Addiction in the ultimate business model
In a first world society, success and failure is much more about how you control, manage, and break addictions than it is about going out and doing something.
The fast proliferation of poorly undestood technology (in terms of social consequences) has ushered in a new era of excessive abundance and constant pressure on our dopamine system.
Addiction in the ultimate business model of the modern world
Consider the highly processed foods that inundate our grocery store shelves, specifically designed to be addictively sugary and fatty. Or the vast majority of the internet, an ocean of useless and often toxic content that nevertheless manages to captivate and over-stimulate the senses. The ubiquitous smartphone, a modern-day implant that transforms humans into data nodes, connected around the clock to the grid and subject to the whims of advertisers and corporations alike. And let us not forget the now proved addictive and often harmful nature of social networks, which have been linked to a variety of mental illnesses (and not just TikTok).
In this age of hyperconnectivity, thousands of services from across the globe vie for our attention and purchasing power, each one striving to outdo the others in terms of addictiveness and customer loyalty. Addictivity has become the supreme product advantage, and is often disguised under the guises of loyalty, user retention, customer lifetime value, or churn prevention.
And addictive products have proven super profitable (just think about how much is spent each year on cigarettes, alcohol, gambling, etc.)
They all play on a fundamental human truth: our (ancient) brain prefers easy and immediate pleasure to hard but fullfilling long term pursuits. In short, access to on-demand intense & diverse pleasure sources can easily distract a human being from building a happy life (whatever that means)
With so much at stake, it is little wonder that business owners and managers are willing to go to great lengths to create great profit generators, even if it means harming their customers in the long run.
In the end, it is the misfortune of the Instagram addict who loses five hours a day looking at ads and feels miserable as a result that brings joy to the META shareholder getting their dividends.
Short advice: avoid useless screen time & the news altogether, move your body as often and as much as possible, eat clean.