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Technology “Addiction”

jasonfeifer.com

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Re: Technology “Addiction”

#101

Post by visarga »

Sigmoid wrote: post #23
caymanjim wrote: post #5

This is a horrible format for providing the transcript, and a long and boring conversation, so I didn't read much of it...but from what I can tell, they're just trying to redefine the word 'addiction' to a narrow, specific, and arbitrary meaning. I've consumed plenty of supposedly-addictive chemicals, and aside from nicotine, none of them have the kind of pyschological hold over me--or rewarding brain-chemical satisf…

Agreed. I personally think one problem with this article is their cult following of science. I guess there isn't conclusive scientific evidence that social media or video games are addictive or detrimental to you. But should I wait possible decades for more conclusive research? I rather not. I know I have been addicted to video games and it has negativity impacted my life. The reason people are making these 'assumpti…

Yet another call to trust personal experiences, stories and subjective opinions as more authoritative than science. It's a bad trend.

Re: Technology “Addiction”

#102

Post by visarga »

FriedrichN wrote: post #6

Disclaimer: I did not listen to the podcast, I merely skimmed the transcript. Is 'addiction' to social media the same as an addiction to heroin? No of course not. But it is evident that some people have great trouble to not have it control their life to a certain degree. If addiction is defined as "a brain disorder characterized by compulsive engagement in rewarding stimuli despite adverse consequences" I think you c…

There are things which were considered addictions and then they became normal and even encouraged behavior, such as reading. Is it a real addiction if it depends on the historical period? Drug addiction doesn't.

Re: Technology “Addiction”

#103

Post by bumby »

thegrimmest wrote: post #100
bumby wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you’re in the US, there is a “general welfare” clause within the social contract

Where is this social contract written? I don't see anything about welfare in the constitution.

Article I, Section 8, Clause 1: The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises, to pay the debts and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States

Nationalized healthcare which you’ve previously stated you're against, for example, would likely be payed for by a tax. If you remember, the Supreme Court ruled the penalties within the ACA amounted to a tax and were legal. Article I Section 8 also outlines Congress’s ability to regulate commerce, despite your claim that amicable interactions of private individuals “minding their own business” are outside its jurisdiction. You can be against all of these as policy, but that doesn’t mean they breach the social contract or are somehow immoral.

Your Rugged Constitution[1], while old, is interesting because it frames each Article in terms of both what you give and what you get from the social contract, the former part being lost on many people. For example, regarding the aforementioned clause, you give the federal government additional power in exchange for the ability “to take care of the needs of the country at home”, I.e., general welfare.

[1] Findlay, Bruce Allyn, and Esther Blair Findlay. Your Rugged Constitution: How Americas House of Freedom is Planned and Built. -, 1919.

Re: Technology “Addiction”

#104

Post by louis___ »

visarga wrote: post #101
Sigmoid wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed. I personally think one problem with this article is their cult following of science. I guess there isn't conclusive scientific evidence that social media or video games are addictive or detrimental to you. But should I wait possible decades for more conclusive research? I rather not. I know I have been addicted to video games and it has negativity impacted my life. The reason people are making these 'assumpti…

Yet another call to trust personal experiences, stories and subjective opinions as more authoritative than science. It's a bad trend.

Science should be a tool, not be a religion that you MUST trust.

When the voice of the people does not matter anymore because some guy in a white coat said "Science, you know", this is another kind of bad trend.

Re: Technology “Addiction”

#105

Post by visarga »

louis___ wrote: post #104
visarga wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yet another call to trust personal experiences, stories and subjective opinions as more authoritative than science. It's a bad trend.

Science should be a tool, not be a religion that you MUST trust. When the voice of the people does not matter anymore because some guy in a white coat said " Science, you know ", this is another kind of bad trend.

There are opinions and personal experiences - valid for one or a few people, and then there are scientific concepts that are universal and generalize everywhere. The Mars helicopter flies OK even though it wasn't designed on Mars. Science works with or without people's approval.

My main concern with stories is that they are prone to emotional appeal and cherry picking of facts. We live in the era of fake news and critical justice mobs after all, we need to be skeptic. What if the story proposes an agenda that is just supporting another group against your own, not including a balanced view of the situation? What if the underlying message is that of social war, non-inclusiveness and dehumanizing towards the "oppressor group"? The Bible itself is a story with many many victims during the last two millennia.

Re: Technology “Addiction”

#106

Post by rasen58 »

blackbear_ wrote: post #79
rasen58 wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you have any advice for breaking video game addiction? I feel like it affects me a lot.

What worked for me was not eliminating videogames but using them as a sort of carrot-on-a-stick. A reward for doing what I should be doing, if you will. Playing videogames can be a hobby like many others, you don't need to completely eliminate that from your life. You first need to find what you would like to do outside of gaming, things like reading, exercising, learning an instrument or a language, and so on. Then…

Hm I feel like I wouldn't be disciplined enough for that though. If I got a taste of video games or TV, then I wouldn't want to stop. So I feel like it's just better to stop entirely and never touch them again.

Re: Technology “Addiction”

#107

Post by rasen58 »

formerly_proven wrote: post #54
rasen58 wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you have any advice for breaking video game addiction? I feel like it affects me a lot.

Depends on the kind of game. E.g. multiplayer games, especially with persistence, are just very addictive, so if you know that you are vulnerable to those addiction triggers, it's best to abstain completely. That's of course only useful for avoiding future addictions, and doesn't really help with an ongoing addiction, which are hard to control, but withdrawal should be mild, so going cold turkey (uninstall, sell/dele…

Haha that's a good idea on trying to ban yourself. Yeah I think I just need to abstain from all games in general since even if I let myself play some single player game I'll eventually let myself play a multiplayer one again later.

Re: Technology “Addiction”

#108

Post by rasen58 »

twodave wrote: post #80
rasen58 wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you have any advice for breaking video game addiction? I feel like it affects me a lot.

Being willing to do whatever it takes is the only way. If that means trashing your phone, you've got to be willing to go through with it. If you're not willing to make sacrifices to change then the addiction will just continue to run its course. I say this as someone who handled it poorly as a teenager and young adult--I eventually overcame the addiction by replacing it with a more social hobby (guitar), after a lot…

I tried to do this with reading books by putting a kindle on my desk so that I would see that want to read (I did a lot of reading in high school and it was very enjoyable so I'm sure I'll still enjoy it). But I just ended up ignoring the kindle and still continue to play mobile games on my phone or watch TV and movies on my laptop.

I agree with trashing things completely and I tried to do things like hiding the app store on my phone but I would still end up sometimes still opening the play store and installing a game. But I can't get rid of my phone completely since I do need it for other work things.

I want to replace these bad activities with a better activity but it seems hard when I can just start playing a movie and get that instant dopamine without needing to do any work.

Re: Technology “Addiction”

#109

Post by rasen58 »

MattRix wrote: post #56
rasen58 wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you have any advice for breaking video game addiction? I feel like it affects me a lot.

Uninstall the game. It’s the only thing that works for me.

What if I go back and reinstall it again later? I've done this multiple times with some mobile games I've played that were really good.

Re: Technology “Addiction”

#110

Post by rasen58 »

emerged wrote: post #44
rasen58 wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you have any advice for breaking video game addiction? I feel like it affects me a lot.

See if you can transfer the addiction to a fitness game? Suddenly the addiction becomes a virtue and is strengthened by the endorphin highs.

Any recommended fitness games? I think the idea makes sense but I feel like I'll just be lazy and choose the easier game that doesn't require me to move when it comes to deciding what game to play.
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