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zasshi 's review for:
I really enjoyed this book. It covers a broader range of topics than the others I've read on behavioral addiction so far. The book is more about behavioral addiction in general, and not so much about Big Tech, which I consider a missed opportunity. The diversity and quantity of the citations that were used to push the primary argument (the same as in the title) was lacking, but I didn't really mind. Based on reviews, it seems like poor citations may have been an issue in the author's previous book, which I haven't read, but I didn't really feel like it was much of an issue here other than the awkward re-usage of some quotes throughout the book and the author mis-labeling League of Legends as an MMO (the single mention of League of Legends). These just make it feel like the author is more of an outsider looking in, but it is still an interesting and informative read.
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Notes for self:
p. 74 : "It isn't enough to ply someone with a drug or a behavior - that person also has to learn that the experience is a viable treatment for whatever ails them psychologically."
p. 79 : "it was the association between an unfulfilled psychological need and a set of actions that assuaged that need in the short-term, but was ultimately harmful in the long-term."
p. 87 : "Even as you come to loathe Facebook or Instagram for consuming too much of your time, you continue to want updates as much as you did when they still made you happy."
p. 106 : "major life goals are by their nature a major source of frustration. Either you endure the anti-climax of succeeding, or you endure the disappointment of failing... we're living through an unprecedented age of goal culture - a period underscored by addictive perfectionism, self-assessment, more time at work, and less time at play."
p. 109 : "goals have become harder to escape, The Internet has exposed people to goals they barely knew existed... Where once you had to seek out new goals, today they land, often uninvited, in your inbox and on your screen."
p. 117 : "When you approach life as a sequence of milestones to be achieved, you exist 'in a state of near-continuous failure.' Almost all the time, by definition, you're not at the place you've defined as embodying accomplishment or success. And should you get there, you'll find you've lost the very thing that gave you a sense of purpose - so you'll formulate a new goal and start again."
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Notes for self:
p. 74 : "It isn't enough to ply someone with a drug or a behavior - that person also has to learn that the experience is a viable treatment for whatever ails them psychologically."
p. 79 : "it was the association between an unfulfilled psychological need and a set of actions that assuaged that need in the short-term, but was ultimately harmful in the long-term."
p. 87 : "Even as you come to loathe Facebook or Instagram for consuming too much of your time, you continue to want updates as much as you did when they still made you happy."
p. 106 : "major life goals are by their nature a major source of frustration. Either you endure the anti-climax of succeeding, or you endure the disappointment of failing... we're living through an unprecedented age of goal culture - a period underscored by addictive perfectionism, self-assessment, more time at work, and less time at play."
p. 109 : "goals have become harder to escape, The Internet has exposed people to goals they barely knew existed... Where once you had to seek out new goals, today they land, often uninvited, in your inbox and on your screen."
p. 117 : "When you approach life as a sequence of milestones to be achieved, you exist 'in a state of near-continuous failure.' Almost all the time, by definition, you're not at the place you've defined as embodying accomplishment or success. And should you get there, you'll find you've lost the very thing that gave you a sense of purpose - so you'll formulate a new goal and start again."