Home

Past Articles

Conferences

Citation Information

Feedback

About the Authors

Subscription Information

Submission Guidelines

Understanding Millennials: Hard Times, Soft Addictions

By Julianne Scibetta, Albany College of Pharmacy

Thanks to Benjamin Franklin, we’re all feeling sadder about the end of the day. The Halloween candy has all undoubtedly been consumed by now, leaving us with stomachs growling for more and moods needing an extra elevating boost.

This time of year as the weather turns bleaker and trees shed their leaves we all become more susceptible to giving in to our guilty pleasures a little too often. They make us feel better and we need that. And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with a reward or treat to ourselves, but as Liberace would say, everything in moderation.

Will power evaporates with the summery air. We try to bundle our negative thoughts with comfort the same way we reach for a sweater to fend off the chill. It’s especially difficult for students this time of year – it’s been a semester full of tests and hard work, and even though the end is in sight, Thanksgiving throws a cruel wrench at motivation, at once sending students home for a fabulous dinner break while only thrusting them back into the final push, the final days and weeks before final exams. If only the tryptophan would last long enough to keep us all asleep for that time!

And with holiday shopping and sales tempting us at every corner, who can resist window shopping, especially if you’ve got a ton of work to do? There’s no procrastination like holiday procrastination.

As we know, procrastination isn’t always a bad thing. Sometimes we need a break, a “mental health day,” if you like. Kyle Cushman’s perspective on procrastination helps us writers who do wait until the night before to allow ourselves to procrastinate productively through percolation. (See LCE June 2005). But all too often procrastination gets in the way of being productive…and all too often that procrastination is caused by an underlying addiction.

Soft addictions begin as generally harmless and everyday habits, things that any average person would do. Shopping for that new suit. Watching a favorite television show. Surfing the web for news. Checking email. Alone and in reasonable moderation these habits aren’t harmful, destructive, or abnormal – even business studies confirm that a little guilty pleasure done on work time increases productivity. When practiced in excess, or used as an excuse for procrastination, these behaviors and the comforting feelings they evoke may become addicting. Because they are not necessarily harmful behaviors, they are known as “soft addictions.” Today’s students, hypersensitive to the marketing and gadgetry that make soft addictions what they are, are particularly susceptible to falling under their spell. Furthermore, many students have never experienced so much freedom to learn how to keep themselves in check when confronted with these tempting time-wasters.

Consider this list of popular soft addictions:

1. Television. The 18-24 prime-time target demographic isn’t a coincidence.
2. Surfing the web. Nowadays this can happen almost anywhere, at any time: cell phones, Blackberries, cars, WiFi eateries (Panera Bread, Starbucks Coffee, McDonald’s). Let’s not even get into how addicting some of the websites can be – like blogs, MySpace, Facebook, instant messengers, and games, games, games.
3. Complaining excessively. Ever dealt with someone who swears the world is against them, no matter how positively you try to spin the situation? They can be a bit of a drain on you emotionally, even if they don’t realize these negative consequences.
4. Shopping. Anyone who’s cited “retail therapy” understands the rush of melting the plastic. But too much retail therapy can leave you feeling emptier than before, emotionally and financially.
5. Drinking coffee or energy drinks to get a rush. Today’s students have more choices for these liquid uppers than ever before: from RedBull to the return of Tab to the embattled Cocaine. Let’s not forget the origins of today’s cola drinks began with the opiate.
6. Overeating. The freshman 15 came from somewhere…

I’m sure by looking at this list you can think of several more things that you have done or have heard about. Maybe you’ve noticed a common characteristic of these habits that appeal to students the most – their quick and almost immediate gratification. These behaviors and addictions point at a need to fix something – whether it’s for a better mood, a sense of control, a sense of accomplishment, or self-esteem. It’s so much easier to turn on a tv show to forget about that terrible presentation than it is to face reality. In fact, a study released this past year revealed that television is more comforting than a mother’s voice! This, coupled with the fact that the hardest thing about any task is getting it started, and you’ve got a scenario for soft addictions to develop.

How can we help students?

1. Help them cultivate their motivation to learn. Help them find a reason to face the music or to get the help that they need to get their work done.
2. Teach time management that includes some of these behaviors – in moderation.
3. Show students how to eliminate the easy distractions, such as studying in a place away from a computer or television, turning off the phone, and not walking past the vending machines.
4. Encourage students to set goals for themselves to work toward, and ask them about their progress frequently. Sometimes all it takes is a bit of personal interest on your part to get their gears turning.
5. Make sure that students are taking care of themselves in all ways - physically, emotionally, spiritually, and academically.
6. Refer students to the appropriate campus resources – such as a counseling center – when you suspect a serious underlying cause.

Resources

Judith Wright, www.softaddictions.com

MSNBC: TV can be a better painkiller for children, August 2006, http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14397353/from/RSS/

Questions or comments? Contact the author at scibettj@acp.edu.

More about the author

Printable Version

Back to top