Irresistible

Alter defines addiction as an attachment that soothes a psychological need in the short-term but is ultimately damaging in the long-run. This pattern of engagement is evident in many examples spanning both substance and behavioral addictions. In Chapter 1, John Pemberton used cocaine to alleviate his addiction to morphine. At first, cocaine seemed to relieve him, but over the course of months and years, Pemberton’s health declined and it became obvious that cocaine was more detrimental than beneficial. Similarly, young people like Vaisberg might turn to video games to meet their needs for social interaction. In the short-term, this need seems to be met through online engagement, but over the long-term, people like Vaisberg are stunting their ability to have healthy offline relationships. In the end, Alter implies that one might distinguish healthy behavior from addictive behavior by this metric. If the behavior superficially addresses a psychological need without fulfilling or nourishing that need, then over time it will reveal itself to be addictive and harmful and should be replaced by a more substantial behavior that is more supportive.