[titanomachy]

I find it easy to drink in moderation because I only do it socially. One or two drinks at a dinner party has never cost me a day of work. But I have spent a whole morning in bed scrolling Instagram Reels instead of going in to work.

Passive consumption of short-form videos lacks that social feedback mechanism that keeps my behavior in check. It’s easy to stay up way later than I meant to and be wrecked the next day.

Consuming by yourself in a dark room is the default consumption mode for Reels/Shorts/TikTok, whereas in my social circles drinking alone is very unusual.

[makeitdouble]

Would you say the same for people looking at the clouds passing by the window ?

Should we classify these clouds as worse than alcohol because they were looked at alone in a room instead of doing some other work ?

To get more personal, I had a CD player as my alarm in the morning, and a few times skipped worked because I couldn't get myself to stop the playing album. I didn't blame the CD.

That's also how I realized that job was well paying but otherwise really shitty.

[titanomachy]

I probably wouldn’t stay up 3-4 hours past my intended bedtime staring into space or watching clouds or listening to music. It’s just not stimulating enough. I wouldn’t stay up that late reading either, since once I get tired enough I can no longer do it effectively.

There is definitely something different about TikTok, or video games, compared to your examples.