I don't believe it's a moral choice, rather I would chalk it up to a lack of impulse/self control that causes the negative outcomes in every dimension. Could th

I don't believe it's a moral choice, rather I would chalk it up to a lack of impulse/self control that causes the negative outcomes in every dimension. Could they have gone to university? Yeah, they were smart but they weren't interested in school work so that door closed on them fast. That's the self-control. I can't say if what I witnessed in my friend group generalizes, for every burnout hacker there could be 10x as many who are wildly successful and are never caught. By definition we'd never know how many there are. I guess an equivalent question is: My son is learning to drive, and he's discovered that speeding and driving on the edge, maybe even recklessly, is fun. How do I get them to straighten out before they do something stupid like street racing, or driving under the influence, and getting into an accident or arrested? Same answer: self control and impulse control.