The Acceleration of Addictiveness (2010)
For sugar, we&#x27;ve started the phase of awareness of its harmfulness, and no doubt our children or grandchildren will have social norms not to abuse it.<p>But for the internet it&#x27;s much more difficult: I don&#x27;t think the habit of avoidance can be born without first general awareness of its danger. And the danger in all other substances Paul mentions is a physical one: you get terminally ill, or visibly unhealthy. But internet addiction is invisible; it masks itself as the person being just slower than their peers, or lazier.<p>Moreover, not buying a pack of cigarettes is trivially easy for someone that&#x27;s not addicted yet. As is not getting drunk every day. But distinguishing the addictive internet from the non-addictive is hard, and avoiding the former while still using the latter is even harder. What shape can a social habit of avoidance take here?