[s1artibartfast]

I know enough poor and old people to know this isn't the case. I have a lot of friends in their 60s and 70s and when I visit them, it is like a time machine to the 90s. The healthy ones use email, but don't do social media and many don't have tv. They read books, talk, and partake in face to face social groups.

Many are on low fixed incomes in poor rural areas. You can get a trailer home on 40 acres quite cheap if you are several hours from a Metro hub, and live even cheaper if you rent.

This is a long way of saying that intentionally matters and the choices and tradeoffs we make matter too.

[teractiveodular]

A couple of counterexamples from a declining demographic is not much to flatly deny the article's entire case.

There are vast teams of marketers and data scientists hard at work making things like food and social media more appealing and addictive. Of course more people are, on average, going to get more addicted to them, even if a few fish have the willpower to swim against the tide or the money to buy the chemicals to do it instead.

[s1artibartfast]

To be clear, not saying it is easy and I'm not saying that there is no trend. Screen time has gone up, obesity has gone up, neuroticism has gone up

Im not convinced that money is the solution to addiction and just a few more purchases away. In fact, I think rampant consumerism and trained helplessness are the crux of the problem.

[jmathai]

It’s odd to think it reasonable to consider a solution to self inflicted addictions is drugs.

When I say self inflicted, I mean our society. I do think it’s unfortunate (and very unfair) that we have to expend so much energy not to be addicted. It’s such a sad outcome and driven by capitalistic consumerism.

I have a lot of concern for my kids. And I’m disgusted that grown adults are profiting from all of it.

[s1artibartfast]

It is actually takes much less energy to not be addicted. It takes a tremendous amount of energy to quit once addicted.

It is a lot like cigarettes in that way. Its not too hard to avoid smoking. Smoke daily for a few years and most people have a huge struggle quitting.