August 15, 2018 • www.theobserver.com • Vol. CXXXI, No. 14
HIGHLIGHTS There’s a new kind of addiction, and it’s nothing like others ... Page 2
COVERING: BELLEVILLE • BLOOMFIELD • EAST NEWARK • HARRISON • KEARNY • LYNDHURST • NORTH ARLINGTON • NUTLEY
4 MORE YEARS! The new Wittpenn Bridge won’t be ready until 2022. But it’s progressing. See story, page 8. NJDOT Photo.
Kearny Square Mall sale price way over expectations at $45.5 million By Ron Leir Special to The Observer
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ost people go to a mall to shop. And shop like mad, one particular buyer did, indeed. This patron bought the entire mall and suddenly, the price of real
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assessed value of about $8.4 million and market value of more than $29 million. The property transaction was logged June 12 by the Hudson County Register’s Office, but the information didn’t become available to Kearny
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THE OBSERVER | WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 15, 2018
A NEW KIND OF ADDICTION: By Kevin Canessa kc@theobserver.com
F
OR AS LONG AS we’ve been discussing addictions — and the stigmas that go along with them — there’s one kind of addiction we’ve not yet broached … and it’s one of the newest kinds of addictions … to electronics and social media.
ADDICTION CRISIS For yours truly, from perhaps 2009 to sometime in 2017, my addiction was Facebook. The first thing I’d do — after having the first cuppa, of course — would be to go online to Facebook to see
what I missed from 11 p.m. the night prior to 5 a.m., the time I woke up. When I would take a photo — whether it was of my nieces or nephews, or anything else — I would have to post it to Facebook for the world to see. But then it started to hit me — my “addiction” to social media was overtaking my life. I would constantly ask people if they saw what I
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posted. Others would ask me the same. But it got worse. I was losing friends over discussions over politics or other news of the day. I had to stop. And aside from my workrelated social media, I’ve made a conscientious effort to stay away from Facebook — and Twitter — and most other social media. An 8-year “addiction” was over. And frankly, being 95% devoid of personal social media has been relieving. It had its purpose, and still does. But it consumed me. Way too much. There are countless people out there who are addicted to social media, gaming, electronic pornography and so much more. I was fortunate to have had the opportunity to speak with several local folks who find themselves addicted to electronics. Their “addictions” range from playing games in 12-hour clips at a time, to posting nearly everything they do to social media and more. They’ve agreed to share their stories with us.
‘Everything I do, I tend to share it on Facebook.’
Here is the story of a local man, who lives in Kearny, but who asked we not use his proper name. Meet Jack, a 46-year-old married father of three sons and two daughters. He and his wife and five kids live in a modest one-family home in the northeastern end of town. Jack says he first started using Facebook in 2008, when the social-media site began its expansion from being mostly for college- and high schoolaged users to a place for adults, too. At first, he would post a photo or two from family outings. Then, as the network grew, he grew with it. He would post his location as often as he’d go to different places. It’s grown, he says, to the point that he practically posts everything he does — from work-related happenings, to videos he takes on a Jersey Shore boardwalk, to just about anything one could think of. “I really liked it (Facebook) from the get-go,” Jack said. “But it grew and grew and grew, and now, whether it’s a visit to South Jersey to
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03
SOCIAL MEDIA & INTERNET Continued from previous page things I do with my family, it’s safe to say just about everything I do, I tend to share it on Facebook.” Jack says his persistent use of the social-media site has led to family quarrels, arguments with people he once considered friends, to people reporting his moves to online administrators — and it’s led to his taking involuntary time away from Facebook. “In 2016, during the presidential campaign, I lost so many friends,” Jack said. “I got baited into discussions I should not have been a part of. I couldn’t control what I said about other people’s opinions. Several times, because of my comments, my account got suspended for 48- or 72-hour clips at a time. When I had no access to my account, I was lost. I hated not being able to post things. It was like the most important part of my life was taken away from me.” Jack says he’s piped it down a little — but from sunrise to sunset, he’s practically “attached to his mobile phone,” checking what others are saying on Facebook and now, Twitter, “multiple times an hour.” “I can’t function without it,” he said. “I know the damage it has caused. But I still do it. Is it out of hand? Yes. But I can’t stop doing what I do.” Jack is hardly alone. Next, let’s meet Anne.
‘My words may hurt, but I still use them’
Anne says she’s gotten herself into trouble over the years, posting replies to people’s comments on discussion groups, people’s Facebook walls and the like. “My boss saw some comments I made about a co-worker,” she admitted. “I was given one warning, and was told ‘either stop, or get your resume ready for a new job — because that’s the next step.’” To get around this, Anne says she made her comments and posts invisible to her boss. Though she and her boss remain “friends” on Facebook, she says he isn’t aware that she still does what she does. She understood the gravity of what the boss told her about being openly critical of her co-workers, but she wasn’t ready to give it all up to save her job. Instead she took the easy route — making her remarks highly secretive. “Do I worry he will see them somehow, via a third party? Sometimes,” Anne said. “But I have the right to my opinion — and trust me, no one is going to take away my rights just so I can have a good job. My words may hurt, but I still use them.” Anne says she hopes to be able to curtail her online activity, but she’s concerned it might ultimately cost her in the long run.
Inside this edition ... Opinion............................................................................................6 Around Town..................................................................................9 Food & Dining Directory..............................................................10 Sports & Recreation.....................................................................11 Health & Wellness Directory.......................................................13 Real Estate....................................................................................16
An expert’s view
Yale University Psychiatry Professor Dr. Marc Potenza directs the school’s program for Research on Impulsivity & Impulse Control Disorders. In a video posted to the university’s website, yale. edu, Potenza says those with addictions to Internet-based things are also 10% more likely to have addictions to substances such as alcohol.
Social-media addiction is also likely to interfere with work, relationships and more. He also says there’s limited data on the “efficacy of medication” for treating such addictions. But there are still ways electronic addicts can help themselves. “One should be mindful of the ways one uses the Internet,” he said in the video. “If one thinks they
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