‘Limbic Capitalism’ Preys on Our Addicted Brains

Should we include weed and booze in this as well?

No.

Back in the day, I began my career in programming intending to be a game developer. Coming from a family of addicts I noticed even in the late 1980s that games and chat-style apps could be powerfully addictive. (This awareness kept me off Twitter, Facebook, and so on.)

I moved into compiler work and line of business apps, which surprisingly I find just as enjoyable. I never really regretted avoiding games because there are enough things to get me in trouble already.

How do we differentiate from a compelling and effective form of entertainment with an addictive activity? Most people wouldn't look down on someone who stays up till 3 AM reading a gripping book, but many would if we swap the book with a video game. Definitely people who can't hold down jobs or education due to addition to video games or social media is a problem, but I suspect that a lot of the concern is due to an overall negative view towards games and internet use.

What I do think is a problem is the fact that we have much better data collection on how people use video games and internet services. Absent that information, developers had to think about crafting a good overall experience that people were willing to pay for. With that information, people optimize for overall time used instead of the quality of the experience. Hours and dollars spent is an easy metric to show to executives, judging the overall quality of the experience is much more subjective.

The article does indeed mention them both

>The nature of addiction has implications—more precisely, temptations—for businesses that sell habituating products. One is to encourage early and frequent consumption. Treat the lads, the saloonkeepers used to say, and you’ll have their money in the till when they’re adults. And the more they drink, the greater the profits. To this day, 80 percent of alcohol sales go to the 20 percent of customers who are the heaviest users, a pattern that applies across the business of brain reward. More than half of all marijuana finds its way into the lungs and stomachs of those who spend more than half their waking hours stoned. Insofar as addictions to marijuana, or to anything else, develop most often among the poor, the marginal and the genetically vulnerable, they are sources of inequality and injustice as well as illness.