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Believing something is bad for you and actually successfully changing it are two very different things.

maxxxxx 8y ago
This reminds me a little of obesity. A lot of people have recognized the problem and are doing something but in the end the average still gets fatter and fatter.
- adventured 8y ago
  That's not correct however. Recognition can and often does lead to correction. In the US, the percentage of children five years of age and under that were obese, dropped from 14% to 10% over ten years (2004-2014). That's due to first recognizing a terrible problem and then acting against it. US obesity rates have stabilized. [1] I think we can be fairly certain that's in no small part due to increased knowledge and awareness of the problem over the last decade. The next step is to begin moving the needle the other direction, even if it's a slow process. People think obesity in the US is a very old problem, when in fact it started just 30 years ago and wasn't a serious issue until the late 1990s. In 1985 no state had an obesity level over 15%. Today, 46 states exceed 25% obesity. I doubt the US will ever go back to 1985 obesity levels, however if it can change negatively that much in less than two decades, then you can plainly see meaningful improvements in a similar amount of time. [1] https://www.rwjf.org/en/library/articles-and-news/2017/08/new-report-finds-progress-to-prevent-obesity-at-risk.html https://www.rwjf.org/en/library/articles-and-news/2017/08/ne...
  - saiya-jin 8y ago
    Very true, this can be often seen in older photos or videos, ie 60s hippies, or any odd-fashion-70s or most 80s. Very slim people everywhere, like whole nation went to gym or for a run every single day.
Waterluvian 8y ago
Especially when game theory or whatnot is involved. Being the first person in your group of friends to get off Facebook might just make you the one person that never gets invited to anything anymore. Even the thought of that is probably a deterrent to discontinue playing.
siruncledrew 8y ago
That’s the problem of addiction. Changing established behavior is really hard and takes a ton of self-discipline and self-control.
- afarrell 8y ago
  And building self-discipline and self-control is one of those skills that many don't know the first steps to. I know that I spent many years thinking that self-discipline meant mentally punishing myself for wasting time. It isn't. discipline is saying to yourself something like "This is worth it, but this is uncomfortable. I'm going to do it anyway because I'm stronger than I think" and following through on that.

This reminds me a little of obesity. A lot of people have recognized the problem and are doing something but in the end the average still gets fatter and fatter.

adventured 8y ago
That's not correct however. Recognition can and often does lead to correction. In the US, the percentage of children five years of age and under that were obese, dropped from 14% to 10% over ten years (2004-2014). That's due to first recognizing a terrible problem and then acting against it. US obesity rates have stabilized. [1] I think we can be fairly certain that's in no small part due to increased knowledge and awareness of the problem over the last decade. The next step is to begin moving the needle the other direction, even if it's a slow process. People think obesity in the US is a very old problem, when in fact it started just 30 years ago and wasn't a serious issue until the late 1990s. In 1985 no state had an obesity level over 15%. Today, 46 states exceed 25% obesity. I doubt the US will ever go back to 1985 obesity levels, however if it can change negatively that much in less than two decades, then you can plainly see meaningful improvements in a similar amount of time. [1] https://www.rwjf.org/en/library/articles-and-news/2017/08/new-report-finds-progress-to-prevent-obesity-at-risk.html https://www.rwjf.org/en/library/articles-and-news/2017/08/ne...
- saiya-jin 8y ago
  Very true, this can be often seen in older photos or videos, ie 60s hippies, or any odd-fashion-70s or most 80s. Very slim people everywhere, like whole nation went to gym or for a run every single day.

Waterluvian 8y ago

Especially when game theory or whatnot is involved. Being the first person in your group of friends to get off Facebook might just make you the one person that never gets invited to anything anymore. Even the thought of that is probably a deterrent to discontinue playing.

siruncledrew 8y ago

That’s the problem of addiction. Changing established behavior is really hard and takes a ton of self-discipline and self-control.

afarrell 8y ago
And building self-discipline and self-control is one of those skills that many don't know the first steps to. I know that I spent many years thinking that self-discipline meant mentally punishing myself for wasting time. It isn't. discipline is saying to yourself something like "This is worth it, but this is uncomfortable. I'm going to do it anyway because I'm stronger than I think" and following through on that.