Master Theme 1: Idiosyncratic Problematicity
When asked to reflect on their motivations for applying to participate in the retreat, the interviewees frequently mentioned issues arising from the use of social media, gaming and messaging apps. These problems were all ego-dystonic but varied greatly regarding cognitive-affective processes and contents. The diverse problems were not mutually exclusive, and individuals could experience multiple problem combinations. While not an exhaustive list, the master theme of idiosyncratic problematicity was most vividly represented by the subordinate themes of social comparison, time sink, and cyber neglect.
Social comparison
Huda describes her motivation for attending the retreat as stemming from an enduring and depressogenic tendency to make upward social comparisons with a broad range of content viewed on social media.
Huda: I have been evaluating or judging myself against the things I have been seeing in social media. And when I see, for example, someone who is perfect in the gym, she has a perfect body, I look at a different person who is perfect at cooking and I expect myself to be perfect in everything across the board. Not any specific items, but everything, because this is what I have been consuming all the time. My expectations of myself became too high and unrealistic.
Huda’s reflection is aligned with previous research, where, among females, the tendency to make upward comparisons on social media partially mediated the association between problematic social media use and depression (Samra et al., 2022).
Time sink
Jena describes herself as frequently using social media for longer durations than she wants. This experience has been described as a time sink, getting caught up in hours of unintentional and fruitless scrolling and content viewing. For Jena, such behaviour, in turn, results in unpleasant feelings - arguably guilt - and a sense of self-reproach.
Jena: So hours and hours would pass by and then I would suddenly notice that, oh, I've been using TikTok for two hours… It's an ugly feeling, I would say, that these hours could have been used doing something else.
Jena’s behaviour also aligns with the idea of “persistence”, a proposed symptom of social media disorder, where one’s attempts to spend less time on social media repeatedly fail (van den Eijnden et al., 2016).
Cyber neglect/ digital invisibility
Saif, discussing the deactivation of his Twitter account, alludes to the unpleasant experience of receiving no attention/responses to the messages he posted on the platform.
Saif: I feel so relieved after I did that (deactivated Twitter) because I've always been posting something and expecting likes or some comments, but then I don't get any. And I don’t get any replies. And that bothers me...
Saif’s reflection is consistent with the broader psychological literature on belonging and ostracism. For example, previous experimental research found that a lack of feedback for one’s social media posts was associated with feelings of invisibility, exclusion, lower levels of belonging, meaningful existence, and self-esteem (Tobin et al., 2015).
These three subordinate themes reflect problems that involve differing cognitive processes (e.g., comparing self with others, anticipating responses from others, difficulty disengaging from content) and evoked emotions (e.g. dissatisfaction, loneliness, guilt). Despite this cognitive-affective variability, each was viewed negatively and as being directly connected to technology use.
Master Theme 2: Connectivity (Connection, Disconnection and Reconnection)
Across all interviews, there were frequent mentions of connecting and disconnecting. This language parallels how we currently talk about the digital world regarding “connection speeds” and being connected to or disconnected from the internet. The master theme of connectivity was represented by the subordinate themes of biophilia (connection to nature) and interpersonal connection (group) connection.
Biophilia (connecting with nature)
One use of the connection-disconnection phraseology was describing how the retreat helped a participant connect with nature, typically coupled with describing some form of disconnection from occupational obligations or tech use in general.
Eman: It was a chance to disconnect; to connect to nature…I never felt so relaxed and disconnected in a way that helps me to hear and somehow to connect to my emotions and better understand myself and what I really want in life.
Connecting to one thing seems to facilitate disconnecting form others. Jena describes how connecting with nature helped her disconnect from problematic technology use.
Jena: I really enjoyed the whole connection with nature part of the retreat. It kept our mind off of, I would say, addiction to the digital world. And you realize that there are other stuff to do out there; you can spend your time in a more rewarding way.
Reem was surprised by how much she enjoyed being in nature: “I would not imagine that I would love going out in the nature…”. Several participants have made connecting with nature a regular part of their lives in the months following the retreat. For example, Alya described her post-retreat practice in the following terms.
Alya: I decided that I want to connect more with nature. that's what I've been doing for the past, three or four months. I intentionally let my phone aside and then just notice the things around me.
Interpersonal connection (the group)
In discussing their beneficial experiences, all respondents made references to their fellow participants as a positive aspect of the retreat. There were descriptions of camaraderie along with specific examples of experience-sharing and a deep sense of valuing the companionship and support provided by peers. There was a sense of being connected by a common issue, specifically, problematic technology use and the desire to re-examine relationships with digital devices. Omar, for instance, commented: “It was nice that we are all there for the same purpose, surrounded by like-minded people”. Similarly, other participants echoed and elaborated this theme of appreciating and learning form the group.
Huda: And when I was around people who was just here to improve themselves, and seeing the way they are working on themselves, it was easy to be myself without being judged that I'm too emotional or I'm too excited…it was okay to be myself. It was okay at this moment to be myself without all of this judgment.
Reem: I loved the group…I have always wanted to go on a trip where everyone is pleasant, and no one is busy on their phone. Everyone is participating in the activities, and I got the chance to do that.
Saif, who described himself as “a silent person”, particularly appreciated the social aspects of the retreat.
Saif: I don't really reach out to people. So, this [being in a group] made it easier for me. Some of the people actually reached out to me before I reached out to them. Which was nice and doesn’t usually happen.
For Reem the social element persisted beyond the retreat, leading to the development of lasting friendships. “The experience was huge. I mean, I met a lot of people that are now my friends.”
Zayd, who had previously attended several other wellbeing retreats, made the following comparison.
Zayd: So yeah, so you were mostly alone there [previous retreats]; like some presentations and the like, some yoga and meditation practices, but there's not as much socializing as this retreat. I learned a lot through socializing and, and realizing that through socializing, you can actually forget your phone and be away from that kind of reality.
Being a residential retreat, the social element continued outside of the formal sessions, and there was an element of experience-sharing, including peer-to-peer suggestions for achieving healthier more balanced relationships with technology.
Alya: Someone [a fellow participant] told me that instead of mindless scrolling, you should try mindful scrolling. Okay, after that, I started opening my phone looking for something useful.
Not all interpersonal interactions were pleasant. However, even some of the more difficult social situations were ultimately perceived as being beneficial.
Zayd: So, for me, like some interactions were a bit (pulls angry face). I mean, it's actually when you're in situations and you have to deal with people and then you get to see a different side of yourself, where maybe you're not patient or things get stirred up. So yeah, there were a couple of uncomfortable situations – interactions - but those also were, I think, the most beneficial. The biggest learnings came out of that - those interactions.
This interpersonal connection facilitated the formation of a group, a general feature of mindfulness-based approaches. For example domain six (holding the group) of the mindfulness-based interventions teaching assessment criteria (MBI-TAC) describes the importance of group dynamics in such interventions (Crane et al., 2013). If the group is to become a helpful vehicle, connecting participants to the processes being explored, then there needs to skilful attention paid to group safety, trust and boundary issues (Crane et al., 2013). The importance and value participants ascribed to the group in the present study underscores the benefits of grounding such interventions in mindfulness-based approaches. However, a prerequisite to a safe and effective group is an experienced mindfulness teacher with the requisite competencies.
Master Theme Three: Mindfulness
This theme most closely aligns with some of the typical goals of mindfulness-based interventions, where individuals work towards becoming more aware, more often and better able to respond thoughtfully and deliberately, rather than automatically and habitually, to unpleasant/unhelpful emotional states (Segal et al., 2002). The subthemes (1) awareness and (2) choice are, by necessity, overlapping as awareness is a prerequisite of conscious choice.
Awareness
In describing the impact of the retreat on his behaviour, Zayd describes opting to leave his phone behind during several of the hikes and excursions (this was a gentle, open invitation to all participants on the retreat). Consequently, He reported becoming more aware of the urge to check his phone, describing the sensation as preceded by a change in energy levels. There was also the idea that not having the phone around generally led to a heightened sense of awareness.
Zayd: So, there was more noticing – “oh this is what’s happening now”, and the energy levels are different. There is a heightened sense of awareness of what’s actually going on, compared to when you have your phone around.
Awareness dose not invariably lead to more adaptive technology use. However, it opens the door to choice. Reflecting on the impact of the retreat, Saif describes this relationship between awareness and choice in relation to his social media use: “I still scroll mindlessly, but sometimes I notice that I’m doing it and make the choice to stop or carry on”.
Choice
With refence to the lasting impact of the retreat, Jena describes how she now notices when she is reaching for her phone or laptop without a clear goal or intention. In noticing this, she occasionally chooses not to open the device.
Jena: I notice I’m opening the phone mindlessly and I catch myself…now sometimes I don’t open it. I don’t see the need to use my phone as often as I did before.
Jena described how her awareness did not always result in her opting out of problematic use. However, she had noticed an attitudinal shift, in that she was now less likely to feel self-reproachful and beat herself up about it.
Jena: I’m being less hard on myself, even if I do spend a lot of time on my digital devices, sometimes.. I’m still trying to implement these concepts, I’m still learning, so it’s OK if I use it mindlessly occasionally.
Huda describes a similar relationship between awareness, choice and positive self-evaluation, accompanied by a sense of liberation.
Huda: Whenever I know I am spending a lot of time, and I know I am wasting my time, I give myself permission to waste this time because I am making this call (decision)… It feels liberating, I am making the choice. It’s not like I do not have a choice or say in what I’m doing with my time.
These attitudinal elements reflect well that the retreat was grounded in a mindfulness-based approach, balancing notions of awareness and choice, acceptance and change, while encouraging curiosity and compassion, in line with the attitudinal component of IAA axioms model of mindfulness (Shapiro et al., 2006) .
The example of mindfulness (awareness and choice) went beyond technology use. For example, with reference to a mindful eating practice that was part of the retreat, Huda reflected on how this had stayed with her. She reported noticing hasty and inattentive eating, with the noticing allowing her to choose to slow down and focus on the food.
Huda: ...when I eat too fast and I remember what I've learned …I feel like I'm not doing myself justice by just eating that fast. I just need to taste the flavors, enjoy that, enjoy the meal, not just to sustain myself, to enjoy it, really enjoy them.
The idea that mindfulness interventions go beyond their initial targets (stress, depression, anxiety, behavioural addiction) is related to the broad focus on the individual’s relationship to inner experience (thoughts, emotions, and physical sensations). As such, mindfulness-based approaches impact transdiagnostic symptoms such as experiential avoidance, and the benefits become noticeable across a broad array of domains (Crane, 2009).