08-11 Addiction

Recreational drugs seemed to hit this part of the world when I entered University. My three older brothers never experienced them. I was surrounded by everything from the gentle Mescaline to the wild LSD. I tried them all and loved them all.
Enjoying recreational drugs is pretty hard to sustain. It doesn’t take long before you start to enjoy them too much – then you are screwed.
Addiction to drugs has been with us forever and will remain so forever. And it's getting easier to peddle the hard stuff with the aid of clever chemistry. Rather than trafficking in bales of weed or even bricks of cocaine, our traffickers can now add a grain of fentanyl to any white stuff, and you have a seriously potent and lucrative deliverable. Of course, when these dullards add in even one grain too many, the customer dies. Interesting business model. The amount of deaths from fentanyl is staggering.
Let’s assume you and I will not be hooked on this nasty street stuff. A less exciting addiction is alcoholism. And alcohol is something that I truly get. To me, where one drink is good, ten drinks are ten times better. I need to quit drinking since I'm terrible with moderation regularly . Alcoholism is a family killer, and those that work the AA program are, to me, heroes.
But all of this is boring. The new addiction on everyone’s mind is tech addiction.
My grandkids used to love coming over to our place and pulling out all the toys my wife got them. But then at a certain age they each discovered the tablet, and they are now just as happy to curl up on the sofa watching their programs, which seem to be really impressive.
Technology is a scary addiction because it evolves and matches your interest without you even knowing it. My granddaughter watches YouTube videos which never stop and are individually selected, instantaneously, to cater to her interests.
So what's the problem with tech addiction? I certainly don't know, but half the researchers on the planet are studying this. One prevailing thought is that when we passively consume information or entertainment, we are not engaging with the real world. It’s not just kids; at the end of the day my wife and I put together our dinner and eat it in front of the latest Netflix series. Is there a difference? Netflix is becoming so engaging and cheap that I can’t imagine an evening without it. Ain’t that pathetic. I use to enjoy collecting stamps or working on the house. I still do a bit of work around the house, but only after I've checked YouTube for the best way to get something done.
I expect at some point, an organization like MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Drivers) will be formed to harness the tech invasion and sue the Vendors for something – much like the smokers’ groups that sued the Big Tobacco years ago. I know Microsoft and other biggies are taking this matter seriously.
If a cigarette is a nicotine delivery system, the new tech with its Artificial Intelligence is an addiction delivery system.
The Luddites were a radical group of English textile workers who in the 19th century destroyed the new weaving machinery they maintained were destroying their way of life.
How do you destroy something you love?