Comment by IanCal
19 days ago
You really must be able to understand the difference between liking a thing and being addicted to a thing?
If not it’s probably worth just starting with basic definitions of addiction.
19 days ago
You really must be able to understand the difference between liking a thing and being addicted to a thing?
If not it’s probably worth just starting with basic definitions of addiction.
The DSM-5 acknowledges only gambling as a diagnosable behavioral addiction. Being addicted to a thing means substance addiction, not TikTok or games or internet.
The dsm-5 is not the only way we use words, but even there it clearly can define between liking gambling and being addicted right?
Sure, I just think we if we're going to pathologize activities with intent to pass laws we ought to at least stick to a science-based approach. Right now there is no basis to conclude that even a single person is addicted to TikTok, since no such diagnosis exists.
The word 'addicted' is used informally in all kinds of contexts where it's a wild exaggeration. Just like people say they have OCD or autism when they sort something, or say they are hypochondriacs when they wash their hands more often than average. Of course people who actually have these conditions might do the same, but a lot of the time it's just perfectly neurotypical people using hyperbole and/or a flawed understanding of psychiatry.
Let's wait until psychiatrists agree on the existence of TikTok addiction and come up with a set of diagnostic criteria. Until such time we should take the existence of such addictions with a grain of salt, and refrain from moral panic.
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