When we think of addiction, gritty images of drug use, gambling, or self-destructive binging on guilty pleasures all come to mind. However, as our culture has grown increasingly commodified, addiction has gone from a fringe affliction to an almost-invisible, everyday condition. As pleasure-seeking is taken to new heights, it becomes harder to imagine the days of analog culture before endless scrolling and apps built to satisfy any desire on demand.
In our secularized culture, there are few limits on pursuing pleasure. The assumption is that maximizing the quantity and quality of pleasure will boost human happiness. When we consider that, despite the explosion of material culture, many of us are increasingly depressed and anxious, it begs the question of whether we’re on the right path.
