Meeting Script
Welcome to our meeting of Internet and Technology Addicts Anonymous.
We start the meeting by going around the room and introducing ourselves by first name only, and identify as internet and technology addicts. We welcome any newcomers who are with us today, and if you’d like, you may indicate whether this is one of your first meetings when introducing yourself. I will start: “My name is ______ , and I am an Internet and technology addict.
[each member introduces themselves]
Welcome everyone. We encourage any newcomers who are with us to stick around after the meeting, as a number of us will be available to stay and help answer any questions you may have.
At the beginning of each meeting, we ask that members turn their phones on silent, and commit to listening to one another.
Anonymity is an important principle of the ITAA Program. Everything that is said here, in the group meeting and member-to-member must be held in confidence. Only in this way can we feel free to say what is in our minds and hearts, for this is how we help one another in ITAA.
We start the meeting with the Serenity Prayer:
Higher Power, Grant me The Serenity
to Accept the things I cannot Change,
the Courage to Change the things I Can,
and the Wisdom to Know the Difference.
[Chair may ask for a volunteer to read the Mission Statement].
[Chair may ask for a volunteer to read the Twelve Steps of ITAA].
[Chair may ask for a volunteer to read the Twelve Traditions of ITAA].
[Chair may ask for a volunteer to read About Sobriety].
[OPTIONAL READING: We will now select a short reading from our recovery library for reflection, as a prompt for sharing.]
Our Topic: (topic of your choosing, a list can be found at the bottom of these notes)
Discussion is not limited to the reading or the topic(s) of the day. If you are new, you can introduce yourself and, if you feel comfortable, share what brought you to ITAA. There will be time after the meeting to ask questions.
I will now read the Safety Statement:
In this meeting, we seek to provide a safe, non-judgmental environment for people to find strength, healing and recovery. We ask that members avoid cross talk, which is any commenting, interrupting, judging, advice giving, feedback, or dialogue in response to another member’s share. Meetings are not a place to meet dating partners. Comments or behavior of a flirtatious, sexual, or aggressive nature directed towards other members are inappropriate, as is any discrimination in relation to sex, gender identity, race, creed, religion or sexual orientation. We also suggest that members avoid describing specific digital content in detail such as the names of specific websites or apps.
[Depending on the size of the meeting, the chair can set a time limit for shares and request a volunteer timekeeper].
And with that, the floor is open for shares. If you’d like to share, please speak up and share.
[Optional prompts for after the first round of shares. Note: chair may wish to wait for ~30 seconds before saying: “Would anybody who hasn’t shared yet like to share?” and then pause for another ~30 seconds before moving on.
Opening the floor for 2nd shares.
Reading from literature.
Having 5 or 10 minutes of group meditation.
A brief round of introductions/check-ins: where we’re calling from, how we’re feeling today, an achievement, or a tool we’re using.]
Thank you all for being here and helping me stay off addictive internet and technology use one more day! [You may also thank anyone who did service during the meeting, such as the timekeeper]
In closing, I would like to say that the opinions expressed here were strictly those of the person who gave them. Take what you liked and leave the rest.
The things you heard were spoken in confidence and should be treated as confidential. Keep them within the walls of this room and the confines of your mind.
Talk to each other, reason things out with someone else, but let there be no gossip or criticism of one another. Instead let the understanding, love and peace of the program grow in you one day at a time.
If you are new, didn’t have a chance to share, or are struggling, please feel free to stay as a number of us are available to talk or answer any questions after the meeting ends.
Our 7th Tradition states that each ITAA group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions. We have no dues or fees, though we do have expenses. If you would like to make a donation, you can find our donate button on our website at internetaddictsanonymous.org/donate. If you can’t donate, please keep coming back! You are more important to us than your money!
ITAA holds International Service Meetings on the first and third weekends of each month. All are encouraged to participate. The full schedule and the upcoming agenda are on the website: https://internetaddictsanonymous.org/ism/
Are there any other announcements for the good of ITAA?
Does anyone have recovery time that you’d like to mention and celebrate with the group today?
Carrying the message to the still-suffering addict is an essential part of our program of recovery. Sponsorship is an informal, voluntary relationship in which a more experienced member helps guide a newcomer through The Twelve Steps, which serve as the foundation of our long-term recovery. Members can also offer temporary sponsorship. A great way to connect with a potential sponsor is through outreach calls. We encourage you to reach out to members whose shares you resonated with today. There will be an opportunity after the meeting to exchange phone numbers.
Let’s have a moment of silence for the addicted internet and technology user who is still suffering……
(Read one of the following prayers/affirmations of your choosing)
May I be gentle with myself today. May I be open to help from higher power and the fellowship, which can lead me to recovery.
Just for today, I accept life on life’s terms. Just for today, I am grateful for all of the blessings in my life.
Just for today, I will be present with myself. Just for today, I will put myself before my internet and technology use.
Higher Power, grant us the humility to realize our ignorance, admit our mistakes and recognize our need. Help us to praise rather than criticize, to sympathize rather than to discourage, to build rather than to destroy.
Higher Power, grant us the serenity to accept the things we cannot change, the courage to change the things we can, and the wisdom to know the difference.
Higher Power, I offer myself to Thee, to build with me and do with me as Thou wilt. Release me from the bondage of self, that I may better do Thy will. Take away my difficulties, that victory over them may bear witness to those I would help of Thy power, Thy love, and Thy way of life. May I do Thy will always.
I put my hand in yours, and together we can do what we could never do alone. No longer is there a sense of hopelessness, no longer must we each depend upon our own unsteady willpower. We are all together now, reaching out our hands for power and strength greater than ours, and as we join hands, we find love and understanding beyond our wildest dreams.
Let us hug each other. To hug one another, just say “hugs” out loud.
Who you see here, what is said here, when you leave here, let it stay here.