Self-control, temperance is one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Gluttony has to do with food but we can be 'gluttons' in other areas of life especially in the digital age in which we live. Sex, drink, and food needs control, our ancestors saw lust and gluttony as a problem, two of the capital sins. Today the areas of overindulgence have increased a hundredfold; the digital world is one of the main ones. Many who do not check SNS (Social Networking System) repeatedly become anxious. Sometimes it interferes with daily life. What needs to be done? In the Catholic Weekly, the head of a consulting service treats the problem for the readers.
SNS, (Korean Kakao Talk) is the most popular SNS in Korea. Korea continues as the best-wired country in the world and why fatigue and stress-related use have become a social issue.
Imagine a scene on a train or bus. Most people are using smartphones, messaging, playing games, shopping, watching dramas. Staring at smartphones on the streets, alleys and in elevators. Most frequently used content among smartphone users is (SNS) since it binds disconnected individuals together in many different ways.
SNS allows one to enter the fantasy world. People want to be loved and appreciated by others, and the desire to show off. Psychological hunger is satisfied to some extent by displaying unrecognized ability, talent, wealth, and appearance to others through SNS.
Many people may not be showing their true self on SNS. Nevertheless, if you are seeing everyone happy, one desires to show one's own happiness and not to look like a loser. But human desire is many faceted and one wants to fill it with new things. I want to look 'better, happier, more loving, smarter' and increasingly reliant on SNS.
Anything done in excess can become a problem. Those who use SNS excessively may experience psychological problems such as panic disorder, depression as well as physical disorders. Withdrawal symptoms come with efforts to discontinue. The fantasy world created in SNS can be mistaken for reality and we delay doing what we need to do now and isolating ourselves.
Fantasy exists at present because many are not satisfied with their reality. Individual's desire to deny their reality and make their lives freer constantly creates fantasy. In other words, fantasy is bound to be created as long as we are not satisfied with real life. So, the free fantasy world given in SNS is bound to become stronger and more elaborate with time. SNS is a great escape from reality, but after it's over we need to return to reality.
On our return to reality, we need to acknowledge who we are and examine the fiction shown on the SNS. Persons created for the fantasy world of SNS are created by ourselves and we need to find ways to realize this in daily life.
Addiction is a pathological consequence of the desire for pleasure, the desire for freedom, power, love, belonging, both in the realms of psychology and sociology. In reality, however, it takes too much time and effort to meet these needs naturally. So, the desire to speed up the progress leads eventually to addiction. Whether SNS addiction or not, addictions are not easily overcome, wisdom requires looking for help.
