Re:Addicted to Distraction
by TillE on Sunday November 29, 2015 @11:31AM
(#10645019)
I'd be willing to bet that a significant majority of "internet addiction" (are people still talking about that
?) or "game addiction" is actually just a symptom of depression.
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Re:Addicted to Distraction
by g_delgado14 on Sunday November 29, 2015 @12:24PM
(#10645266)
Couldn't you say the reverse? One might say that depression is a symptom of internet addiction.
I'd argue both are true. Trying to escape a personal problem only makes it worse. This creates a sort of negative feedback loop.
Re:Addicted to Distraction
by such_a_casual on Sunday November 29, 2015 @12:09PM
(#10645193)
Couldn't you say the same about a lot of "drug addiction" as well?
Drug addiction has a strong chemical dependence compoment, but I wouldn't be surprised if depression was what led people to get addicted in the first place.
The Rat Park studies strongly suggest that this is true. Rats studied in conditions where they have every reason to be happy did not suffer from drug addiction, even when drugs were made available to them. Rats kept in cages isolated from each other (rats are very social creatures) became seriously addicted.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rat_Park
http://www.brucekalexander.com/articles-speeches/rat-park/14...