1/ That are many products across various industries that are addictive.
Opioids in healthcare
Sugar in food
Social media attention in technology
Opioids in healthcare
Sugar in food
Social media attention in technology
2/ In these products, the addiction is an integral part of why it is a good business.
3/ These addictive businesses, at a small scale, can and do add a lot of value to society. Opioids, sugar and social media can make our lives better. The issue is one of volume and control. We want people to have access to these products, but in a controlled fashion.
4/ Historically, the biggest control gauge has been the price. When Opioids and sugar were expensive it was the few wealthy who could afford it. When connecting with someone else online was slow and expensive, it was not really addictive
5/ The challenge is that the market for addictive business is immense because, well, we share a common biochemistry makeup that makes most of us susceptible to addictions. Since the market is “everyone”, it makes sense to optimize for high volume low price.
6/ As addictive products become cheap, they trigger an addiction epidemic
7/ What can we do once we have an addiction epidemic? The most common response is regulation.
The challenge with regulation is that, by raising the cost of doing business, it keeps new businesses out of the market and solidifies the established addictive businesses
The challenge with regulation is that, by raising the cost of doing business, it keeps new businesses out of the market and solidifies the established addictive businesses
8/ Another popular alternatives are to develop a medication that “blocks” the addictive properties of these products. This rarely works because blocking addiction also mess up with a ton of key survival instincts. Also, it tends to be very expensive
9/ What seems to work best then is a change in how society at large relates to the addictive product. The reduction in alcohol and tobacco consumption in the 70s were driven mostly by a swift change in policy, narrative and product alternatives.
10/ Regulating pricing rarely works. Limiting access, shifting the narrative and offering products that filter and provide alternatives seems to work better.
11/ The main takeaway is this: many things are good in moderation but poisonous in large enough quantities. Any technology or policy that wants to reduce addiction needs to take that into account
PS: for a really good on this topic check out "hacking the american mind" by @RobertLustigMD
