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Can we please stop comparing any activity that our brain learns to enjoy to drug usage by saying that some neurotransmitter is involved? I'm sure one could jus
by nicklaf 11y ago
Can we please stop comparing any activity that our brain learns to enjoy to drug usage by saying that some neurotransmitter is involved?
I'm sure one could just as easily say that getting the mail is like other addictions, because I chronically get excited at the thought of my latest online order arriving.
- deleted 11y ago[deleted]
- deleted 11y ago[deleted]
- sidcypher 11y agoIt's only an ill-recepted drug usage if it starts remaking your behaviour as to increase consumption. Does the excitement and anticipation of getting mail significantly increase the frequency of your ordering? I assume not at all, but compulsive buying is a thing, and "some neurotransmitter" can totally make people addicted, so why can't I make a comparison when it is reasonable to do so?
- nicklaf 11y agoPoint taken; you are right to defend the drug comparison, so long as we're talking about compulsive behavior with negative effects. I do feel the analogy is overused though, mostly because the notion that chemical reactions in the brain are involved seems to have an unduly strong impression on people, whereas I imagine that these phenomena in the brain turn up in all sorts of human activity (see sandworm101's comment). There's also a negative connotation that exists with drug usage. I could be totally addicted to jogging, though ("runner's high"), with an almost totally net positive effect on my life.
- teddyh 11y ago> I'm sure one could just as easily say that getting the mail is like other addictions, because I chronically get excited at the thought of my latest online order arriving. There actually are many people addicted to shopping. You can often see them on “Hoarders” or similar TV shows, their homes filled to the brim with products in boxes, unopened.