'Instagrammable' cafe opens
Are you addicted to your selfie?
An IT professor fears Alcoholics Anonymous-type groups, for people addicted to Instagram, Facebook and other social media, are the way of the future.
It could only be a matter of time before we see people saying, "My name is X and I'm a social media addict" in front of a group, and going "cold turkey" on social media in order to live a healthier and more stable life.
Professor Katina Michael of the University of Wollongong's School of Computing and Information Technology says Wifi has the power of junk food.
"When we have about 11 hours out of our 16 waking hours completely immersed in screens, you can call that normalised behaviour or you can call that addiction."
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Professor Katina Michael says the cafe has a responsibility to teach their patrons responsible internet use.
Professor Katina Michael says the cafe has a responsibility to teach their patrons responsible internet use.
Michael doesn't think the effects of increasing technology use, will hit in about 10 years when young people who are growing up on screens enter the workforce.
"Their ability to be literate in basic English and mathematics is softening."
Michael said one of the main issues was the way in which off-line activities had moved online. Even signing up for a sports team was now an online activity.
Professor Katina Michael says we will see Al Anon style groups for internet addicts.
Plus, tablet devices have incredible magnetic resonance affecting young people under the age of 12.
Her comments follow the launch of New Zealand's first "Instagrammable" cafe which opened in Auckland on Friday - a branch of bubble tea brand Gong Cha.
The cafe, which is marketing itself as being a friendly space to use the popular photo sharing app, includes backdrops, a hanging chair and USB ports for charging devices.
"People are using their phones a lot [more] ... We're trying to create a unique experience for our customers," Gong Cha New Zealand manager Marcus Teh said.
"We've created an Instagram area where people can take their pictures."
Although Teh agreed many young people were addicted to technology, he said it was difficult to control people's internet use from a business point of view.
"We don't see a point in restricting our customers who are coming to use Wifi," Teh said.
"So far, we haven't seen any misuse of time [on the internet] in our cafe."
But Michael held that the new cafe had a responsibility to look after its patrons.
"They have a responsibility to help their patrons not to suffer the same woes of those who have suffered big crises [people dying from video game addiction] in South Korea," she said.
Modelled after popular Taiwan-style bubble tea shops, Gong Cha was founded in Kaoshiung, Taiwan in 2006.
The brand has over 600 stores across Asia, the United States, Australia and New Zealand.
- Stuff
Citation: MATTHEW ROSENBERG, August 1 2018, "'Instagrammable' cafe opens, as academic warns of rising rates of social media addiction", Stuff.co, https://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/105866033/Instagrammable-cafe-opens-as-academic-warns-of-rising-rates-of-social-media-addiction
Article syndicated to Independent on Aug 1, also. https://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/105866033/Instagrammable-cafe-set-to-feed-young-peoples-internet-addiction-Professor