Social Addiction: An Everyday Reality

A unique by-product of our modern culture is social addiction, which is a bit harder to define. Everything from kleptomania and pyromania to an addiction to gambling, video games, shopping, exercise, or even social media can be included in this category. I’ll address a couple of the more common social addictions: gambling and social media.

In New Mexico, where I live, gambling is an everyday reality. Even though it’s not generally seen as being as harmful as drug addiction, studies have noted the similarities between addictive gambling behavior (also called pathological gambling) and substance addiction.

Put simply, gambling is not God’s best for His people and can lead to sin—especially when gambling becomes an idol. Just because something is legal does not mean that it is morally right, beneficial, or edifying (see 1 Corinthians 10:23). To place trust in a bet is unwise and unprofitable from a spiritual and financial standpoint. Combined with the fact that it may lead to compulsive behavior—always thinking that the next wager will pay off—it becomes dangerous.

More than that, God wants us to be spiritually profitable in our lives—not necessarily financially profitable. He wants us to put our resources into something with eternal gains.

That same principle applies to other social practices, like social media. Though social media can provide a means of connecting over shared interests and causes, it can also get in the way of authentic relationships, which require time, patience, and risk. The dangers of social media also include isolation, comparison, fear of missing out, bitterness, convenient friendships, and the obsession to be validated.

Why do we look for things like gambling and social media to tell us our value instead of looking to the God who made us, understands our needs, and loves us as we are?

The Danger of Discontentment

Simply put, social addictions are the result of our society’s insistence on convenience and instant gratification. It begins with discontentment and covetousness: we don’t have what we want, so we seek the easiest means of getting it instead of trusting God to provide what we need.

Whether it’s a lack of stewardship of your resources (gambling), the desire to put forth an image of yourself that’s more than successful but less than honest (social media), or another addiction, you’re in a dark place when God’s truth isn’t light on your path.

So how exactly can you be freed from the addiction you’re caught in, whether it’s substance, sexual, or social? More on that next.

For Further Thought

Think about your involvement in any of the areas mentioned in this section and consider why you participate in this activity. Are there healthy limits you can put on these areas of social addiction, or do you need to stop doing them altogether? Remember, your true worth is in the Lord. Enlist a friend or Christian counselor to pray with you about these areas, and ask them to check in with you—or agree to check in with them—about how you’re dealing with the issue.