I say this tongue-in-cheek, but I'm reminded of Bob Saget's scene in the movie Half Baked. It's vulgar, be warned. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARXHHevvr6Q
And this, simple "Stop it!" therapy from Bob Newhart: https://vimeo.com/97370236
Technology “Addiction”
51–60 of 115 posts
Re: Technology “Addiction”
#52This 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…
Do you have any advice for breaking video game addiction? I feel like it affects me a lot.
Only the same advice I have for breaking chemical addictions: just stop already. I don't buy into the idea that any addiction is a disease or that people are powerless over their addictions. I think it's incredibly disempowering, deflects personal responsibility to an unhealthy degree, and does nothing to solve the problem. I don't make light of this; I know how hard it is to stop bad habits, especially if part of the appeal of that bad habit is escaping other problems. At the end of the day, though, you need to choose to stop. One of the other incredibly dangerous ideas to come out of programs like AA is that you have to stop bad habits completely, and that any "slip up" is a personal failing. Moderation is a lot healthier than the guilt and shame these programs try to make people feel for "failing".
I don't have any actual advice for you. Some people swear by cognitive behavioral therapy. I prefer to manage my various negative tendencies myself. Sometimes the pendulum swings too far and I pay a price, and that tends to bring me back to a state of equilibrium.
Re: Technology “Addiction”
#53Earlier quoted context omitted.
Exactly this. The " discover who really has the power to break these supposed “addictions.” (Hint: It’s you.) " rethoric is always pushed by lobbies for industries who do not want to be considered responsible for the harm their products cause. For example, MacDonalds and other fast-food producers have been pushing that in order to fight rampant obesity, people should do more sport, rather than have limited access to…
Seriously, this is about the equivalent of telling somebody with a substance dependence (I think weed is likely the best analogue, with a weaker physiological dependence, that is) to just quit it . These devices are not inhaled, injected, ingested, but they are very much a tool in releasing hormones.
You're absolutely correct.
A few years ago I went gluten free to see if it helped with some other health issues (it did, NCGS.)
So, between late 2016 and the end of 2020, I avoided gluten as best as I could. Which all but eliminates most fast food and the majority of prepackaged foods/snacks/etc.
Portion control became incredibly easy. I ate when I was hungry. Sometimes people would comment on how little I was eating, but I was still energetic and kicking ass at work/etc. My body also fairly quickly started to adjust to a more 'proper' weight. (As long as I wasn't drinking. There were parts of that time of my life where I sometimes did, never to where it interfered with work but definitely was hiding from my personal life circumstances.)
ANNNNYWAY. Late last year I decided to try gluten again to see whether I still had a bad reaction and/or if it was moreso specific types that caused me issues (They all kinda bother me, but barley makes me ragey....)
I remember the first thing I ate from McDonalds last year. It was a double cheeseburger.
I then spent the next 2 weeks straight getting at least one meal a day from McD's. It was an eye-opener on how addictive some of the components in a food can be to your neurons.
Re: Technology “Addiction”
#54This 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…
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/delete account(s) and perhaps the hardware) should be viable. Oh, and it's not particularly nice to people, but if it's game that's only played within a community, you could also grief / troll / insult / cheat for a day or so to get permabanned / ejected from the community and burn your name.
Re: Technology “Addiction”
#55[deleted]
Re: Technology “Addiction”
#56This 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…
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.
Re: Technology “Addiction”
#57I haven't listened to the episode, so this may be off, but... our broad use of the word “addiction” can cause real harm. I would say that the opposite is (at least) as harmful. Quantifying and medically defining addiction narrowly has led to a lot of harm. Smoking is extremely hard to kick, with some first handers claiming that its worse than heroin. People rarely prostitute themselves (or others) for tobacco though.…
Exactly this. The " discover who really has the power to break these supposed “addictions.” (Hint: It’s you.) " rethoric is always pushed by lobbies for industries who do not want to be considered responsible for the harm their products cause. For example, MacDonalds and other fast-food producers have been pushing that in order to fight rampant obesity, people should do more sport, rather than have limited access to…
> rather than have limited access to deeply addictive, processed and sugary-filled foods.
So individuals are not responsible for their decisions? I personally would rather not live in a world where my choices are artificially limited by someone's idea of what is "good for me". I'm perfectly capable of deciding for myself, and willing to accept consequences of my mistakes.
Re: Technology “Addiction”
#58I haven't listened to the episode, so this may be off, but... our broad use of the word “addiction” can cause real harm. I would say that the opposite is (at least) as harmful. Quantifying and medically defining addiction narrowly has led to a lot of harm. Smoking is extremely hard to kick, with some first handers claiming that its worse than heroin. People rarely prostitute themselves (or others) for tobacco though.…
Broadly speaking, I tend to think of "addiction" (rightly or wrongly) as the errosion of free will. If someone wilfully chooses to take a substance / perform an action that has subsequent negative effects (potentially including detoxing), then that seems a fair individual decision. If someone takes a substance that destroys or decreases their future ability to choose not to take that substance in the future... that's…
> Broadly speaking, I tend to think of "addiction" (rightly or wrongly) as the errosion of free will.
I don't claim to speak for all addicts, but this is not how I would describe my experiences, at least not under my conception of "free will".
I "wanted" to stop doing drugs in the same way a lazy person "wants" to go to the gym more. whenever the moment came to actually do it, I had to admit that I didn't want it nearly as much as I said I did. sure, I wanted the "outcome" of quitting, but in the meantime, I really wanted to keep doing drugs. so I did.
every day I had a clear goal in mind: getting money and acquiring drugs. I was fairly strategic in pursuing this goal; I was even capable of abstaining for a while (eg, to pass a drug test) if it increased the security of my future supply.
I was in and out of treatment for a while (primarily to appease others), but I ultimately stopped doing drugs because I didn't want to anymore. this happened rather suddenly, over the course of just a few months. a few areas of my life improved simultaneously, partially through my own efforts, but partially just luck. I now lead a fairly normal life.
anyways, the reason I type all this out is because I really don't like it when people describe addition this way, especially if they aren't/weren't addicts themselves (not assuming anything about you in particular). depending on what you think "free will" is, it may be more or less accurate. but it is usually a prelude to an argument about how addicts aren't competent to make choices for themselves and how society should Do Something About It, usually involving curtailing the freedoms of people unfortunate enough to be identified as addicts. addicts don't need to be controlled or disciplined (unless they are hurting others, of course). they just need to reach that tipping point in quality of life where drugs don't seem so appealing. at least that is my belief, based on my own experience and observations of others going through it.
Re: Technology “Addiction”
#59Earlier quoted context omitted.
Exactly this. The " discover who really has the power to break these supposed “addictions.” (Hint: It’s you.) " rethoric is always pushed by lobbies for industries who do not want to be considered responsible for the harm their products cause. For example, MacDonalds and other fast-food producers have been pushing that in order to fight rampant obesity, people should do more sport, rather than have limited access to…
Seriously, this is about the equivalent of telling somebody with a substance dependence (I think weed is likely the best analogue, with a weaker physiological dependence, that is) to just quit it . These devices are not inhaled, injected, ingested, but they are very much a tool in releasing hormones.
What if the person doesn't want to quit? What to take into your body and how to regulate your health are deeply personal choices. Why not just let people make them?
Re: Technology “Addiction”
#60Was a bit annoying to see that Nir’s main counter examples were “Do you want Netflix to make less engaging shows? Do you want to make less engaging podcasts?”. I don’t know if anyone says they’re addicted to podcasts, but either way those clearly aren’t the most addictive things out there… and on top of that, services like Netflix could easily add in simple screens like “hey, youve watched 5 episodes in a row, would you like to take a break”.
The thing this podcast didn’t seem to address is the fact that moder social media is A/B tested for maximum engagement. Similarly, modern videogames are way better designed and more compelling than those 20 years ago. This makes a huge difference to how hard it is to stop engaging with this stuff!