4 ms·

This is a really disgusting phenomenon in modern society. We all know how ghastly it is when an adult loses their mind with gambling, but when I realized my ne

This is a really disgusting phenomenon in modern society. We all know how ghastly it is when an adult loses their mind with gambling, but when I realized my nephew (12) is already being strung out by these same mechanics through 'games' on his phone, I felt a sort of despair and psychological darkness descend over me and it's like the world is a little bit less bright, permanently. Instead of thinking about his bright future now it just seems like a matter of time till he can get dragged down further. And I wonder what percent of kids are getting sucked into it too. Is half a percent too pessimistic? A gambling addiction is inculcated in one out of 200 kids before they're even old enough to work? And as I'm sure you all can imagine, the desperate pleas and arguments of a kid who needs more 'coins' or whatever have a negative impact on the whole family dynamic. All a parent can do is block the kid from installing new apps on their phone and try to weather the storm of withdrawal, knowing that once they can't protect their child anymore, the kid will also be old enough to do real & permanent damage to their own life.

ryandrake 3y ago
If you step back, it's really sad how much of our society is based even partially on chance and gambling. 1. College admissions: There are not enough seats for everyone who wants to go to school at a top college, so colleges filter via things like merit and race, but also random chance lotteries. 2. Applying for jobs is a form of lottery. You typically apply for many jobs and hope one or two get back to you. 3. Savings: The only place normal people have access to get decent returns is the Stock Market Roulette wheel 4. Business Success: Often boils down to right place, right time, and massively overindexes on luck. 5. Housing: Leverage up and buy a house for perpetual asset growth. But watch out for the once-a-decade collapse that will put you underwater and in foreclosure! It's like we've permanently decided that rewarding risk is the only way for a society to function.
- nradov 3y ago
  Investing in the stock market is hardly a roulette wheel. Unlike gambling, stocks are a positive sum game. If you had purchased a broad based stock index fund at any point since the creation of the modern US financial system in 1971 and held it for 30 years then you would have made a profit. As for housing, a collapse in residential real estate values doesn't equate to foreclosure. Lenders can't call in mortgage loans and borrowers have the option to continue paying even if they are underwater.
- voakbasda 3y ago
  I would add: 6. Shopping: Sales, promotions, and coupons are all designed to induce more frequent and varied consumption. Pricing for the same item can be wildly different depending on the store or the day of the week. Attempting to secure the best price is a gamble even after carefully researching your options and making price comparisons.
- rangestransform 3y ago
  Why should we not reward risk taking in general? The alternative would be militant conservatism (not in the right wing sense, but in the societal stagnation sense)
- raincole 3y ago
  But before all of these modern shit, the length of your lifespan mostly depended on two things: 1. Which family you were born in 2. Literally the fucking weather So I don't think modern society is that luck-based, relatively speaking.
- Anthony-G 3y ago
  I can also think of some social functions that I think random chance is appropriate for: Most Western, democratic countries select jurors for a trial by one’s peers by lottery and I consider this to be an important aspect of having a more “just” justice system – particularly compared to what preceded this system: trial by one’s betters (a magistrate). In Ireland, we’ve also also recently started using Citizens’ Assemblies who are randomly selected to make recommendations on matters of public policy to the houses of parliament: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizens%27_Assembly_(Ireland) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizens%27_Assembly_(Ireland)

ryandrake 3y ago

If you step back, it's really sad how much of our society is based even partially on chance and gambling. 1. College admissions: There are not enough seats for everyone who wants to go to school at a top college, so colleges filter via things like merit and race, but also random chance lotteries. 2. Applying for jobs is a form of lottery. You typically apply for many jobs and hope one or two get back to you. 3. Savings: The only place normal people have access to get decent returns is the Stock Market Roulette wheel 4. Business Success: Often boils down to right place, right time, and massively overindexes on luck. 5. Housing: Leverage up and buy a house for perpetual asset growth. But watch out for the once-a-decade collapse that will put you underwater and in foreclosure! It's like we've permanently decided that rewarding risk is the only way for a society to function.

nradov 3y ago
Investing in the stock market is hardly a roulette wheel. Unlike gambling, stocks are a positive sum game. If you had purchased a broad based stock index fund at any point since the creation of the modern US financial system in 1971 and held it for 30 years then you would have made a profit. As for housing, a collapse in residential real estate values doesn't equate to foreclosure. Lenders can't call in mortgage loans and borrowers have the option to continue paying even if they are underwater.
voakbasda 3y ago
I would add: 6. Shopping: Sales, promotions, and coupons are all designed to induce more frequent and varied consumption. Pricing for the same item can be wildly different depending on the store or the day of the week. Attempting to secure the best price is a gamble even after carefully researching your options and making price comparisons.
rangestransform 3y ago
Why should we not reward risk taking in general? The alternative would be militant conservatism (not in the right wing sense, but in the societal stagnation sense)
raincole 3y ago
But before all of these modern shit, the length of your lifespan mostly depended on two things: 1. Which family you were born in 2. Literally the fucking weather So I don't think modern society is that luck-based, relatively speaking.
Anthony-G 3y ago
I can also think of some social functions that I think random chance is appropriate for: Most Western, democratic countries select jurors for a trial by one’s peers by lottery and I consider this to be an important aspect of having a more “just” justice system – particularly compared to what preceded this system: trial by one’s betters (a magistrate). In Ireland, we’ve also also recently started using Citizens’ Assemblies who are randomly selected to make recommendations on matters of public policy to the houses of parliament: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizens%27_Assembly_(Ireland) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizens%27_Assembly_(Ireland)