“The root of addict in latin is the word addicere, which means religious devotion. It was an attribute of beginning monks. There is an element in the book [Infi

“The root of addict in latin is the word addicere, which means religious devotion. It was an attribute of beginning monks. There is an element in the book [Infinite Jest] in which various people are living out something that I think is true, which is that we all worship. We all have a religious impulse. We can choose, to an extent, what we worship, but the myth that we worship nothing and give ourselves away to nothing, simply sets ourselves up to give ourselves away to something different. For instance, pleasure or drugs or the idea of having a lot of money, being able to buy nice stuff.” -DFW This article just reads as trying to sell more books about how an "addict, err normal distracted person" can be mindful and set boundaries. Strangely this is also the same tactics used with alcohol, gambling, and smoking. All which are "addictive" purely because there's a negative association with them. Why can't you be addicted to things like posting on Hacker News? I'm sure many of us would meet the definition. I think you have to be careful with just dismissing myths and claiming technology addiction as just "distraction". If you've been on any sort of technology addiction journey / digital minimalism effort in your lifetime, you will probably have anecdotal evidence of many of these "myths" actually having some truth to them. If you're a parent you will probably have noticed by now how your kids act with and without technology. Myth 1: ”Tech Use Alters the Brain” Myth 2: ”We Get Shorter Memory and Shrinking Attention Spans” Myth 3: ”Phones Are Addictive” Myth 4: ”Phone Use Causes Mental Illness” Myth 5: ”Screentime Is Bad for Kids”