- It was very painful - NRK Sport - Sports news, results and broadcast schedule

– As soon as I stood up, I passed. When I sat on the toilet, I scrolled. Everywhere I went, I swiped.

The mobile phone melted in the hand of spear thrower Marie-Thérèse Obst.

On Monday, she will try to qualify for the final at the European Championships, but the road to get there has been as long as an endless series of Instagram posts.

A shoulder injury caused problems for years. In 2021, she cleared the injury after surgery, but the time that followed presented entirely new problems.

– I couldn't train, so I was talking on my mobile phone all the time, she says.

I followed the Olympics from my mobile phone

In the same year, the Olympic Games were held in Tokyo. The tournament was a big goal for Obst, but she failed to qualify. So I let her sit on the couch and follow her friends in the biggest sports games in the world on her mobile phone.

-I have to look at all the other people I followed on Instagram, who have been there and can live the dream I've been dreaming about since I was a little girl. It was very painful.

She describes the time as a turning point. This was the first time she started to notice how negatively social media was affecting her.

– I had to follow some athletes. That's when I started thinking: “Is this something I want to do?»

I had to put the mobile phone in another room

But that is the case at the moment with the tank. Meanwhile, the obsession with social media continues.

Who ended up liking the photos you posted?

How many likes will you get?

-I wanted to get confirmation from what I posted. Often, if I made a post on Instagram, I had to put my cell phone in another room, because I couldn't think about it, Obst says.

It slowly but surely dawned on Obst that scrolling endlessly on mobile wasn't the only problem. Social media began to affect her self-image.

Within the apps, she received streams of ads on how to fix all the blemishes she saw herself.

-I realized this was something I had to do something about. And I remember that day, when I thought: “But all that stuff is there, me.” When I put that phone away and I'm alone in the room, I get stretch marks. My skin is orange, I have a wrinkle here, and pimples there. He's gay,” says the 28-year-old.

Then that was enough.

I deleted TikTok, disabled Instagram, and deleted Snapchat.

– It's a bit like quitting smoking

Obst is not alone in feeling dependent on social media and wanting to ditch it. Trine Sivertsen, Professor at the Department of Media and Communication at Dr user interfaceThey say they have seen an increase over the past five years.

– NWhen we ask them what they think they eat too much of, social media and cell phones are the ones that lead us, Sivertsen says.

– It seems uncomfortable for her (obst) to be on. If you're really tired and it feels negative… There are many people who also find it very liberating to take a break.

She says they can't say that quitting smoking has a big impact on people in general or that it clearly helps, but it has a lot to do with the motivation behind it.

– When people are motivated, they are able to go “cold Türkiye”. It may be more difficult in the long run to not contact again. It's a bit like quitting smoking in the old days. People manage to shake it off, but when motivation wanes, many people reconnect.

But Obst's motivations have not diminished. on the contrary.

– I don't regret it for a moment

This season has seen results on the sports scene. After nine consecutive years of injury, she finally returned.

March saw the start of the season, and Obst opened what was then the best in Europe. Two months later, she set a personal record with a distance of 61.81 metres.

-I didn't regret it even for a second; I've been able to use my time for a lot of good things. When I wake up in the morning, I do some stretching, and I do some yoga. “I write a lot in my diary,” Obst says.

Because things are improving outside of the athletics arena, too. She notices this especially when meeting other people.

-When I'm with people, friends and family, I have nice conversations with them without having to take out my mobile phone and start scrolling. I feel like my interactions with people were completely different. Life in general has become much better.

Syvertsen realizes this through his research.

– The biggest and most important reason is actually attendance. That people log out or take a break because they want to be more present where they are, simply.

However, life as a javelin thrower is not particularly lucrative. Many athletes earn large sums of money through sponsorships on social media.

Obst proposed the idea of returning for this very reason, but he rejected it.

– My mental health is 100 times more important than NOK 10,000 in a sponsor's account.