Akrasia

Social development is about removing the social constructs that are holding us back.

Discrimination is a single concept that describes people holding back a particular group by means of unfair judgment. Very popular in the last century. It manifests itself in a number of different contexts:

• Homophobia
• Racism
• Ageism
• Sexism
• ...

Each fight for less discrimination paved the way for successive ones, and having a single word for the concept of discrimination helps people recognize further instances of it.

Akrasia is a single concept that describes people holding back themselves by making a choice that is not in our own best interests. Very popular right now due technology, and becoming more popular. It manifests itself in a number of different contexts:

• Unhealthy, sugary foods
• Video games
• Internet porn
• Social media
• Binge-watching netflix
• Lethargic lifestyles
• Constant news feed
• ...

These are not good for us and it is largely in our best interests not to consume them. Oh you think you're different? You agree with some of this list, but not the whole thing? Some kinds of discrimination are okay, right? A little discrimination never hurt anyone, did it?

A historical example of society overcoming akrasia was when smoking became less popular. Winning that fight was incredibly difficult.

• Smokers were addicted.
• Smokers loved smoking.
• Smokers said that they needed it to relax.
• Smokers said they could never live without it.
• Smokers described their own situation as unique, and that it suited their needs.
• Smokers said it was their life and they can do what they want with it.
• Smokers said it wasn't hurting anyone else.

But with enough scientific research, government-led programs, and a hell of a lot of blood, sweat and tears on the part of the smokers, many garnished the self-discipline and moral courage needed to drop the addiction, and experience the huge benefits of doing so.

• Improved breathing.
• Financial savings.
• 15 years after quitting. The risk of coronary heart disease is that of a non-smoker's.

This may sound like an extreme stance. It is. I have lived, still live, and will likely continue to live with akrasia, but we're lying to ourselves if we say that it's good for us. I am not proposing that we make fun illegal, or that we institute a "fun police" who goes around stopping people from enjoying their down time. Further complicating things is the fact that, unlike with smoking, these new options we have come with highly varying degrees of worth: A single netflix documentary a month is hardly the same as binge watching reality tv shows for 6 hours a day. But we didn't have to make smoking illegal to decrease it's use. We simply took a step back, said "you know what, this isn't good for us, and we should take steps to disincentivize it". Targeting smoking advertisements was extremely effective, and I believe that the similar techniques could be used to great effect.

Discrimination didn't stop all at once. Tackling the contexts one-by-one was an effective approach.

If you don't know where to start, start with food. Food is a good place to start because it emphasizes one of the key strategies: replacement. Immediately replace the void left by the addiction with something else you care about that you can focus your resources on. Your experience over the next while will likely go as follows:

• You will probably find resisting for the first time very easy, but it will get increasingly difficult fast.
• Whatever you filled the void with will quickly seem extremely boring/uninteresting/tasteless.
• A few days in you will start to have very consistent urges.
• After 2 weeks, you will start to get used to your replacement, and it won't be as bad as at the start.
• After 3 weeks, you should have started to notice things getting easier.
• After a month, things should be fairly tolerable. Congrats, the hard part is done so long as you don't go back. If you want you can start preparing to try another.

Good luck.