One huge substitute is games: I know several permanently unemployed people who while away all the time on online games - there are some really addictive ones ou

One huge substitute is games: I know several permanently unemployed people who while away all the time on online games - there are some really addictive ones out there, the ones I know are hooked on League of Legends or DOTA or other games with e-sports, which give a substitute feeling of achievement (and it can be a real one if they get to the pro scene). It's a huge problem in Japan: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hikikomori https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hikikomori And in other countries (not as big in mine, but it's growing): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NEET https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NEET