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> People are (and should be) questioning the use of the word addiction. One of the components of addiction is: is it causing a harmful, unwanted effect on one's

by _gabe_ 4y ago

> People are (and should be) questioning the use of the word addiction. One of the components of addiction is: is it causing a harmful, unwanted effect on one's life? Meriam Webster's second definition doesn't mention causing harm: > a strong inclination to do, use, or indulge in something repeatedly So, according to the way people typically use the word "addiction" and the literal dictionary definition of the word, it doesn't need to cause harm to be considered an addiction. I can readily admit that I'm addicted to coding. I feel a compulsion to code for ridiculous amounts of time, and that has caused a lot of good in my life. But, like with everything in life, there needs to be balance. [0]: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/addiction https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/addiction

knaik94 4y ago
People typically also say things like watching youtube gives them dopamine hits and they will get rid of their addiction with a dopamine fast. The problem with using the word addiction is that there are two possible outcomes. Either the word becomes weak and stops having the seriousness it should, similar to how OCD now can mean liking organation or people associate the action with all of the negative connotations of addiction. The second happens more often, as observed in this thread, and people start shaming you, and casting and projecting their moral judgement on you based on an inconsequential fact. Fundamentally it prepetuates the older generation mentality that screen use is the causes depression, dismissing the underlying struggle people face. If someone comes out and says they are depressed, someone will respond, "oh, you're watching too much youtube, you'll stop being depressed once you stop." It happens with every shift in the most popular mainstream technology.
rafaelero 4y ago
Terrible definition. Is sex an addiction then?
- yakshaving_jgt 4y ago
  That is indeed something that people debate about.
everforward 4y ago
That second definition is likely derived from colloquial usage. The closest parallel diagnosis from DSM is probably Internet Gaming Addiction, which does require harm or unwanted effects. The colloquial definitions get silly. The second definition for "literally" is "not literally".

by _gabe_ 4y ago

knaik94 4y ago

People typically also say things like watching youtube gives them dopamine hits and they will get rid of their addiction with a dopamine fast. The problem with using the word addiction is that there are two possible outcomes. Either the word becomes weak and stops having the seriousness it should, similar to how OCD now can mean liking organation or people associate the action with all of the negative connotations of addiction. The second happens more often, as observed in this thread, and people start shaming you, and casting and projecting their moral judgement on you based on an inconsequential fact. Fundamentally it prepetuates the older generation mentality that screen use is the causes depression, dismissing the underlying struggle people face. If someone comes out and says they are depressed, someone will respond, "oh, you're watching too much youtube, you'll stop being depressed once you stop." It happens with every shift in the most popular mainstream technology.

rafaelero 4y ago

Terrible definition. Is sex an addiction then?

yakshaving_jgt 4y ago
That is indeed something that people debate about.

everforward 4y ago

That second definition is likely derived from colloquial usage. The closest parallel diagnosis from DSM is probably Internet Gaming Addiction, which does require harm or unwanted effects. The colloquial definitions get silly. The second definition for "literally" is "not literally".