Mental Health Month 2026 Nikechi Juwah "Technology and Social Media Addiction"

0:09Tonight, we have Nikeshi Juwa. She is our master's in psychology alumna. She is currently located in Nigeria. A little bit about Nikeshi, she's an experienced HR resource professional whose specialty is in the areas of talent management, leadership development, and organizational effectiveness. She has worked in five multinational organizations, mostly in the consumer goods sector in West Africa. She is passionate about implementing organizational high performance strategies that respect the dignity and psyche of the human person, and this is what initially attracted her to study at Divine Mercy University. Welcome, Nikeshi, everyone. Thank you for joining us. Please feel free to add in your questions in the chat box or the q and a.

1:01We will have an open q and a session at the end of Nikeshi's presentation. Welcome, Nikeshi. Thank you very much, Natalia, and I hope I'm super clear to the audience out there. Good morning, good afternoon, good evening. Right, I'm connecting from Nigeria and it's 11PM, so I realized that many of you are in different parts of the world and I must say I'm really really, excited to be sharing my findings and also my struggles with everyone online with social media. So for the next twenty, twenty five minutes, we're going to be talking about, you know, what's what we mean by addiction with regards to social media and technology usage. But before I go into that, I would like to mention that I'm not here to castigate social media.

1:59There's absolutely nothing wrong with social media. Rather, it's created so many advantages for us. People are able to connect with loved ones, with friends, with family who are so far away. People are people are able to learn a lot. There are a lot of positive things on social media, a lot of positive influencers. Some people have lost weight because they've met an influencer on social media, and they've signed up for some class. People have learned how to navigate the world better with, all sorts of tools and influencers. So social media really, has done a lot for our world and continues to do a lot for our world. What we want to talk about today is to bring more awareness about the addictive nature of, you know, using social media in a way that is not intentional and controlled, particularly for the younger generation, the teenagers, the children.

3:00And I also share some strategies around overcoming this addiction if you have suffered it the way, I have in my life. And, I'm sure, it's quite common, you know, if if you don't suffer from addiction or if if it hasn't been a problem for you, then maybe it's been for your children or your loved ones. Natalia, I'm trying to move to the next slide, but You can use the right arrow, Nikeshi. Okay. Okay. So today, we want to talk about what the data globally is saying. First of all, what's the burning platform? What's wrong with social media? Am I really addicted? Because I didn't believe I was addicted, and that's why, I got into this research around what's released addiction when it it gets to social media.

4:09And then we want to also learn more about how social media and drug addiction are are similar because the same chemical, dopamine, dopamine is also utilized as the reward chemical, is the feel good chemical. It's not a bad thing. We want to talk about that and how, unfortunately, our mental health is responding to what is called a dopamine economy, you know, because big tech wants to keep us engaged on many of these websites. And then finally, we talk about reclaiming control. Now in in the chat box, I just want you to answer this question. If you can't access the chat box, you can just think it in your head. How often do you check your phone? How often do you check your phone without purpose?

4:59So if you look at the scale there, you have never, rarely, sometimes, often, almost constantly. Can you please just drop your answer in the chat box? Okay. So, just taking a quick look. I see that most people put often and almost constantly. So often being 10 to 30 times a day, but almost constantly, you know, you've lost count. You don't know. You don't have an idea. And for me, I would say I was in the almost constantly bucket because I literally did not know. And, you know, if you are like me, I have two phones. One is for work, and one is personal. So, you know, switching in between both of them, it was really a vicious cycle. But then we have another question to answer before we go into the presentation.

6:26To what extent does social media impact your mood or well-being? And I'll paraphrase that a bit. When you've had, like, some time on social media or on your phone, how do you feel? Your mood or your well-being. Okay. Does it affect it at all, or is it slight? Is it moderate? Is it significant, or is it extreme? Can you type in the chat box, please? Okay. K. Thank you, Noga. Someone has said, moderately, it affects my ability to fall asleep, but, also, we have quite a bit of slightly, moderately, some a few, not at all. And then there was one moderately significantly. That's nice. I do have several prayers and meditations. Moderately. Okay. So if you feel that social media impacts your mood or well-being, moderately, that's that's enough to consider, you know, what I'm going to share today and talk about today.

8:21So someone said significantly, which is why I gave up social media, but I text and use YouTube and all my Catholic apps. Nice. And we'll come back to that comment later because he's speaking to something where and I'm going to be sharing later on in the presentation. So let's ask the third question, which is, how comfortable would you feel going twenty four hours without social media? Just twenty four hours, one day. So just maybe you're just taking calls from people. You're not checking WhatsApp. You're not checking Instagram. You're not checking Facebook. How comfortable would you feel going twenty four hours? So here it says very comfortable, somewhat comfortable, neutral, somewhat uncomfortable, anxious, or very uncomfortable.

9:22Wow. Very comfortable, but I want to check my notifications the next day. Oh, nice. Okay. In my case, I found out that each time I left the house, I would make sure my phone was in my bag. I couldn't imagine not being with my phone. Couldn't imagine not being with my phone. So I would say I was somewhat uncomfortable going twenty four hours, somewhat uncomfortable for me. Okay. We move on to, you know, the next slide, and this is how do I know if social media is affecting my mental health? How do you know it's affecting your mental health? And we don't really need answers here, but the idea is to have that evaluation internally. Do you feel worse? Do you feel more anxious, or do you feel like you are missing out, FOMO, fear of missing out?

10:40I'm missing out on the latest news in town. You know? I'm missing out on catching up with family on WhatsApp. Now this is really important to note that each time you use social media for an extended time, you need to check your mood. Track your mood before and after sessions. And if you consistently feel worse afterwards, but you still can't stop checking, then that relationship has become a problem. The relationship between you and a phone. Yes. WhatsApp is social media. Social media is any app that brings people together, either people who are known or unknown. So, indeed, WhatsApp is social media. It's just become like, you know, a text messaging tool, but it is social media. Now the relationship needs to be examined, like I mentioned, if your mood is worse after using social media.

11:45And indeed, it is a challenge missing out on connection with friends and family if you are to go off social media for twenty four hours. But it's important. We understand that globally, we're living in a moment of unprecedented abundance. There's so much in the world, so much information, so much digital stimulation, but also economically, there's more disposable income, there's more access than any other generation. Okay? And the work I have put together is based on the work, the research and, practice from a psychiatrist, quite a famous one, and the world's leading addiction expert. She's a medical doctor and a psychiatrist, Anna Lemke. And she says that this of our abundance is one of the most, you know, significant stressors of our time and that, unfortunately, is quietly without us realizing it, rewiring our brains.

12:48And if you look at the data I have here, which is quite recent from last year, the world has about 4,900,000,000 social media users. That's more than half of the world's population. The world's population is over 7,000,000,000 or thereabouts active users. But also, globally, daily screen time, averagely per person, is about six point five hours. And what got me into this research was the day I checked my phone several months back and realized I had spent four hours that day on Instagram. Four hours on Instagram alone. The rest of the apps with WhatsApp, with Facebook, it was getting to, you know, about six hours. And then the sad thing is the people who are most hit by this time and this screen addiction are the youth, the young people, because the brain continues to develop on up until 25 thereabouts.

13:45Okay. So the brain is highly vulnerable to addiction, and addiction in this age group is actually worse. But then we see today that some people give their babies pacifiers. Mobile phones and tablets are now used as pacifiers, you know, for children and and for young people and toddlers. So what do we do? Now we're not just consumers. We're not just consumers. We are being consumed by it. And the most at risk are the youngest. So we have to really step in to help these these young people and help ourselves as well. And we'll talk about that later. Now this is Anna Lemke, and she's done so much of incredible work. She has videos online where you can learn how to also reclaim control if you you've been struggling like I I was, and I am still recovering.

14:42But this definition of addiction she gives is, in my opinion, really, really relevant to the topic we're speaking about. And it she says that addiction is essentially the loss of choice around what we consume without being aware that we have lost that choice, and it is incredibly insidious. And I'm sure you are wondering what is my choice. I go on Instagram and I follow who I want to follow. Yes. But we're also going to learn how, you know, with AI and with the algorithms, your attention is the new economy. Your engagement is the new economy and how companies are really using it for commercial purposes without even taking into account, you know, the the dignity of the human person. And and as such, a lot of people have lost choice because what comes into your feed is what you you read, basically.

15:36And we're going to learn what influences, you know, what shows up in your feed. And so the big, big chemical is a chemical and a wonderful one called dopamine. Now it's natural in the brain, and so there's nothing wrong with dopamine. Okay? It's just a chemical in the brain that regulates your your your feel your feeling good, your focus, your motivation, your pleasure. It helps us survive. So without dopamine, we wouldn't be able to eat, you know, or connect with others. We wouldn't be able to strive for our goals. But in a world of overabundance, what is happening is that the dopamine system in the brain is being overstimulated and exploited and at an unprecedented scale that is causing, you know, more harm than good.

16:30And, the funny thing is all addictive substances, whether, you know, hard drugs like cocaine, cigarette, alcohol, and even social media use the same reward pathways in the brain. They all flood the brain's reward center with dopamine far and beyond what any natural stimulus could stimulus could produce. So there's this, unhealthy dose of dopamine release that happens not just with people who consume our drugs, but with people who over consume content on social media. And when I speak about this, I'm not talking about pornography alone because just speaking to some friends, I mean, they were like, no. I don't I'm I'm not addicted to social media. Even though I spend three, four hours a day because I'm not doing porn.

17:19I'm doing nice stuff. I'm listening to really nice, you know, things on Instagram. I'm on Facebook, and I'm reading things that I like to read. But here, we are talking about that, you know, the time you spend on social media doesn't have to be porn. Porn is another, you know, monster, but there's so many things to consider when it comes to dopamine and addiction. And how the brain responds is it downregulates its own dopamine receptors. So you are doing so much, it starts to get depleted. And then after some time, it goes below the baseline. And so in trying to compensate going below the baseline, you go back to that substance just as, you know, a drug addict will go back to that substance or and, you know, someone struggling with alcohol would would go back.

18:08So this is what happens, and this is why it can be unconscious. You know? You unconsciously reach for your phone even when you don't have to because it's it makes you feel good. You just, you know, you relax with it. I mean, I would find myself I I was hardly watching TV because my phone was my entertainment. You know? Everything I did there was go back there, look look at the apps, look at what's happening, follow all the influencers I liked, read, update myself. And there is a negative consequence to this because, the this down regulation creates a deficit state. Okay? A baseline that is even lower than normal. And what happens, we're gonna learn that we can no longer enjoy even the normal things.

18:57So kids find it hard to study. They find it hard to concentrate on activities because they just have this dopamine out of balance and, causing problems for them. And how it manifests sometimes is, you know, there's this feeling of lethargy, feeling listless, you know, feeling something is wrong with you know, you may feel something is wrong with your relationship, with your spouse, you know, with your job, just not being able to derive pleasure from your normal activities that you normally would have. And the only only relief sadly comes from reaching again for the device, reaching out again for the device, and the cycle depends. Now Anna, the the doctor I spoke about who who's done so much research on it, she speaks about the fact that human connection has been drugified, the drug drugification of human connection.

19:55And this is being enabled, by social media. Social media is not bad, remember, but there are certain things that these big tech companies have built into it that are making it so difficult to resist. Okay? And, they are engineered environments, and they mimic the human connection, the rewards of human connection. So you can like, you can share, you can engage, without any friction. Okay? There's so much vulnerability there, and there's no effort to make real relationships meaningful. So what happens is these big tech companies have built in algorithms, and these algorithms are designed to flatter, to make you keep, you know, going back, and, yeah, to make you comment and release that microburst of dopamine, keeping you scrolling and scrolling for the next hit.

20:48And sorry if I have to share my personal example, but I shared, an article on LinkedIn. I I put an article out on LinkedIn, a a few months back, and the likes were so many and people were sharing. And I just kept going back to it, and it was giving me this sense of, oh, yeah. I've done something really great. And at the end of the day, I spent so much time just going back to see, oh, 300 likes, 400 likes, 500 likes. And later I realized, look. This is this is not it. You know? Yes. It's nice to put out things there, but I shouldn't rely on that for, you know, boosting my self esteem and my comfort my confidence. But, also, the AI is worsening it because AI can now help predict what you like based on what you spend time on.

21:36And children are not left out. So even the cuddly toys now have AI in them. And there have been cases where the toys have told the kids, bring out a knife or light a matchstick. Okay. We've all heard about how OpenAI let someone to suicide. You know, told this young boy to get a news. And even when he was scared that he was like, should I put the news somewhere so my family can see it and stop me? And he and and the and the chatbot told him, no. Don't don't put it away. And he committed suicide. There's so many cases, happening. But, also, Gen z is experiencing a lot of, loneliness. They prefer, you know, to work online. They prefer to connect online, but this is coming at some costs, because the more time you spend online, you think that you are going to be happier, but then the greater sense of isolation that you feel.

22:42Okay. So we want to talk more a bit about the consequence of too much dopamine stimulation because the relentless pursuit of digital pleasure, when you speak to teenagers, they admit they are addicted. Okay? They admit they can't get out of it. And indeed, some of us have admitted as well that we've been addicted or we are addicted like I was, and I'm recovering. But it leads to something called anhedonia, which is that, you know, you are unable to feel pleasure from your normal activities because you have overstimulated the dopamine. And what happens is once there is a down regulation in dopamine and you can't substitute for it, then you can't do your normal activities the way you you would.

23:29And you're not getting dopamine from the natural sources, you you know, like connecting with people, like doing something that requires more effort, and then nothing feels good. You know? You start to feel flat. You start to feel gray. You start to feel emotionally flat. Is a consequence of this depletion that has happened. And and this is not a good, place to be because, once this happens, then all the research also points to the fact that depression comes in, anxiety comes in, sometimes ADHD with some people, particularly young people. So we can see it's a vicious cycle, and you may not be conscious that this is happening to you. So what needs to happen? Before we go into how to address this, we need to realize that social media is not just consumed.

24:20It is engineered. It is engineered to keep you coming back and to keep you scrolling and to keep you sharing and liking and reading. So if it is affecting mental health, now in the age of AI, AI is accelerating this damage. How? First of all, it's tracking your online footprint, everything you do. I'm sure you've noticed you talk about something. The next thing, it appears in your feed. So your feed is engineered to provoke those reactions, to hold you spellbound, to hold attention, and, not really to make you feel good, really. And then it also optimizes addiction because the content is optimized to your vulnerabilities. It knows what keeps you happy, what keeps you sad when you engage. So, you know, your vulnerabilities also are online, and it's been engineered in a way, because don't forget that big tech is make making a lot of money from it.

25:20But, also, these days, there's a lot of filtering. So people are making super smooth skin, perfect figures, reshaping bodies in real time. Yeah. And and, you know, there's research to show that this is also fueling body dysmorphia, which is also a psychological condition, where people just feel, you know, they are not good enough even when there is no problem, and then leading some of them to go into, you know, a lot of body body enhancement, surgeries, and what have you. But to my shock, I'm realizing that a lot of the influencers online as well are AI generated. They're not real people, and some of them have been shut down by Instagram. They are musicians who are purely AI musicians with nice music and people following them.

26:08So a lot of it is not real. We're following a lot of artificial stuff and artificial content and nonexistent people. And even when it's not people, even what people post, a lot of it is generated by AI. So moving us more and more from, real the the real reality of, you know, originality of content that people should be posting. But the good news is there is hope. There is hope because there is also quite a lot of research around how to withdraw from this malice that we have. So reclaiming control, the good news is if you are not severely addicted, it can take as little as little as four weeks, because your brain can actually be recalibrated and dopamine can be restored. So recovery is all about the neuroscience of withdrawing and abstinence.

27:04And within four weeks, if you are able to abstain and just shut down from social media if it's not too severe and make intentional choices during your four week detox. You're able to come back, and then dopamine is restored to normal levels. You're able to start enjoying some of those, usual activities. But it's easy to say, right, how what worked for me was, I started gradually. So one of the things I did was to turn off all notifications. Okay? I don't want to be controlled by oh, there's another WhatsApp message. There's another IG post. You can start with that while you plan your four weeks detox. And there's so much online. If you go online and then you see how do I how do I try and detox from this, you're gonna get so much and so much for free as well.

27:57But, also, you need to create a physical barrier. If you wake up from sleep and the first thing you do is check your phone, that's really bad for your dopamine, and that may affect the rest of your day. You may not particularly for young people, you may struggle with doing the more difficult tasks. And then secondly, your brain's pathways can actually be reset. The receptors start to upregulate. Remember, they went into deficit, and then they start to upregulate again, reaching normal levels again. Your cravings reduce in intensity. That was my experience as well. And ordinary experiences become mildly rewarding again. And with time, they restore to levels that were there before the addiction.

28:47And doctor Lemke also mentions that after four weeks, most individuals report a meaningful shift, the constant craving quiets and everyday rewards start to become more pleasurable. And then what do you do? Because you can't you I wouldn't advise you to get off social media completely. I mean, there's some people, you know, who that's the way they've taken. But for me, it's really it's really regular intentionality. How set what are the times? What's how many hours do you wanna spend a day? Someone asks, how many hours should you you spend? I'm not going to tell you spend how many hours or don't spend it how many hours. But you all know what addiction looks like, and you all know what the opportunity cost is from the time that you are spending social media.

29:37So you can have an idea. What do I really do on it? I mean, if I'm listening to, something that really helps my career, it's different from just doom scrolling or or just liking or scrolling without any intention. And if I have too many things I'm following, this is the time to start being intentional on following those things. Okay? Building in more connections, building in more exercise, and more physical activity. Dopamine is not the problem. It's the overstimulation that is the problem. And then what more can we do also for our children? We mentioned earlier that children's brains are still neuroplastic and highly highly vulnerable. One of the things we need to do at home is create tech free zones.

30:30I mean, where I live is not uncommon to have TVs in in people's bedrooms. And I'm while I'm saying there's nothing wrong with that, you want you really want to explore if it's necessary, you know, for kids or even for yourself, physical boundaries as well, not to sleep with your phone if you can, but not to put it beside your bedside and, you know, try to have those physical boundaries. But it also abstinence with something. Some of the research says the reason why people get addicted to, social media is that there's some deeper craving for something. So sometimes that requires you to feel it, feel the craving, socialize more, more of spots, more of perhaps reading, things that involve some productive struggle.

31:22And then be the model you want to see because children learn from what they observe. So parents and educators play a really big role, with intentional use of it, technology. And speak about it openly. Learn to share the struggle as well with your friends and your family because, she also mentions, that we're entertaining ourselves to death. And the fact is that we need to act. We need to make people aware, and we really, really need to put social media at the service of the human person, not the opposite. And the good thing is there's a growing coalition of people who recognize this, malice and are doing something about it. I know that last month, there was a a case, Meta and YouTube Facebook and YouTube were taken to court, and they've had to pay millions of dollars recently to people whose young people whose mental health you know, the the the courts were able to prove that indeed their mental health was affected by social media overuse, and we expect to see more of such cases coming.

32:37There are pressure groups building across the continent, across the world. Some countries have started to put in laws and regulations for kids. Some have said people below two shouldn't even be given screens, and some have said, look. No child below 16 needs to spend more than one hours on social media. So this is good news. We are not saying social media will will be canceled or will be taken away, but I believe that in the future, this presents the opportunity to put in more regulations and guidelines just as we see with alcohol, alcohol use, smoking use. You know, we expect to see that kind of regulation coming as well, on social media. And, basically, that's the end of the presentation, and we would open for questions.

33:30Thank you. Thank you, Nikeshi. I did see a couple of comments come in. Father Vincent said, it's kind of sad, but I agree with you that social media is engineered and plays on our vulnerabilities. So I capture it that Internet does not forgive. Mhmm. Father Vincent, best of luck. He has holy mass now. Wow. Pray for us, father Vincent. Yes. Amira mentioned it's ruining romantic relationships. People don't engage. Men don't chase. Indeed. And even couples, there have been studies that show, you know, couples get it you know, they're just on social media for for quite a while even when they're at home instead of speaking and talking. Gerald, May book addiction and grace are used in psych classes.

34:40Thanks for that. Matthew asked, is there some social media platform that have healthier algorithms? Okay. So if you watch the movie called Social Dilemma, it's a movie that came out. It's on Netflix. It's more of a documentary that came out on, how those big tech companies were deliberately building in, engagement and and addiction into the apps. To be honest, I doubt I doubt that I I have heard that some apps are less bad, but I would say, like, I really don't know, to be honest. The whole idea is just to be intentional intentional use of social media. Give yourself choice. Tell yourself, this is what I want to see. I'm not I'm I'm not gonna allow the algorithm dictate to me. I am going to dictate to myself what I want to watch.

35:46Thank you. Hope that answers a bit, Martha. And father Someone wants the material, and the I also have the references here on the next slide. So, yes, it can be sent out by Natalia. Right? Is it possible? Yes. Okay. So father Nicolas wrote, how can I have this material so I can read more? We will, share it, father, with all attendees. Kevin asked, do you know if there are still dopamine effects in listening to podcast, audiobooks, or long form YouTube interviews? That's interesting. Good question. Yeah. Very good question. So I read that when you do productive things like reading, audio reading, no. It doesn't that's not dopamine. So for example, you are listening to an audiobook or you're reading a book on Kindle, that doesn't cause a dopamine surge.

36:49What we are talking about are those addictive tendencies. If you notice, you're not gonna be addicted to an audiobook or even a a an ebook. But you are going to be addicted to those short form videos, those TikTok videos, those, Instagram posts. And the idea is even if it's something good that you're doing, if you are spending time disproportionately on that app, then then there's there's there's some work to be done around it. But if you are doing productive stuff, no. You are not gonna get addicted. How many hours a day on social media would psychologists consider normal? So I haven't seen any research on this. What people have said two, three hours, but, again, it depends on you and circumstance.

37:43Someone who is retired, for example, and, you know, homebound probably would do more than someone who who is employed and is working. So I haven't seen any research. I tried to look, but I didn't see any research on recommended hours. But as long as it's getting in the way of your normal activity and social connection, I would say, you know, be be wary. So Mary asked, do you think screen time limiting apps are helpful for detoxing? Some people say they aren't because they don't teach intentionality for the person after they are removed. Oh, okay. So I kind of what worked for me was to detox from nonessential activity on my phone. And this is in line with what I learned from from doctor Lemke that dopamine requires about four weeks to reset.

38:49So for you to reset, you have to abstain. So it's abstain to allow the reset, and hopefully, after the reset, you can build in more intentionality. But then, you know, we're all at different levels. Not everyone is addicted, and not everyone is equally addicted. Some people require further therapy. So the recommendation is if after four weeks you are unable to cope, please find that find a therapist. Find a therapist to help you. Examine your mood. The therapist will help you examine your mood and the use. Now with teenagers, teenagers who went through therapy based on depression and anxiety and ADHD felt better when they, you know, they reduced the amount of engagement with with social media.

39:37So this is one of the causal factors, you know, one of the correlation basically to people who feel, look. Nothing. There's nothing wrong. I'm not addicted to it. Someone is mentioning a question, Natalia, that, something about mental prayer. It says if a person prays a daily Ignatian exam examine of consciousness, they will be examining their thoughts, emotions, and physical being feeling throughout their day including online. They should then talk to God in mental prayer about this. It will uncover inordinate use of social media and the needs they are trying to meet. That is absolutely spot on. Because mental prayer is all about talking to God about what is in your life and what you are going through.

40:27It's something that I also practice and it it has literally changed my life as well. So, yes, that's a good comment. Thank you very much, Deborah. Nikashi, Caitlin wrote, this has been very informative. My struggle is that I need to be on my phone, social media frequently during the day for my private practice and my family business. Yeah. That's tough. But then if it's for your business, then you know it's work. Right? You are not just scrolling without intention. So I guess if it's for your business, you are putting post to promote your business, and you are answering questions perhaps from people that are coming. That's not that's not addiction. It is what happens outside that, where you are going, are you being controlled by the algorithms?

41:15Is your feet controlling you? These are the questions to ask yourself. So Matthew asked, is there a direct connection between ADHD and social media use? So I'm I'm not a therapist even though I I studied psychology in DMU, but I did see some, yeah, some correlation in particularly in kids between ADHD. And this can be explained with, you you know, the dopamine, deficit. So when when a child is unable to concentrate on, you know, stuff, it can be worsened by by social media use. But I'm not sure if it's a direct course, But there's tons of videos on YouTube talking about ADHD and social media and and and and because of, the correlation between mental health and social media, I would say, yes, that there's a possibility with that connection.

42:18Jenny wrote, is there a correlation between social media and seizures? Oh, I don't know. For that, I think, it would be best to ask a doctor, a professional, a psychiatrist. There may be information on YouTube. But if seizures are mental health related, which I don't know, there's a possibility, but I don't know. Sorry. I did see a question in here, but I lost it regarding algorithms, in different social media platforms. But as Nakashi mentioned, WhatsApp can be considered a social media app as well. I believe the question was, somewhere referencing about, are there any safe, quote, unquote, safe social media apps? And then the question regarding algorithms, I guess, how involved are they, on all platforms?

43:31Yeah. So the algorithms are pretty much involved on quite a bit, but I would only mention where I saw the heavy heavy would I say, I wanna use the term a bit carefully, but some kind of manipulation, you know, at things like YouTube, Instagram, Facebook. Those were the ones that were mentioned that are heavier on the algorithm. WhatsApp is social media because people send you things. You are in groups. You know, there are notifications. There are interesting things things that people send as well. And so part of my digital well-being, I noticed that I was spending quite a bit of time on WhatsApp and checking who has sent the next message and what's the update. And I actually had to be become silent on one of the WhatsApp groups I belong to because it was overwhelming.

44:26I just couldn't cope. Yeah. There was a lot, you know, going on. So someone else wrote, what if social media is my main source of income running an online personal brand? A lot of millennials and gen z aged adults make a living off of making content online. It's a great way to make money even more than a regular job. Oh, really great question. And, my answer to that is as a job, a job even has a time frame. For example, if you work in an office physically, you know you are there seven hours or eight hours. So you can apply that, you know, principle to working on your phone. Are you actually doing work, or are you engaging all that content? There has to be you know, one of the ways to, help so that you don't get into this dopamine deficit is to be intentional about the time you spend even at your work just as you would if you are going to the office.

45:42Someone else wrote, what's a good frequency to check groups? Screen time regardless flattens your effect. Okay. So while this is not research driven, a good frequency to check groups is it depends on how important the group is to you. Like, for me, I will prioritize my family group, for example, over my church group, but that is not important, or my work group or my alumni group because I have all that. So it would depend on how important. Do you absolutely need to check it? You know? Or is it just nice to have that? Okay. Let me just keep myself, updated because it can really suck you in a lot of those groups. Someone, has a question that says, can you suggest practical steps to balance social media use while protecting one's mental health?

46:46Again, it's intentionality, not letting the algorithm control you, which is what appears in your feeds and in your media. And then second is, how how long do you want to how how long do you have to spend? How long do you wanna spend on social media? Anything more than two to three hours we see is is overused is overused, especially if you are not using it to make money or or it's not your your work or your business. That's what I would advise. Otherwise, dopamine is the key thing. So the key thing is if you are constantly being stimulated, then dopamine is being released all the time. And after some time, it gets out of of balance, and the deficit happens. There's a question that media addiction.

47:42Okay. So I believe the questions at the beginning are a bit of a pointer. You know, examining your moods, ex examining how long, examining how you would feel if your phone is not with you. Are you jittery and, you know, is it just going to be so horrible because you don't have your phone with you for for a couple of hours? I would use that. But then again, on YouTube, if you if you go on YouTube and you type Anna Lemke's name, there's quite a lot of material and mainly videos, but there's quite a lot, that she has on diagnosing social media addiction. For me, like I mentioned, I was spending about six hours on on various apps, and I was feeling kind I was feeling anxious, really. And how I know is when I stopped and I reduced the number of hours, I I felt really better.

48:40I felt good. My energy levels were were actually better. You know? So it really would depend on the individual. And then are you it's your how is your, you know, the rest of your well-being? Are you exercising? Are you eating right? All this would point to if the addiction is being worsened, you know, with social media use. If if you don't get to exercise when you should and you are not doing it at all, but you are able to spend time on your phone like I was, because that was my situation, then that could be, a diagnosis of addiction. Someone else wrote, Nakashi, in the beginning, my question is how can someone combat this addictive nature of technology? I do not have, for example, Alexa be because we consider that to be a robot spy in our house, and we have to learn to live with the help of tech and social media, but to be detached at the same time.

49:44Is that a question or a comment? I didn't get the first part. The first part was, my question is how to combat this addictive nature of technology. And she gave the example that they do not have Alexa in the home because they consider it a robot spy. But how do we learn to live with the help of technology and social media, but also be detached by it at the same time? Yeah. I got that now. Yes. So, technology, to be honest, I doubt that if we it will go. It all boils down to what what you need from it. What are you craving for? Is it entertainment? Okay. Is it pleasure? Is it relaxation? Because and then you have to consider, is social media really the way to get those things? Can I do without it?

50:44Maybe not. You need it because loneliness is also, you know, a real problem in the world. And I know some people whose parents elderly parents live far from them, and the only connection they get is to do a video call ever so often every evening or every week. So social media is not in itself bad. It's the addiction and what it's doing to our mental health. Okay. So someone is asking. He loves watching soccer after his pastoral work and studies. How to know you are not addicted to something is you are not spending hours. So soccer is ninety minutes. Right? Maybe you're going to watch it for ninety minutes, and and you know ninety minutes I'm on Instagram, ninety minutes I'm on this app, and that's it.

51:29So you don't go there if you don't have a plan. If you are following, for example, I like to follow some of also the religious, you know, leaders, the bishop barons, and the the poplios. You follow them, but you are you know, you know you're doing it with intention. There's something that you need to learn or something you need to do with it. If it's entertainment, fine, but you're not spending a disproportionate amount of time on it. This is what is important that you are intentional about it because right now, the reason why it's reaching the status of, of, you know, an addiction just as we have with drugs is that sometimes people don't realize. It's very compulsive. Just picking your phone and checking is very, very compulsive.

52:25And someone has put a really nice, comment, and it says my prayers for everyone here today take time to think, stop, ask God and the Holy Spirit to guide your journey with discernment, humility, and wisdom. Find a physical activity to move and dance walk. Seek reading scripture and go volunteer reaching out to enjoy charitable needs. So, Nakashi, someone else asked, what if I enjoy attending online educational Zoom calls? Would that be equivalent to social media use? I love Zoom calls, listening to them in the background while I work on things around the home. That is not social media addiction because you opt for these Zoom calls. There are probably things you are learning about, and you mentioned you do it as you are doing your housework.

53:27So your your your responsibilities are not suffering as a result of it. And like I mentioned, social media has done a lot of good. I'm sure many of you are in The US, and I've been reading about, you know, the conversions to the Catholic church that have been happening the last couple of years and how many of the converts cite a lot of the online evangelists, you know, father Mark Smith, bishop Barron, and so many of them, you know, got them thinking, you know, about, you know, faith and about becoming Catholic. And these are things that ordinarily wouldn't have happened without social media. So there are benefits to social media. The key thing is be careful. Don't be addicted. Matthew asked, would it be correct to say social media is just a part of technology?

54:26Technology can be used for good just like social media. Indeed. Yeah. Technology can be used for good. It's achieved a lot of good for us. It helps us it's helped us, it's helped us do things faster, better. But there's also the downside. The downside is, unfortunately, is is being controlled by, you know, the big techs, and they they basically are using it for commercial gain in a way that is violating the dignity of the human person, not giving the human person choice, not putting enough controls for young people, not warning people of, you know, the downsides of addiction, of engagement. And if you watch that film, social dilemma, I would want you to go on Netflix. You would see that a number of the people who were behind this resigned.

55:28Their consciences couldn't cope with what they were doing in Facebook and in YouTube, And they resigned, and they got together to put this documentary together to warn you and I on the dangers of what they had done and they are trying to undo. So, yes, technology is a in my opinion, a double edged sword can be used for good, but it can also be used for for bad. And it's finding that balance is an individual thing. Thomas Rowe, a really nice note. Thank you, Nikeshi, for this presentation. It's quite an eye opener. I will rethink my use of some of the apps and time spent on social media. May God bless you, Nakeshi, and DMU. Thank you, Thomas. Looking forward to other presentations on mental health in the coming weeks in the month of May.

56:29We really appreciate, your your comments, and your blessings, Thomas. Yes. Before the end of the, the q and a session, I will add in the link for the next presentation, which will actually be May 13. Okay. Do we have any other questions? Isioma said, I am up for a serious detox. Amita wrote, some tech is actually bad. It's not all neutral. Something made to addict people and keep them out of reality might not be neutral. Yeah. True. Jack said, thank you, Nikeshi. This is an enlightening presentation. Thanks, DMU, for this invigorating talk. It's on Nikeshi. Our alumna is is amazing at this topic. Deborah, you are very welcome. Thank you for being part of tonight. If there are any other questions, please feel free to add them in the chat box.

58:01Are there any additional questions? Oh, there's some that came into the q and a box. So, someone else wrote, referencing social media doesn't exist anymore. Marketing expert call it now interest media. I've noticed that social media has become more of an interest based platform rather than a social one. I follow many mindset and psychology experts online, and I learned a lot from them. I've curated my algorithm to favor positive content on my account, and I'm quite proud of it. That's brilliant. Curating the algorithm is something that everyone should explore. Really great. So I'm I'm very glad, that this attendee brought this up. So just so that everyone knows this little piece of how algorithms work.

59:03As you watch videos, as you navigate social media, and you like and you comment, the algorithm will automatically push that type of content to you and suggest similar content that may attract you. And so that it's a really good point that, you brought up about curating your algorithm. You you can curate it to to have your feed provide you positive content on your account. Another question. Just curious about how social media will be different with the rise of AI and VR experiences and also with the rise of creator economy and intrasocial media. Definitely AI, like I mentioned earlier in the presentation, is influencing the addict it's kind of worsening the addiction, because, we see that now, you know, deepfake is everywhere.

1:00:11We have fake influencers online, fake musicians. The kids think they are real. We have a lot of body, you know, enhancements happening. You can release a video and immediately make yourself look, you know, different from who you you actually are. And it's fueling comparison. And and that that research was more around females, young females, comparing themselves not knowing, you know, this person is photoshopped and edited. And so the future of social media really is interesting. I I don't really know what it's gonna be like, but I know that the mountain pressure groups, are really, really, trying to get a voice to say that there should be more regulation in the design, you know, in the if if I if I call it the the addictiveness of how these apps are designed, they would expect to see more regulation and less of the addictive features, in place for the future.

1:01:20So another comment that came in, Nikeshi, is as an aspiring therapist, what is DMU's perceptive on being a therapist that has an online social media presence who builds an online brand? We need more Catholic therapists online having a voice online sharing their wisdom with the world. Yeah. So you can answer that, Natalia. Right? Well, okay. From a marketing perspective, I can understand a therapist and not just a therapist, anyone who has a business. Ideally, you would want to have a presence on social media for the simple fact that it is one of the easiest and fastest ways to build an audience and gain followers and have that level of exposure. That being said, there are others who are content creators, and you utilizing social media as a different medium to promote other things, which could be false information using AI to create videos that look and seem realistic, but they are not.

1:02:41But I do believe that it is up to not only the person behind the brand to build and put out content that is true, accurate, and with integrity. But also as a user of social media as was previously mentioned, curate the type of feed that you want. And that could be anything. There are many content creators out there who are chefs, those who are sharing about, natural supplements, anything from gardening and and you name it. Social media is an open world. So, I do think that it is something positive that an aspiring therapist or anyone with a small business could utilize social media to build their brand, but it's also being cognizant of the type of information that they do share out there, that it is accurate, that it is on brand for what they are promoting, and always coming from a place of integrity.

1:03:58Indeed. So Patrick Rhodes, what about social media and religion, mass prayers, preaching, etcetera? Could it not be a way of encouraging addiction? My experience, Patrick, just following these things, as a Catholic is they are not they are not addictive the way they are the entertaining, you know, videos or sites are. If if you follow mass, you're maybe you're following mass for one hour. I doubt that you you follow three masses in a day, for example, and you'll be three hours on mass. Maybe it happens to people who live alone and can't get access to a church, but you find out that dopamine is not stimulated from that kind of content in in my experience with, unlike, you know, the entertaining kind of content and and the doomscrolling kind of doing different things.

1:04:59But there's always a risk because, like I mentioned, it's not about porn now or doing negative things. You know, it can even be positive things, but you are spending so much time on it, and and you are looking at all sorts of things. You are not even focusing on on on something like listen listening to a homily or some preaching or some talk, you know, or some religious debate. And then you go into this spiral of, you know, the dopamine gets released and you want more, that is when addiction comes in. I doubt I didn't see much studies looking at, you know, addiction to religious podcast or religious items on on social media. If anyone has any experience, you can share. So Jack wrote, how do you talk about the risk of social media with students, particularly in the seminary context, and help them use social media in a responsible way?

1:06:08I am not comfortable in just prohibiting seminarians their mobile phones during weekdays, for example. I believe there are better ways to help them. Yeah. I think the seminarians also need to be aware of, you know, the potential risk of too much consumption of social media. Not just the potential risk these days with AI. You know? You can go and create anything, and you can put it online, and, you can make your work faster faster. But then it's removing the human creativity and talents that, you know, God has created each of us with and removing, you know, the originality that should come from, for example, when a priest or a seminarian prepares a talk or a homily. So how how to help seminarians is, first of all, awareness and helping them even engage with themselves to say, do I even have a problem here?

1:07:11And acknowledging that there's a problem. But, also, in my opinion, building it into the course of formation for them to realize, that they ought to help themselves so that they can be better ministers and better pastors, and better seminarians. So I think just starting from awareness and helping them realize that social media is not bad. And indeed, we should be there, you know, as Christians, evangelizing also through social media. We should place Christ there in social media as well just as many of us are doing and have mentioned. But on the other hand, there has to be intentionality around it. So intentionality with their time on social media, for example, I think is really important. And and with that, they can help themselves socially to say, you know, we don't do social media when when we're in class.

1:08:10We don't use phones in class as an example. Someone else wrote, I think reverence can be lost in regards to watching liturgies online, etcetera. Yeah. Again, I in this part of the world, I mean, Nigeria, when COVID stopped and we could move around, we went back to the mass in person. But I know some people are unwell and are sick, and the only way for them is to attend mass online. So that's one thing. But, otherwise, you can't, you know, you can't be in your house when you are okay because every all the churches all over the world are open for people, really. And I think there's been a lot of communication from bishops around the world, inviting people back to come to the churches. I know The US bishops as well After COVID also did a lot of that encouraging people to come online.

1:09:13The church has been very clear in its teaching. Also, with accessing the sacraments, like confession cannot be done online. So I agree with you that reference can be lost if, you know, care is not taken to be sure that you don't fall into the category of someone who who can't access, you know, the liturgy physically and in person. Thank you, Michael. Indeed. We shouldn't forget the place of addiction. One thing I want the audience to really take from this is what the dopamine overstimulation and deficit causes. You know, it leads to that situation where you feel flat, you no longer enjoying normal activities, and then you no longer derive pleasure from what you should be getting pleasure from.

1:10:14So from your friendships, you know, from doing work that costs you effort, but, you know, you are proud of, And then you just find out you know, you wonder what's happening. What's happening? And that's where the mental health challenge comes in because that can lead to you feeling isolated, anxiety as well, and depression in some cases. So you don't want to lose your pleasure. You don't want it to be so warped that you can no longer enjoy what you were designed to you were created to enjoy. I think for me, that that's one of the biggest risks of this addiction. But like we said, if it's going to take just four weeks for most of us to get out of it, then let's start the detox as soon as we can.

1:11:01But before you start the detox, turn off all your notifications. For those who can. Maybe if if it's for your work, you may not be able to, but I found out that that helps me a lot. In fact, I found out that without the notifications, I'm just more relaxed. So now I'm intentionalized because I want to look at the phone and not because something is flashing or I can't see it flashing. So a couple more questions came in. Can spiritual direction be offered online via Zoom? I'd love to find a spiritual director. Is there an online directory, preferably a priest or married woman lay? Yes. Thank you for asking. We actually have all of our alumni, including Nikeshi, on our website. We do have a spiritual direction course.

1:11:57Deborah Black, yes. I could answer your question about spiritual direction. Yes. We have an extensive list of alumni on our website. Happy to share it here in the chat, for you. Deborah is actually one of our alumni. I will add it here within the chat, and there was another question regarding a little bit more about social media. Do the psychology professors at DMU hold strong opinions on the therapeutic potential of social media? If so, what are the common themes they emphasize? Personally, during my unemployment and financial struggles, online therapists who created content were my only source of free resources to improve my mental well-being. I believe content creation should be a nonprofit service.

1:12:54If it produces valuable educational content, I think it should be accessible to those who can't afford therapy due to financial constraints. Okay. I guess that's a comment. Right? Yes. And so I will have to get back to you. I can, certainly raise this question to our psychology professors. I will drop my email into the chat, and feel free to, send me your question, and I can have one of our faculty members get back to you. So there is another one. Let me see. Cynthia wrote, there was an increase in agoraphobia and social anxiety disorders from the pandemic. We need to recognize fears and depression, isolation, PTSD as well. Indeed. Very, very, very correct. So do we have any additional questions as we wrap up?

1:14:25We still have a little bit under, fifteen minutes. I am adding our directory of alumni for spiritual directors within the chat, and then I will also add next week's presentation. So next week's presentation will be with a, husband and wife duo, both graduates from our PsyD program. That is the webinar registration for that. But are there any additional questions here for Nakashi? Oh, another q and a came in. Let me see. I missed the presentation. Sarah, no worries. We will send it to everyone who has attended and registered. Any other questions before we end tonight's presentation with our masters in psychology alumna, Nakashi Juwa. Okay. So no additional questions have come through. We really appreciate everyone for giving us the gift of time and attending tonight and being with us, on this very, very important topic.

1:16:14I know some of, our our attendees, Nakashi, were asking, how do they get a hold of you? How can they contact you? Do you have social media? Social media. I'm on I'm on LinkedIn, and I'm on that's about it, to be honest. I'm on on Facebook and LinkedIn. Yeah. But if you drop me a message on LinkedIn, then we can connect somehow. Yeah. Okay. And then we got a question. With the MS in psychology, can you become a mental health coach? So our psychology program is currently under three concentrations. So we do offer three concentrations that are bioethics, organizational leadership, and pastoral and spiritual care could certainly, provide you more information. If you either message me at my email that I included below or at this email, we can provide you more information.

1:17:30Lisa, you are very welcome. Thank you for attending. I know this is a a very big topic about social media, and we all struggle to find a balance, but it does come to that. Right, Nakashi? Finding a balance in everything that we do in our daily lives. Yes. And it's all about habits. You know? Replacing those bad habits with habits that help you flourish and live the best life that God has called you to live. Thank you very much for having me. It's been a pleasure, and I have learned so much from all of you. More for me to research and continue my evangelism on recovering from social media addiction. Thank you so much. We appreciate everyone attending. Thank you, Nikeshi. I am adding in my email.

1:18:25If anyone has any questions, you want to contact me directly, or would like to continue the conversation about social media, algorithms, and the importance of human connection, by all means, please feel free to drop me a note. I am happy to consider it, and we may just add it on to, one one of our monthly webinars where we can touch on a subject that everyone is interested in in talking about. So please, feel free to touch base with me. Definitely find Nikeshi on LinkedIn. Daniela, thank you for being with us. Deborah Roca plus Nakashi. Thank you so much, Deborah. Matthew said thank you. Thank you for being with us. Thank you, Matthew. Cynthia, thanks to all. God bless you. God bless you as well, Cynthia.

1:19:38We appreciate you being with us. Sarah, Irene, Nogo, Linda, Michael. Thank you. God bless as well. Wishing everyone a lovely evening. Peace and god's grace be with you all. With you as well. Barbara, it is our pleasure. Jack, you're very welcome. So that concludes tonight's presentation. Thank you again, Nikeshi. Thank you very much, Natalia, and thanks for putting this together. Thank you. Thank you. We wouldn't have been able to make it without you, so thank you. Have a good evening, everyone. Bye. Bye.