After giving up video games, programming was fun. Reading nonfiction was insanely fun. So much so, it became a new addiction.
Maybe giving up things you enjoy is easier said than done.
But then they used psychology to make us addicted to scrolling feeds.
Scrolling through feeds or watching videos actually causes me to become pretty sad, but sometimes I find myself feeling quite a compulsion to do it. It's usually when I'm stressed out or anxious, and the behaviour aligns perfectly with escapism. So there's very little enjoying involved.
I think it's important to consider what enjoyable means, and how we frame it. Instant gratification is only a small sliver of what could be considered enjoyable, in the scheme of things.
There's a whole bunch of research and writing lately about "wanting versus liking", describing these two emotions related to experiences and behaviors as distinct.
When people encounter that distinction, most of us can think of things that we like much more than we want, or that we want much more than we like.
It’s apparently very much a want over a like situation, which seems to explain the potential lack of enjoyment. I’m not a neuroscientist so I’ll butcher this if I say more, but in terms of want vs like I found it really fascinating.
It only sucked on a Friday evening for like 1 hour. weird because I would game every night.