[morgante]

> It's called "advertising" and it wouldn't keep growing if it didn't work.

For the record, it doesn't. Advertising is a fairly consistent percentage of GDP over decades.

More importantly, "advertising" doesn't automatically make products addicting. Literally every industry does advertising, that doesn't mean people are "addicted" to insurance.

For the record, I agree that junk food is addicting. It's probably the addiction I'm most prone too. But that's not because of advertising, it's because the products themselves are addicting.

In fact, by far the biggest addiction in my life is bread from a local bakery. I don't blame advertising (they hardly do any) and I don't even blame "modern food" (this is whole wheat, unrefined bread). I simply acknowledge that I love bread, it tastes great, and if I'm feeling depressed then I overeat it. My bread consumption depends much more on my internal mood and habits than anything "industry" does.

Likewise, technology is not addicting because it's evil. It's addicting because it's good and pleasurable, and if you don't have a solid hold on your mental health it's easy to fill the void with pleasurable products, whether they be bread, Facebook, or alcohol. The solution isn't to ban/quit the product, it's to address that hole in your life.

[callmeed]

Sorry if I wasn't clear earlier but, as I mentioned in another reply, I included advertising as only one part of the equation. The other part, as you said, is the design/contents of the thing itself.

I don't think technology is evil. Nor do I think it should be banned. But I do think it is designed to maximize usage–even if it's to the detriment of the user or his/her friends & family.

Also, I would be careful about ascribing all technology addiction to mental health issues. I think that's a little unfair.

[Theodores]

Sounds like you need to get your own bread making machine to guarantee a fresh supply of always fresh bread, with the best smells and your own continually varying input into the recipe. Have half a dozen varieties of flour at home, mixing as per the mood takes you and enjoy such challenges as the perfect wholemeal loaf.

After a while doing your own breadmaking you will find the 'fresh' bread at the bakers to taste relatively stale and packed full of additives.

However, doing your own bread will take you away from interacting with the baker and his lovely assistants making their venture less profitable. If everyone baked their own bread then the bakery would have no customers. Maybe it is that 'please', 'thank-you' and smile that you get to experience at the bakers that is as much behind your love of bread as the bread itself.