I think the various kinds of soma (drink, TV, internet) are a different species of thing. They don’t just pretend to solve the problem, they actually solve it, make nonspecific discomfort go away. Not in the most healthy way, but I think they can often distract people from worse things.
Related: https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/9ZodFr54FtpLThHZh/experiential-pica
I think the various kinds of soma (drink, TV, internet) are a different species of thing. They don’t just pretend to solve the problem, they actually solve it, make nonspecific discomfort go away. Not in the most healthy way, but I think they can often distract people from worse things.