Anonymity in sobriety might soon be going the way of the phone book or a cable subscription: a relic of the past. Thanks to the explosion of social media popularity (and let’s face it, everyone’s obsession with his or her own story and/or subconscious or conscious desire to be famous), putting your life on display for public viewing is becoming the norm. And according to recent story in The Kernel, sobriety-oriented hashtags are the new Step One.
Social Mayhem
AfterParty Magazine certainly doesn’t shy away from discussing social media’s newfound role in recovery (or addiction). We’ve asked the questions: Can social media help you stay sober? Can it cause depression? Is it a help or hindrance to sobriety? Do you relate to having a love-hate relationship with Facebook? Is Twitter addiction indicative of a gambling problem? That’s not even all of the stories but you get the gist.
My point is this: social media can become an addiction in itself, yes. But it’s also showing us that the journey to drug freedom isn’t just happening in the basements of obscure churches anymore.
#Soberlife
According to the Kernel piece, Instagram has become an “integral” part of recovery. (Sure, I may be biased but I’d call the AfterParty Instagram quite an integral part of that.) According to Kernel, the hashtag #soberlife is so popular, its mentions are in the hundreds of thousands. (As of this writing, there are 241,352 posts with it.) Online/mobile recovery communities can take a lot of credit for its popularity and for encouraging people to be out and proud about sobriety: the non-profit Sober Movement has over 20,000 followers and proudly posts before-and-after style photos of people recovering from drugs, alcohol, sex or any other substance or activity.
Sober Movement, which was founded by two sober friends looking for ways to keep each other accountable and inspired, started as a few humble posts on a personal Facebook page but is now a full-blown recovery network with merchandise and public events. One of the founders, Kevin Curtis, says, “I thought it would be a cool thing to show people that there are so many of us out there doing the sobriety thing.” He encourages followers to post their landmark day counts along with pictures of themselves holding signs with their sobriety date and “I am me” written on them. The comment section usually blows up with support, praise and, sometimes, cries for help. But according to communities like Sober Movement, that’s the point. Repeated relapses or failed attempts are part of the story and the more people are open about it, the more hope others might gain.
Letting It All Hang Out
I was initially too timid to showcase my sobriety on social media because I was scared I’d change my mind and drink again. I didn’t want to be held accountable to any sort of public declaration to the world. I was also afraid of what people would infer from seeing terms like “sober” or God forbid anything remotely related to the 12 steps in my posts. I would make subtle references to not drinking and jokingly pose with non-alcoholic beer (controversial, I know) but would never have been bold enough to start hash tagging #soberlife or #sobriety. I still don’t think I could do that but I’m also a little more guarded than your average social media user I guess. Selfies seem especially nerve-wracking to me. (That might also be because I don’t really like the way my skin or face look in selfies. In fact, I wish the excessive selfie takers would teach me their confidence secrets, though I can never tell if people who take them constantly are extremely confident…or extremely insecure. But I digress.)
Some might argue, of course, that my reasons for not posting sobriety-related status updates and hashtags is the reason I should be posting them. It’s another incentive to stay sober, a way to help others and a way to garner support from friends who might not have otherwise known I was struggling. And those could be friends I might not have otherwise known would even be open to supporting this life decision.
It’s a good point. As often as I’m met with people who don’t understand why I got sober, I’m also constantly and pleasantly surprised by people who are enthusiastic about it. Maybe I’ll get bolder with more years under my belt.
In the meantime, I know where to look if I need to find support from others out there leading a #soberlife.
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