Project

This project is dedicated to all those who suffer from alcoholism and drug addiction. It is a very sad and alarming statistic when we acknowledge that almost 90,000 Americans have passed of overdose in 2020. But we have a problem with more than just this Recovery issue. It is the issue of a Pandemic and how we can connect folks to one another outside of Narcotics and Alcoholics Anonymous. Thankfully we have many new media practices such as Zoom, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and such which often serve to connect one another during these strange times. Unfortunately there are sometimes unequal distribution of access to digital media for multiple reasons. Occasionally the marginalisation is due to not having paid internet access or the needed online economic captial to join in the "noise". In other words some folks do not have a smart phone, a laptop or I pad.,etc.

Hi Everyone. My name is Jane Street Simmons.

I thought about the 93,000 people who we lost to Drug Overdoses this past year in America and I wanted to talk about this. It is something that has been magnified this past 18 months due to the Pandemic. Also I wanted to talk about how lost and lonely a person could possibly feel when they are prevented from having much needed human contact. We all generally crave to be near others because that is human nature and especially for those wanting the support of others while trying to get clean and sober. In the Recovery movement this void has been created partially by the Covid-19 Pandemic. The isolation and loneliness of not seeing others, whether one is in Recovery or not, is causing much unnecessary anquish and depression. Those that suffer with Substance Use Disorder and mental illness are suffering unimaginable pain. During this course I have used my less than impressive artistic skills to be creative and make a framework that represents a computer screen monitor showing a representative model of people on a Zoom meeting. These little faces are all alone just like many people have felt during this epidemic. There are, of course multiple ways of communicating with others and many are thankfully provided through the digital medias.  When NA and AA meetings were closed for human contact the digital media "gurus" stepped up their game and created other ways to share ideas and information to those in Recovery. Zoom obviously has been a great tool that helps one keep a program of communication going when there is no way to hold meetings in person.

But not everyone can Zoom. First there are many in Recovery who are not financially sound enough to own a computer, a smart phone or an Ipad. Second they may not know how to operate a laptop or let alone how to navigate a Zoom meeting. These good people also do not do well when isolated by the restrictions of things such as Covid-19. My initial thoughts are that many folks attending the Zoom Recovery NA or AA meetings are probably not thrilled with this new concept of communication. However some people are probably satisfied with this opportunity and embrace it.These folks may be fortunate enough to have the latest Samsung or Iphone or Macbook. Being illiterate used to mean that one could not read or write. The new literacy means the ability to make sense of something by comprehension. If one can not comprehend a zoom meeting (or navigate it) then one can not get anything out of it. Therefore that means less sharing of ideas, concern and support for the Recovery movement. We can always use more complex multimodal texts such as websites or phone messaging or instagram to reach those in Recovery but there too lies the sometimes less than savy media user. We must find a way to bridge the gap for these new to our digital media enhanced world.

We must find a way to bridge the gap for these folks who are new to digital media. This is the way of the world now, Pandemic or not.

Here is my idea.....See if you like it.

I propose that we make a plan to encourage donations of smart phones and internet services from our mega billionaire companies like Apple, Google, Samsung, etc. This would help alleviate the lack of equipment and online space. This is easily the biggest access obstacle with digital media literacy.  Overcoming these issues can help alleviate the isolation and loneliness of living through a Pandemic while being in Recovery. Just my thoughts and....

To be continued. By Jane.......