Addiction is a powerful disease. And it comes in many forms.
Did you ever stop to wonder how culturally we're allowing, even feeding many addictions under the guise of a societal need or norm?
We'd never allow people to be or stay drug addicted. Right? So says Big Pharma.
Look past just alcohol and drug addiction, there is a whole world of obsession out there, that we're just letting slip by.
Redditor Morticiar wanted to discuss the behaviors society needs us to never stop doing, even at our own risk.
They asked:
"What is an addiction society pretends is a necessity?"
Social media.
The pipeline that feeds all the world's addictions.
Can you stop?
I can't.
Imagine if we did though?
Ka-ching!
"Shopping. This addiction is actually a medically recognized addiction with it’s own name – Oniomania." ~ xaven10
"There's a resident in the condo I work at who gets Amazon and other packages by the dozens daily. I once had to go into her apartment for emergency reasons. The place was walls stacked with unopened packages." ~ zaphod_beeble_bro
Giphy“juicy details”
"Obsessing over celebrities’ personal lives. I don’t give a f**k who’s dating who, who had a baby, who got divorced, etc., and I don’t understand why anyone else does." ~ luongolet20goalsin
"Every once in a while i’ll read some story about a celebrity i’m interested in, like the whole John Mulaney thing with his divorce and him having a baby with Olivia Munn. But I think of it like a little bit of high school gossip. it’s an interesting story, but once i’ve heard the 'juicy details' I move on with my life." ~ keep_running
Dial Up
"Cell phones. Constantly having it nearby, checking it all the time, having to be available 24/7 in case someone tries to contact you. As someone who has this addiction, it's really not healthy and adds a lot of unnecessary stress to my life." ~ triangularbish
"Yeah definitely. I'm switching to a flip phone as we speak. All it does is text, call, play mp3s and it has navigation which is amazing. That's all I need :-) and it's a new phone T-Mobile still makes and sells." ~ agentscullysbf
NEW! EXCITING! BETTER!
"Always buying anything that is NEW! EXCITING! BETTER! What a crock of crap!" ~ bu**holezforeyez
"This s**t affects kids a lot. I remember buying stuff for my nephew and the one thing that always came out of his mouth that made me resist an urge to backhand him. "'S IT NEW!?!?'"
"[disclaimer to internet virtue signallers: when I say 'backhand' it was always just an eye roll. The use of 'backhand' here is for story element so go pretend you care about something else, somewhere else.]" ~ IjustMadeThisCuzXqc
I WON!
"The lotto. It’s really fun to imagine what you would do if you won. If you’re not blowing tons of money on it. That could be worth it right there. But it’s so expensive, and your chances are like .00001 of winning something you can retire with." ~ HayRiver12
GiphyShopping and Lotto?
Guilty.
In fact, I refuse to see Lotto as an addiction.
I'm going to be rich.
So then I can shop.
Oh Shut Up!
"Being 'busy.'" ~ Fetch1965
"My aunt has never had a job in her life but fills her facebook feed with how 'busy' she is all the time. Everyone hates her." ~ happyfunisocheese
GiphyFast forward to Facebook...
"Being on Social Media. It’s not entirely your fault, social media is literally designed to be as addictive as crack." ~ tebaj8
"Well, it's never that simple. Social media got off the ground before anybody ever thought of designing it. There were millions of people using a forum similar to Reddit, years before the internet had any commercial content at all. Some of us may remember Usenet... Fast forward to Facebook and Twitter, and for sure." ~ ikuzuswen
PLEASE LOVE ME!!
"Having people validate you." ~ Brotherbeam
"Emotional validation almost always feels good, and, I guess in a sense, it can be a need, since a lack thereof can result in some mental health issues." ~ shaquille_oatmeal98
"That's the core concept of social media. Not communication or information, validation." ~ refried_pancakes
"One of my biggest growth moments was accepting the fact that I'm viewed as subpar at work but good enough to keep my job." ~ Slapinsack
Overtime
"Working extra hours for free. The organization will gladly let you work for free but absolutely shouldn’t do it." ~ zoomy942
"My previous boss basically said that I have to see it as an investment and that I'll see it back later in some form or another. Never happened. Go figure." ~ RocketCow
"As a fellow company leader who gets pi**ed when I find out my employees are working off the clock, I salute you." ~ deathbybowtie
get a patch
"Nicotine, I feel like I am one of the very few blue collar workers who does not use it." ~ Shhmelly
Giphy
@jimmyfallon/Instagram