Starting a new meeting – Internet and Technology Addicts Anonymous

Here you can find some suggestions for how to start a new meeting, whether online or a face-to-face meeting in your area. Starting a new meeting is an incredible act of service which can help not only you, but also other struggling addicts in your area.

• The good news is that starting a new meeting is very simple! Anybody, anywhere can start an ITAA meeting – there is no need to receive permission from anybody.

• We recommend reading “A Vision For You” in the Big Book of AA. The chapter is incredibly inspiring and includes practical advice and guidance for those seeking to start new meetings.

• The Twelve traditions of ITAA are useful guides in stewarding a new meeting.

• You only need two people seeking to recover from internet and technology addiction to start a meeting. And there is no need to get discouraged if you are alone – some meetings have been started by individuals patiently showing up to their meeting, sometimes for weeks, until a newcomer finds the meeting and joins them.

• If you are starting a face-to-face meeting, it can be a good idea to look at places where other 12-step meetings are held and ask if they have any space available for you to start a new ITAA meeting. Once you have decided on a location, you can let us know the meeting place, time, and contact details, and we can list them on the website.

• If you are starting an online meeting, just send us a message through the contact form on the website and we can add it to the calendar.

• A helpful format for small meetings with just a few people is to read from 12-step literature. You can take turns reading passages and sharing reflections. You can also use or adapt the format we traditionally use in the phone meetings.

• For face-to-face meetings, you can put up flyers; most 12-step clubhouses have a place where you can leave a flyer or list your meeting details.

• Have perseverance, patience, and trust in higher power.