There was a good article in the NYT today that made a good point about Internet addiction: LINK I thought she made a good point by saying that if your pastime is not classy, it's an "addiction," but if it is (like opera or poetry), it's a "passion." How true!
Here was one example she wrote of a supposed addict, which she thinks really shows the student is a "bright, self effasing, religious young woman who keeps student hours and prefers logic games, jokes, graphic novels, trivia quizzes, music, Victoriana and socializing on Facebook to prefab pop bands":
quote:
She then described a typical surfing session: “I’ll be on Facebook and see a status update of song lyrics, and I’ll Google them and find the band name, that I will subsequently Wikipedia and discover that the lead singer is interesting and briefly look at his Twitter and try his music on Grooveshark” — a music search engine and streaming service — “while looking at pictures of him on Tumblr” — the multimedia microblogging platform — “that will lead me to a meme I’ve never heard of that I’ll explore until I find hilarious photos I will subsequently share with friends of mine on Facebook.” Gabriela, who sometimes dresses in the futuristic Victoriana known as steampunk, also loves Webcomics, a site for graphic novels and comic books, and Neopets, a game that lets players care for virtual pets.
So, is she an addict or just passionate?This message has been edited. Last edited by: Kalleh,
April 11, 2011, 00:33
Guy Barry
I think a passion only becomes an addiction if you can't manage life without it.
April 11, 2011, 01:20
BobHale
I've always been a bit uncomfortable with this use of "addiction". As far as my own usage is concerned an addiction is a physical thing. You can be addicted to morphine, addicted to cocaine, addicted to nicotine or addicted to alcohol but you can't be addicted to watching television, reading Catherine Cookson novels, using the computer, or playing poker - all of which I've heard.
The words I'd use for these things are "compulsion" or "obsession."This message has been edited. Last edited by: BobHale,
"No man but a blockhead ever wrote except for money." Samuel Johnson.
April 13, 2011, 09:58
<Proofreader>
You can't enter rehab for a compulsion or obsession.
April 13, 2011, 10:36
BobHale
True, but you can get treatment for them. And in any case can you go into rehab for "internet addiction" or any of the other things I mentioned? (Maybe you can for gambling, but I can't imagine any of the others.)
"No man but a blockhead ever wrote except for money." Samuel Johnson.
April 13, 2011, 11:52
arnie
What about the "celebrities" who are having treatment for "sex addiction"? Is that an addiction, or a compulsion or obsession?
Build a man a fire and he's warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life.
April 13, 2011, 12:24
BobHale
It's just how I use the words but I'd call it a compulsion rather than an addiction. It seems to me that it;s a psychological condition and I only consider that physical addictions are addictions as such.
Of course that's just how I'd use the words.
"No man but a blockhead ever wrote except for money." Samuel Johnson.
April 13, 2011, 19:38
Kalleh
quote:
I've always been a bit uncomfortable with this use of "addiction".
I am with you on this, Bob. There should be another word for the more fluffy "addictions."
April 14, 2011, 23:55
Guy Barry
quote:
Originally posted by BobHale: [re "sex addiction"] It's just how I use the words but I'd call it a compulsion rather than an addiction. It seems to me that it;s a psychological condition and I only consider that physical addictions are addictions as such.
Isn't sex a physical addiction then? I'd have thought it was rather more physical than some of the other things you mentioned.
The body and the mind are intimately interlinked, in any case, so dividing such things into "physical" and "psychological" conditions is a bit arbitrary in any case. Drugs and alcohol affect the mind just as much as they affect the body.
April 15, 2011, 11:41
<Proofreader>
quote:
There should be another word for the more fluffy "addictions."
It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society. -J. Krishnamurti
April 15, 2011, 20:23
Kalleh
quote:
Isn't sex a physical addiction then?
It's more psychological, isn't it? I don't see it addictive in the same way drugs are.
April 16, 2011, 00:14
Guy Barry
I'm no expert on this, but doesn't sex encourage the production of certain endorphins? Isn't it possible to get addicted to these in the same way as one becomes addicted to manufactured drugs?
April 16, 2011, 17:56
Kalleh
I am not an expert in this the field of addiction, but I have seen some horrendous addiction symptoms, with tremors and shaking, and even the fetus inside an addicted mother's uterus will shake violently. Somehow, I don't see that as being the same as sexual addiction, but I could be wrong.
April 17, 2011, 00:40
Guy Barry
So an addiction is only an addiction if there's a possible health risk, then?
Here's Wikipedia's take on the subject:
quote:
Historically, addiction has been defined as physical and psychological dependence on psychoactive substances (for example alcohol, tobacco, heroin and other drugs) which cross the blood-brain barrier once ingested, temporarily altering the chemical milieu of the brain.
Addiction can also be viewed as a continued involvement with a substance or activity despite the negative consequences associated with it. Pleasure and enjoyment would have originally been sought, however over a period of time involvement with the substance or activity is needed to feel normal. Some psychology professionals and many laymen now mean 'addiction' to include abnormal psychological dependency on such things as gambling, food, sex, pornography, computers, internet, work, exercise, idolizing, watching TV or certain types of non-pornographic videos, spiritual obsession, cutting and shopping.
The terms "behavioural addiction" and "soft addiction" have been used to describe the latter type. Wikipedia says "The applicability of the word 'addiction' to these conditions is controversial, and there is not a universal consensus as to the most appropriate phrase used to describe these conditions as a class".
April 18, 2011, 21:14
Kalleh
Again...not an expert here, but I'd define one as being the physical addiction and the other as being the psychological one.