Our Obsessions and Addictions in Contemporary Society

Significant Addictions on the cusp of 2020

They used to be excessive consumption of grass, alcohol, gambling, sugar and porn. Many remain as issues for many individuals. 

As we approach the third decade of the 21st century, what do you observe and acknowledge as serious manifestations of other significant addictions affecting perhaps yourself, family members, your community and society going forward?

1. Screen addiction. It used to be free with broadcast TV, but binge interaction with cyberspace delivered screens now has a monthly bill, perhaps costing more than getting clean water supply. The effectiveness of smart phone apps, including streaming to watch at any time, to keep anyone hunched over a device for many hours is not to be underestimated.

2. Preoccupation with and overuse of specific obsessions. The art of moderation is increasingly lost, whether with the use of opioids, dependency on manufactured and processed foods or foods that are high in fat but induce a high level of flavours.

3. Sitting down too much, with valid reasons for doing so. This practice does inevitably come with long commutes, work requirements and contemporary lifestyles. The easy access to household equipment has long freed up discretionary hours for many in developed economies.

4. The rising utilisation of unhealthy ingredients and dangerous chemicals to earn more fast bucks by businesses. This is linked to another significant trend by manufacturers, the intended under disclosure or omission of details on labelling.

5. The taking up of more extreme and intransigent views by politicians and social groups. After a period of relative political correctness and liberal democratic thoughts, human society is evolving once more in how they organise themselves. Herd following in thought and politics seems to have increased despite the attraction of independent thinking.

6. There is a rise in expectations for operational autonomy in more aspects of our daily routine. In the process, we rely more on unseen software and reckon we have a higher level of personal independence. In reality, each of us can be more subject to hidden forces, uncontrolled authority, more risks and much less privacy.
Driverless transport, drone enabled delivery, robotic relationships and audioless communication all look exciting but do exert a hidden cost.

7. The shortsightedness in governance of many nations, cities, companies and communities has become too obvious, especially in several so called democratic nations. The emphasised focus on short term planning, rewards, returns and performance, to the detriment of other things, is a significant requirement by shareholders, voters and stakeholders.

8. There is a lowering of personal patience, a rise in the need for quick personal gratification and a rise in the levels of attention deficit. You can see this easily manifested in social media, road outrage, behaviour on public transport, attacks on health personnel and drug addiction.

9. There is a continued rise in misuse of both financial and non-financial resources by individuals and groups in positions of authority. Power begets more power and access to act more boldly, that is the sad mindset of human beings at its worst.

10. The argument that offenders can be excused for reasons of poor mental health is often used in the courts. What more balanced attention can we offer more to victims of crime instead?

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