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> It's scary to think about having a hole and not being able to fill it with that comfortable "zoning out" feeling. That is exactly my experience. I've also ra

> It's scary to think about having a hole and not being able to fill it with that comfortable "zoning out" feeling. That is exactly my experience. I've also rather recently came to the revelation that this behavior and dependence on "zoning out" is addiction. It doesn't matter that the object of addiction is a website with silly popular videos. The pattern of behavior _is_ addiction.

steve_adams_86 4y ago
Would it make sense to say that the pattern of behaviour (zoning out) is coping rather than addiction, and that addiction is what manifests when we lose control over coping strategies? They seem like different things to me. Coping strategies are normal and can be healthy. Harmful strategies we depend on without much agency are more so what I’d classify as addiction within this lens.
vorpalhex 4y ago
I gave up alcohol as part of an experiment. Prior to that my routine on Fri and Sat night was usually to have a few drinks and zone out and watch youtube or a movie. For me, one of the unexpected hard things was that zoning out to watch youtube or a movie was no longer entertaining! I could do it for an hour or so and that was it. Now I read, work on projects or otherwise am more "engaged". I still enjoy youtube but my ability to be entertained by it has dwindled dramatically.
kerryoco 4y ago
I think many addiction treatment programs looks specifically at the negative impacts of your "zoning out" though. Zoning out is just a brainstate, probably as old as (human) time. But if it's causing your self esteem to drop, to miss deadlines, etc, then -those- are specifically the problem. I think it's no surpise that as we continue to remove nature from our environment, we turn increasingly to digital media to get these pseudo-meditative experiences, and we should not entirely blame ourselves for this dystopian state of affairs.

steve_adams_86 4y ago

Would it make sense to say that the pattern of behaviour (zoning out) is coping rather than addiction, and that addiction is what manifests when we lose control over coping strategies? They seem like different things to me. Coping strategies are normal and can be healthy. Harmful strategies we depend on without much agency are more so what I’d classify as addiction within this lens.

vorpalhex 4y ago

I gave up alcohol as part of an experiment. Prior to that my routine on Fri and Sat night was usually to have a few drinks and zone out and watch youtube or a movie. For me, one of the unexpected hard things was that zoning out to watch youtube or a movie was no longer entertaining! I could do it for an hour or so and that was it. Now I read, work on projects or otherwise am more "engaged". I still enjoy youtube but my ability to be entertained by it has dwindled dramatically.

kerryoco 4y ago

I think many addiction treatment programs looks specifically at the negative impacts of your "zoning out" though. Zoning out is just a brainstate, probably as old as (human) time. But if it's causing your self esteem to drop, to miss deadlines, etc, then -those- are specifically the problem. I think it's no surpise that as we continue to remove nature from our environment, we turn increasingly to digital media to get these pseudo-meditative experiences, and we should not entirely blame ourselves for this dystopian state of affairs.