3 ms·

This study is from China. The 'milk tea' being described here is the translated term for what we call bubble tea in the west. It's a sweet comfort drink, perhap

This study is from China. The 'milk tea' being described here is the translated term for what we call bubble tea in the west. It's a sweet comfort drink, perhaps closer to a Starbucks order than the steeped tea which immediately comes to mind. It's not really good for you, but I'm quite sure Coke or beer are worse. I can only speak anecdotally here, but the bubble tea joints near my college were consistently packed, though mostly with solo customers. Lots of heads in phones. If there's anything to be gleaned from this study, my personal take is that pleasure seeking but spiritually lacking behavior (in this case, buying expensive sugary drinks very frequently) can correlate with depressive symptoms at a population level. I have no doubt one could draw similar conclusions from the many habits I've kept over the years. From Wikipedia - "In China, young people's growing obsession with bubble tea shaped their way of social interaction. Buying someone a cup of bubble tea has become a new way of informally thanking someone. It is also a favored topic among friends and on social media.[42]"

I_Am_Nous 3y ago
>If there's anything to be gleaned from this study, my personal take is that pleasure seeking but spiritually lacking behavior (in this case, buying expensive sugary drinks very frequently) can correlate with depressive symptoms at a population level. This is something I have been thinking about a lot lately. Modern society is all about speed and convenience and entertainment, so people get used to craving something and getting it more or less immediately. We know sugar is addictive, and so is nicotine -- both are easily sated addictions and bring momentary comfort. Pile addictive social media on top and you have a population that is used to finding that next spark of joy/comfort/excitement immediately. Buddhism posits that "life is suffering" so these moments of comfort can be understood to salve the suffering a bit so we can then go out and endure more suffering for the good of each other. But when those moments of comfort become minutes or hours of comfort, we are no longer struggling against the suffering as much as we are trying to hide from it. When those moments of comfort become the most important part of the day, we are not on the right path. I fear this means that society on a broad scale is less durable than it used to be, which is why we have seen an increase in both suicide rates and escalating attacks between "opposed" groups. Toleration of groups which don't agree with you is a kind of suffering, yet this behavior is actively avoided due to the shallowness of social media interactions being taken to mean "interacting with someone = you agreeing with them" which leads to endless purity testing and spiraling relations between groups.
webdoodle 3y ago
I'm not sure I buy into the addiction pathway theory, but there is definitely a correlation with total overall willpower (as it relates to delaying self-gratification), and the number of addictions a person is dealing with. For example, if a person is addicted to caffeine, nicotine, sugar and cellphone use, they have overall less willpower to resist temptation than someone only addicted to sugar and cellphone use all other factors being equal.
orliesaurus 3y ago
Mmmmh. Not just bubble tea! From the article: > It refers to an umbrella term encompassing all beverages sold in milk tea shops, such as milk tea, fruit tea, floral tea, bubble tea, and others. This inclusive definition is based on the emerging trend of combining ‘milk tea + other tea drinks’ in the present Chinese milk tea market, gradually becoming mainstream
benoliver999 3y ago
Whenever I get bubble tea they ask how much sugar you want. One place offers it as a percentage, going up to 50%! But you can order it with none at all.
laeri 3y ago
It doesn't necessary need to be sweet. Many bubble tea shops and chains in Taiwan gave the consumer the option to choose the sugar level. Most people probably choose some sugar but this was a nice surprise for me when I visited.
- MattRix 3y ago
  Just about every Bubble Tea place does this, including in North America. They will ask what sweetness level and what ice level you want.
gaoshan 3y ago
I'm not so sure about Coke or beer being worse. That sort of tea generally has just as much sugar as a can of coke (and the synthetic creamer is probably just as bad as the rest of what's in a coke). Both are quite unhealthy for you. Beer is a different beast altogether with both positive and negative properties.
- joenot443 3y ago
  You're right - I think it's probably not as simple as I made it out to be. The sugar is the real poison in either Coke or bubble tea, my understanding is that sweetened drinks are just objectively bad for you across the board.

I_Am_Nous 3y ago

>If there's anything to be gleaned from this study, my personal take is that pleasure seeking but spiritually lacking behavior (in this case, buying expensive sugary drinks very frequently) can correlate with depressive symptoms at a population level. This is something I have been thinking about a lot lately. Modern society is all about speed and convenience and entertainment, so people get used to craving something and getting it more or less immediately. We know sugar is addictive, and so is nicotine -- both are easily sated addictions and bring momentary comfort. Pile addictive social media on top and you have a population that is used to finding that next spark of joy/comfort/excitement immediately. Buddhism posits that "life is suffering" so these moments of comfort can be understood to salve the suffering a bit so we can then go out and endure more suffering for the good of each other. But when those moments of comfort become minutes or hours of comfort, we are no longer struggling against the suffering as much as we are trying to hide from it. When those moments of comfort become the most important part of the day, we are not on the right path. I fear this means that society on a broad scale is less durable than it used to be, which is why we have seen an increase in both suicide rates and escalating attacks between "opposed" groups. Toleration of groups which don't agree with you is a kind of suffering, yet this behavior is actively avoided due to the shallowness of social media interactions being taken to mean "interacting with someone = you agreeing with them" which leads to endless purity testing and spiraling relations between groups.

webdoodle 3y ago

I'm not sure I buy into the addiction pathway theory, but there is definitely a correlation with total overall willpower (as it relates to delaying self-gratification), and the number of addictions a person is dealing with. For example, if a person is addicted to caffeine, nicotine, sugar and cellphone use, they have overall less willpower to resist temptation than someone only addicted to sugar and cellphone use all other factors being equal.

orliesaurus 3y ago

Mmmmh. Not just bubble tea! From the article: > It refers to an umbrella term encompassing all beverages sold in milk tea shops, such as milk tea, fruit tea, floral tea, bubble tea, and others. This inclusive definition is based on the emerging trend of combining ‘milk tea + other tea drinks’ in the present Chinese milk tea market, gradually becoming mainstream

benoliver999 3y ago

Whenever I get bubble tea they ask how much sugar you want. One place offers it as a percentage, going up to 50%! But you can order it with none at all.

laeri 3y ago

It doesn't necessary need to be sweet. Many bubble tea shops and chains in Taiwan gave the consumer the option to choose the sugar level. Most people probably choose some sugar but this was a nice surprise for me when I visited.

MattRix 3y ago
Just about every Bubble Tea place does this, including in North America. They will ask what sweetness level and what ice level you want.

gaoshan 3y ago

I'm not so sure about Coke or beer being worse. That sort of tea generally has just as much sugar as a can of coke (and the synthetic creamer is probably just as bad as the rest of what's in a coke). Both are quite unhealthy for you. Beer is a different beast altogether with both positive and negative properties.

joenot443 3y ago
You're right - I think it's probably not as simple as I made it out to be. The sugar is the real poison in either Coke or bubble tea, my understanding is that sweetened drinks are just objectively bad for you across the board.