

Büchi

2023

Social Science Computer Review

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Digital disconnection has emerged as a response to constant connectivity and the perceived harms to well-being that technology overuse may cause in a digital society. Despite the apparent conflict with expectations of constant availability, there has been limited research on the role of social norms in individuals’ regulation of their digital media use. The present study applied a nuanced conceptualization of social norms—by differentiating referent groups (i.e., family, friends, and everyday contacts) as well as injunctive and descriptive norms—and examined the associations of disconnection and availability norms with disconnection behavior across two generations of digital media users. Drawing on an online survey based on a stratified population sample ( N = 1163), we found perceptions of injunctive disconnection norms to differ across generations, with younger digital media users perceiving digital disconnection but also availability to be more important to their social environment. This conflict of contradictory norms was also reflected in an interactional effect on own disconnection behavior in this group, where positive correlations between disconnections norms and behavior were countered by availability norms. Overall, our findings demonstrate the social complexity of the individual decision to (dis)connect and, on the societal level, that social norms of disconnection are in transition with disconnection behavior becoming and being perceived as more and more important.

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Media addictions as Apparatgeist: What discourse on TV and smartphone addiction reveals about society

Cited by 10 publications

References 42 publications

Drug, demon, or donut? Theorizing the relationship between social media use, digital well-being and digital disconnection

Drug, demon, or donut? Theorizing the relationship between social media use, digital well-being and digital disconnection

Political Solutions or user Responsibilization? How Politicians understand Problems Connected to Digital Overload

Conflicting Norms—How Norms of Disconnection and Availability Correlate With Digital Media Use Across Generations

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