GistoThe Acceleration of Addictiveness
- Tech progress concentrates pleasure into addiction
- Social customs evolve too slowly to protect us
- Individuals must say no to more things
Technological progress concentrates pleasure into addiction
Hard liquor, cigarettes, heroin, and crack are all more concentrated forms of less addictive predecessors. The same process that cures diseases—technological progress—is accelerating this concentration, transforming things we like into things we like too much.
Addictiveness is accelerating across domains
Food has been transformed by factory farming and processing into something with more immediate reward. Games like World of Warcraft and FarmVille replaced checkers and solitaire. TV competes with Facebook for engagement. The world is more addictive than 40 years ago and will become more so.
Social antibodies evolve too slowly
Societies eventually develop customs against addictive things, as happened with cigarettes over about 100 years. But unless social evolution can match the accelerating pace of technological progress, we can't rely on customs to protect us from new addictions.
Personal discipline becomes necessary
Individuals must figure out for themselves what to avoid. Graham avoids an iPhone to keep the Internet from following him everywhere, and takes long hikes to force uninterrupted thinking. Such eccentricity is the price of living well in an addictive world.
We will be defined by what we say no to
As addictiveness accelerates, the gap between statistically normal behavior and what works best will widen. Those who want to get things done will increasingly have to practice lonely self-restraint. The author's own struggle with Internet addiction illustrates the challenge.
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