UNPLUG NOW –
Nov. 12, 2025 – She had a burgeoning internet and technology addiction that drove her to contemplate suicide.
Lauren says, she’d scroll for hours on end. She didn’t take care of her apartment, which became infested with fleas. She didn’t take care of herself, either. She put off eating, drinking water and going to the bathroom. She couldn’t sleep. Life, she says, felt unbearable. “It just felt like this kind of living nightmare,” Lauren says. “I felt like I had no quality of life. I was miserable the whole time, and I couldn’t really explain to people why I was so unhappy.”Now, Lauren is on the road to recovery, thanks to a new and little-known 12-step program called Internet and Technology Addicts Anonymous, or ITAA. Borrowing from the principles of Alcoholics Anonymous, ITAA hosts regular meetings and encourages members to follow the 12 steps outlined by AA to achieve sobriety. Like other members of ITAA, Lauren doesn’t share her last name when speaking to media about the group, out of respect for its chief principle of anonymity.
