Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

People Break Down Which Addictions Society Actually Sees As Necessities

People Break Down Which Addictions Society Actually Sees As Necessities
Myriam Zilles on Unsplash

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

Giphy

Shopping 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

Giphy

Fast 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

Nicotine. One of the OG addictions.

And one of the unhealthiest. But how clever of them to make it so appealing by selling it in other ways besides cigs.


Want to "know" more?

Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.

Never miss another big, odd, funny or heartbreaking moment again.

More from Trending/best-of-reddit

Dax Shepard; Kristen Bell; Cher
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard

Cher Brutally Dunks On Kristen Bell's Marriage To Dax Shepard Right To His Face In Hilarious Video

We've all looked at a couple and thought, "what the heck does she see in him?" at one time or another.

And if the couples that make you scratch your head includes actors Dax Shepard and Kristen Bell, you are definitely not alone—even Cher doesn't get it!

Keep ReadingShow less
Laura Loomer; Tucker Carlson
Win McNamee/Getty Images; Tucker Carlson Network

Laura Loomer Demands Comment From White House Over Tucker Carlson's Bonkers 'Globo Homo' Theory About Venezuela

The United States military, working on orders from the administration of MAGA Republican President Donald Trump, sank the first alleged drug-carrying vessel from Venezuela on September 2, 2025. Tensions continued to mount between the two sovereign nations in the aftermath.

Pundits across the political spectrum speculated on Trump's possible motives and endgame.

Keep ReadingShow less
Kristi Noem; Hilton hotel
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images; Lindsey Nicholson/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

MAGA Rages After Homeland Security Claims Hilton Canceled Hotel Reservations For ICE Agents

MAGA fans are furious after the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) called out Hilton Hotels & Resorts on social media this week after the hotel chain allegedly canceled reservations for ICE agents at a location near Minneapolis.

DHS accused the hotel chain of launching a “coordinated campaign” to cancel reservations after ICE agents attempted to book rooms using government email addresses and discounted federal rates. The allegation surfaced as the Trump administration reportedly began deploying thousands of agents to the Minneapolis area.

Keep ReadingShow less
workers outside emergency room entrance
Dre Nieto on Unsplash

Emergency Room Workers Share Things They Wish Patients Would Stop Coming In For

Called emergency rooms (ER), emergency departments (ED), or trauma centers, hospitals usually have a place where ambulances bring people. Most of those places also allow people to bring themselves there.

But not everyone who walks into an ER or arrives by ambulance needs to be there.

Keep ReadingShow less
Jamie Kaler; Donald Trump
@jamiekaler/TikTok; Alex Wong/Getty Images

'Will & Grace' Actor Brutally Drags Trump's Venezuela Takeover With Mock Regime Change In His Own Neighborhood

As the world now knows, on the morning of Saturday, January, 3, 2026, under the direction of MAGA Republican President Donald Trump and his Secretary of "War" Pete Hegseth, the United States military invaded the sovereign nation of Venezuela using 150 aircraft to abduct Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores.

The nation, along with international allies and adversaries, have been weighing in on the action and the Trump administration's attempts to justify it. Trump, Hegseth, and their mouthpieces claim the uninvited intervention in another sovereign nation's internal affairs was about justice and drug trafficking while the international community and Trump's opposition in the U.S. say it was about oil.

Keep ReadingShow less