I had played an MMO game that has these money mechanics in it. But for me it kinda just got me to eventually stop playing. When progress slows to a crawl, or I can't get a particular item, I quickly lose interest and move on to something else. I also found that slot machines have no effect on me. I just find them boring and pointless.
This is why as parents you should hold out on making or giving your kids their own debit card. I remembered I can't pay for adventure quest AC a currency that required real life money so I need to grind for it to the point where I quit out of boredom from watching ads everyday while not making any progress. As a grown up thank God I don't have debit card when I was 12
A few years ago my dad locked the NAT-Type, so me and my brother couldn't play online games anymore. He denies it to this date, but I know he did it. And honestly I'm glad. Without that, I probably never would have experienced beauties like Phoenix Wright, Dark Souls, Lost in Random, Skyrim and many more. Single player games are simply superior to most live-service games.
8:41 I just realized. Randy drank the wine in the wrong order for an actual tasting. You are supposed to drink white wines before red wines because otherwise you won't be able to taste the whites later. So Randy drank his wine in a way to not be able to actually taste it.
Jimmy mentions “Canada Cash”in this episode. When we in fact know it is “Cana-Dough”. Jimmy doesn’t know what it’s called because he never played the game.
"I'm not having a glass of wine, I'm having 6. It's called a tasting and it's classy" I quote this all the time and it's hilarious. A lot of people use alcohol, energy drinks, and other stuff in my industry to cover up burnout and it leads to addiction and also makes burnout worse so joking about it makes it easier to cope with.
As someone who is currently working to get off of energy drinks I feel that, it got so bad I was having heart issues, high blood pressure and palpitations, I was having up to a gram of caffeine in my worst days, I felt awful but couldn't stop, I only bring this up to say thank you for mentioning caffeine being addictive, many people just ignore how addictive it actually can be
It's the same issue where I work, too The truly awful thing is that it is so normalized at this point that no one can see it much less help themselves or each other. You just get into the habit of survival mode to cope because you have to make it through the day somehow
@@nonpondo_ I've been spotted 👀👀👀. I'm an ex chef and currently switched over to kitchen manager over a food service department. As much as I love restaurants, the enviornment just isn't a place for a healthy happy person
@@atomiccrouton Feel ya. I’m a recovering addict and have worked BOH and FOH my entire life… It’s hilarious because once in one of my therapy groups we talked about how alcohol is socially acceptable. You can go to Applebee’s and get bottomless mimosas and no one thinks twice. In fact, it’s encouraged. But if I pulled out a bottle cap and started mixing my dope up? I’m going to jail. When the whole reason I was legit on pain meds was because a drunk caused my car to flip on the highway and I was ejected from the crash. Then randomly got cut off from my lifeline that helped me function.
Isnt it deliciously just ironic, how presumably the most immoral being and the source of all the evil in the world (Satan), is actually the most sane character in this whole episode? Gotta love South Park ❤
Satan in South Park literally goes to heaven after his death at the hands of Manbearpig. He's mourned by the town, no less. Hell, in the movie, he's not the one responsible for a burgeoning World War: he's the one who puts a stop to it.
I wouldn't say that, Satan is considered a deceiver and a puppet master so it makes sense that he is sane and fully cognisant and aware of what he is doing and how he is manipulating people
Duolingo doesn’t make you pay, it literally uses the same principles as this to get you addicted to learning the language which is a way of bettering yourself, it’s beautiful lol
One part of the "Free-mium" elements that I have also heard is a large part is what's also mentioned here, that is the disconnect between money and ingame currency. The fact that it's not "pay 1 dollar to get this thing", but instead "pay 1 gem for this thing".
this also has some secondary effects, like the "house" being able to gift you currency to keep you engaged, having multiple currencies so conversions are harder and also you're more likely one currency (which you don't want to waste) but not another, and ensuring that you always have some currency left (by controlling the buy amount options), and all of these effects interact. It's can be a very powerful tool for control, really.
Modern freemium games are taking that one step further. In games like, say, Genshin impact, it's more along the lines of "X currency is worth $1USD. That can be converted into Y currency, and then to use it you have to convert it again into either A, B or C currency." By time you get to the second or third currency conversion from real money, you've completely lost the real world value of the currency - and that's the point. Genshin Impact had 13 currencies last I checked, for this exact reason.
@@LevadeNZ Jesus, that's why I just don't buy anything or if I do it is one time to say "thank you for the hours of entertainment". Those types of games shouldn't be played if you have a tendency to fall into regularly paying because you want this item or character. That is how you go from 0 to 1000 before you realize.
When Portugal decriminalized drugs I remember an interview with the guy in charge of their addiction recovery centers where he was talking how gambling us basically the worst addiction to deal with because while heroin and cocaine have a physical substance you can point at and understand and fight its effects (by getting people addicted to replacement drugs) gambling is an abstract addiction in that it is purely internal and you can't really substitute it. Need to find that interview again.
Reminds me of a documentary I watched about porn addiction, the biggest challenge is the great availability, if you want to do coke you need to get it first, then you eventually run out of it. Porn instead is a few click away in every moment and at every place, imagine an alcoholic who constantly has an unlimited stash of booze on him
This is something I didn’t see you talk about (reasonably, it wasn’t super involved) but the fact that Stand WANTED and was WILLING to learn and change. A lot of time people are scared to have classes in school about drugs alcohol and addiction, but when it comes down to it, kids (and people in general) are willing to learn. The scare tactics from his father about his grandfather wasn’t enough to get him to stop- but having Satan sit him down and talk to him about it, teach him and get the ball rolling for supporting him with the information and knowledge of it all, stain was willing, and ready, and even enthusiastic to know more. And that was what he needed to start changing.
I am a new discoverer to your channel and I very much enjoy that you aren't afraid to get technical and break down specifically what something is, but you're not trying to be arrogant or threatening. It's something rather didn't from how a lot of the internet uses negativity and drama to keep people invested. Also I like supporting a fellow gay who knows his stuff.
4:11 interesting thing. More recently built casinos have started incorporating more windows and natural light. I suspect the presence of cellphones, has probably lessened the effectiveness of that psychological effect. Everyone’s got a clock on their body 24/7.
I heard about a really interesting study, where people were given a quantity of money to bet on the outcome of coin clips, and were told that the coin would come up heads 60% of the time. Most of them started out betting on heads every time, because that guarantees a small return. But pretty quickly, people started betting on tails, to try to beat the odds, even though it was basically random. This, I think, is how freemium games hook a lot of people. They tap into whatever part of us makes us think that we can beat the odds.
I wasted a lot of money on these mobile games and became addicted to them, despite the fact that they weren't even that good. This episode actually helped me a lot to become aware of it and stop playing them. Sure, it would be better to play in moderation and show some discipline, but I'm not that strong. I can get very impulsive when it comes addictive stuff so it's easier for me to completely stay away from it
It might help to get a $100 stack of ones and a couple of rolls each of quarters, dimes, and nickels. That's $134. Every time you're about to hit that button, move the money from a cash box into a trash can. That should help you visualize what's going on. If you don't have the money to do that, don't play. If you run out, quit. I know it sounds hard, but maybe it would help. It's like gambling. Remember: never risk more than you can afford to, you're paying for entertainment, so if it's not fun, quit, and the house always wins.
"Sure, it would be better to play in moderation" It wouldn't be though, because they're shit. They're not even really games. Quitting was the right move. "I can get very impulsive when it comes addictive stuff" Oh, can you? Well, gee, that must suck for you in particular...No wait, that's just how addiction works at all.
I know this comment is five months old but same for me! My games of choice where Conquer Online and Dungeon Hunter 5. I probably spent about a couple hundred dollars on both before I stopped playing them.
Love these videos, they are so informative and entertaining. South Park manages to tackle deep topics while staying funny. Another great episode to look at would be You're Getting Old, episode 7 of season 15. Having struggled with depression myself I found its portrayal of the loss of joy that comes with it and the way you end up pushing people away very realistic and would be interesting to see what you think
I just watched your video analyzing the South Park episode "Freemium Isn't Free," and I wanted to take a moment to express my gratitude for your insightful analysis. Your ability to break down and analyze the portrayal of addiction in the episode was incredibly helpful and informative. It's important to have mental health professionals like yourself who can provide accurate and relatable information about complex issues such as addiction. Your compassionate and relatable approach to discussing mental health is truly inspiring, and I appreciate the time and effort you put into creating this valuable resource. Once again, thank you for all that you do, and I look forward to learning more from you in the future.
My family has a really bad addiction problem. Like I never met my grandma because she died at 40 from cirrhosis of the liver, and I've had an uncle OD on heroin well before the opioid crisis. So the only substance I touch is caffeine and it's much easier to get scarred off on trying stuff when you have a lot of family in rehab or death from it before getting to old.
I remember once getting into a fremium game. Spent 100$ on an addon. I then saw how quickly it went away for such little reward and then thought over what I could've spent 100$ on and decided to delete the app and since then I've never touched a free to play game again besides a few exceptions that don't have pay addons.
Here in Germany, being drunk while committing an offense really *is* considered a mitigating factor! You're considered to have been acting with impaired judgment and are therefore *less* responsible for your actions. (Unless you deliberately got drunk *in order* to commit the crime, i.e. gave yourself Dutch courage. Also doesn't apply to drunk driving, obviously.) I was absolutely gobsmacked when I learned that. I think it's disgusting, but I'm just a foreigner living in Germany, so my opinion doesn't count.
I am German and I think alcohol should not be a mitigationg factor. In fact I think people should be punished harder for that. Especially when it comes to drunk driving etc. The whole drinking cuture in Germany is a mess tbh.
That's interesting. I could go on a long rant about the way the criminal justice system sees all drug and alcohol use as a form of bad behaviour, regardless of whether there is an dependence or not (and if and how much dependence truley interferes with free will which is yet another debate that is v interesting)
@@DoctorElliottCarthy I think my harshness comes from my frustration with the German legal system and its shockingly lax treatment of people who commit serious crimes under the influence and barely get any punishment. You are right, a nuanced and serious discussion needs to be had about consumption and addiction and all that comes with it. But also most grown ups know what effects alcohol has on them. So,e.g., if they know alcohol makes them aggressive and they starts fights maybe they should not drink to that point where it escalates. Drinking should not be absolution.
Why do you think It's disgusting? Its problematic. But disgusting is not the word I would use. Its perfectly reasonable to take that someone had severely impaired judgement due to drunkeness into account. Unless its a repeated offense. Imagine how terrible you would feel if you found out afterwards that you did something shameful while blackout drunk. Something you'd never do again. You should probably be ordained to take antabus or something to limit your drinking. But its not "disgusting" to take it into account.
@@adrianaslund8605 Because they chose the actions that resulted in their impaired judgement, knowing it would impair their judgement. Unless someone poured the drink down their throat, it should not be a mitigating factor as they are the ones who created the risky circumstances to begin with. It's like if someone damaged their own tires, had a blow out that caused a wreck, and then the court considered their damaged tires a mitigating factor. It was their responsibility.
Most of the "self-policing" is actually just a way to get control over the policing to make sure it can't actually cut into your profits. Gaming suffers from that a lot. The gaming commissions that are supposed to police games for being age-appropriate and generally acceptable to the public are sponsored by and mostly sponsored by current or previous industry people from big gaming corporations. Consequently, any and all attempts to get at least the most obviously predatory mechanisms banned outright or at least made 18+ because they're quite clearly gambling have run into a complete brick wall. The people who are financed by and incentivized to act in the interest of the biggest game publishers surprisingly didn't want to ban or regulate something that brought in billions in profit every year at the expense of people that are prone to addiction. They're policing themselves in the same way gangs are - just enough to make sure the public doesn't stamp them out, riding that bleeding edge where the profits are fattest. The commission exists to give the public the illusion that a higher power is keeping big business from going too far so that they won't push for ACTUAL oversight that may or may not be easily bribed.
As someone who was taught this stuff from a very young age, and still has problems with dependency and addiction I still see value in the episode. Though very flawed, I still think it is a decent way to explain it to the average person who thinks it is a "just say no" or a "just choose happiness" problem, instead of the more common/ accurate "I have been doing this so long it's becoming a problem and I'm not sure how to/if I can stop" situation.
This is why I turn all notifications off apart from texts and calls. I made the decision after listening to the audio book - IRRESISTIBLE by Adam Alter. You can't help but notice everything after listening/reading it. Far more productive now 😃
That's because people have been drinking for over 10,000 years. Coffee was only introduced like 400 years ago in europe and 800 years ago in the near East
What's really crazy about this is the gaming companies are targeting children with these advanced tools to help them become better gamblers. Monitoring my kids digital well being is exhausting.
16:25 Crazy. They're playing Zombicide. I have friends that work at the company that distributes that in the USA and did the Kickstarter campaigns for all the sequel version (CMON).
Hi Dr Carthy I like your videos and find them informative. I am from Australia and have schizoaffective disorder. I think you mentioned in one of your videos that you wanted to know what caused particular delusions to manifest in different ways in different people when they were psychotic. I found when I had my psychotic episode I had delusions about what would be one of my greatest fears - that someone I cared about deeply had done something horrible to me (the story was unbelievable though). It really affected me very deeply. Well done on the videos and keep them coming. Thanks Alicia
Congratulations on your self awareness well done. I am addicted to a certain plant that people say isn’t I know I am and can admit it first step I guess. But I don’t want to quit completely yet. My long winded point is that not all drugs are bad John Hopkins research hospital is or has doing a study of mushrooms Psilocybin has been great for treating people with terminal conditions and delusional and obsessive compulsive people
Ugh, that cognitive dissonance part really hit me. The changing the idea instead of the action. Used to do meth and I definitely did that. Hard to deny it’s a bad thing for you, so you just do different things to justify it. Oh well, I’ll be more productive when I’m on it, or I’ll spend less on this other thing (food haha) to balance it out. All excuses to do more meth.
I never thought I would see South Park on this channel but I love it! South park is one of my favorite shows ever (I coincidentally watched four episodes of it today). Hope to see more south park on this channel, but that's your choice of course. One episode that i recommend you and everyone else is season 11 episode 2 which has conversion therapy in it. It's a very dark episode but it's also fun and overplays the most horrific stuff that happens in conversion therapy.
You just made me feel old! I was an adult when that first south park jesus and santa kinda christmas video (pre-pilot) was being passed around on VHS tapes in my downtown apartment complex hahaha.
What also makes it hard to get of addictions is not just the withdrawal effects but also that our psyche usually wants to stick with what it knows, being secure. Change is scary cause it is uncertain, unknown territory. Trough my Depression and Adhd i have pretty much a ruminating addiction and to break that is still hard, as it is deeply ingrained: An advice i have: Yes. Change IS hard never let anyone guilt or gaslight you its easy. But if you dont even try, it never will gets easier
I was radicalized by Johann Hari's Chasing the Scream. Which is a book that argues very successfully that the psychological aspect of addiction has been criminally overlooked. And that the war on drugs is largely counterproductive and immoral. One problem with the drug centric view too is that other addictions are not taken seriously and are stigmatized as "not real" one that Is frustratingly overlooked is "adult entertainment" addiction. Which kind of blows my mind. An activity that literally causes a strong bodily euphoria and arguably causes an altered state is somehow not taken seriously as an addiction.
Sometimes I find myself playing solitaire over and over on the phone: when a game begins, I'm excited; when I don't win, I'm frustrated; when I win, I'm disappointed.
I'm a recovering addict and my son's dad is a practicing addict. My son is in his 20s and takes great pride in the fact that he has only drank once, and never taken drugs. Sadly, the addiction gene was passed down from both his parents, and he is addicted to those gambling video games. He usually budgets his gambling game money, but sometimes he falls short and I have to help him out.
South Park is far more intellectual and thought-provoking than people would think at face-value. Amazing show and it's a true testament of its creators that they not only stuck with it unlike many other sitcoms of its time, but grew as individuals whilst finding ways to evolve it. Matt Stone and Trey Parker are very rare type of entertainers that you just do not see anywhere.
I wasted so much money on these types of games over the years. I finally stopped about a year ago, but the only solution that worked was just never installing these types of games at all. Now, if a game says it's free, i just ignore it, even if it looks legitimately fun.
Both sides of my family had alcoholism. I drink around a pint of 80-proof a day. I try to justify it by keeping complete control not stumbling around, hooting and hollering, drunk singing, talking annoyingly. No one would ever know I was drinking unless I told them.
It is one of my fav episodes. It does a great job, and is very entertaining. Your reaction vid was very good. It was nice to see how a doctor with the appropriate knowledge felt about SP efforts.
South park has a great way if picking on the crazy people of both sides of a conflict, leaving out information, and having things escalate mostly naturally.
I was a jury foreman in a murder trial, and the defendant asserted that he was very drunk and had taken a lot of Xanax and didn't remember the murder. I didn't believe him because of the motor control it took to operate the particular weapon he used. Anyway, we were told that him being impaired didn't matter at all. This was in the US.
I had an addiction to Candy Crush and this episode of South Park actually helped me kick the habit. I still play those freemium games, but the only microtransaction they ever get out of me is the one time $5 payment to get rid of adverts. Thank you, Satan.
Satan legitimately explaining how addiction works and reworks the very chemical balances of the brain in such a thoughtful, informative manner, is probably one of South Park's best bits.
I recently stocked what is essentially a home bar because I like cocktails. I obsessively measure and account for every drop drunk and how strong every drink is and how much per day/week health guidelines dictate is okay (relatively speaking; like how much can a body filter in a given time) because mixology is interesting and flavors are fun but addiction sounds annoying.
Your brain also wants to see patterns and make connections. Where none exist. That’s why in a casino they will show that the roulette wheel has come up. Red the last seven spins in a row, your mind sees that as evidence that black is more likely, even though the wheel doesn’t remember what it just spun. Just the dark side of behavioural economics
Hooo boy, something in my wheelhouse. I've worked in childrens gaming for nearly 15 years, and I'm so glad to have been picked up by a company that recognises all of the cognitive traps that competitors are using and either avoids them, or turns them into learning opportunities for players. The original 2008 game (lost to the death of Flash Player) was freemium, but ran on one currency. No waiting times, no gems or premium money, just a single currency that was easy to earn in game. We actively encouraged kids to, instead of paying birthday money for more, to go and play the minigames with the biggest payouts - math, logic and typing. Or write us a story, or draw a picture - those also earned game currency! Not to mention quests, written by us and rotated semi-frequently, which told a story but also tried to teach all kinds of concepts that didn't fit in minigames. Kids could easily earn everything in the game without ever spending real money. With how predatory freemium became since the original game's release, the owners decided that the next one is going to be up-front purchase. We were always weirded out by the Farmville tactics, but modern freemium games have gotten incredibly frightening. If you have time for a detailed breakdown of what those tactics in modern games look like, I can't recommend "A serious critique of Genshin Impact" by NeverKnowsBest enough.
@@aliasella488 That's a great question! I have to be a little vague as I'm still under NDA. It did make getting currency faster - by how much depended on what the player liked to do in game, as educational minigames generated currency the fastest. It wasn't a huge gap - the equivalent of $1USD could be earned in about 5 minutes of math games. All of the premuim features were easily obtainable for free with about 1hr of play a month. Most parents who purchased currency also had a parent account where they could monitor their child/ren's account, and opted for a set length subscription option that basically gave the child an in-game "allowance" monthly as a way to learn money and bill/rent management in a safe way. That tended to be the main benefit purchasers were looking for, besides adult players who already had plenty of currency, but wanted to support the game.
3:02 I feel rather called out watching this while playing RuneScape, the entire premise of which is that of the variable ratio schedule you describe haha
The reality is that Randy’s “tasting/sampling” doesn’t actually count as such because actual professionals will only take a sip, taste it then spit it out to avoid getting drunk. It was a method invented in France at least as far back as the Viking age, possibly earlier.
13:38 so its not true you are F up for rest of life? If I overcome any addiction. (mentaly, socialy, physicly, change enviorment) will I be completly as normal as I would never tried that stuff and NOT became addicted at all?
stabel support network does work -- I had quit smoking just because I was around people who did not smoke --unfortunatly I enlisted and that ended quick
I think one form of addiction that is always overlooked is food addiction or obesity. Diet industry works extremely hard to push the narrative that "you are just lazy and need to work harder (buy my pills please)" with the specific intention to direct the general publics perceptions of being overweight as a choice. No person ever wants to be fat yet the diet industry has completely brainwashed the world into thinking that is exactly the reason and that fat people should be shamed into losing the weight. However all this does is isolate overweight people and prevent them from reaching out and getting help. You know its really bad when even doctors are just telling overweight people they are fat and lazy. Food addiction or eating disorders is one of the worst forms of addiction you can get imo. With nearly every other form of addiction, its a matter of no longer using it, eg, gambling addiction just stop playing any form of gambling remove yourself from places that cater to that eg pubs and casinos, alcohol addiction just stop drinking alcohol. However with food you cant just stop eating, you are constantly triggered everyday and you have to learn to manage the trigger as well as the addiction. its totally insane. and this is why it is so god damn hard for people to lose weight, one they dont even realise theres an element of addiction of they have an ED and two it is exceptionally hard to manage those or even get help to do so.
SSRIs were prescribed to me younger...when I found a good therapist and was able to think through it and talk it out, I have never needed them again or looked back. I learned to recognize my triggers and bad spots. **Jmho, NOT Med advice**
My favorite bit about this episode is when Satan tells Stan that the game is blatant Skinner box manipulation. It drives home that addiction has operant Conditioning play a part in it.
When this episode came out I was deep into Dungeon Hunter 5 on iOS and it made me realize I was trapped just like Stan. I quit and haven’t played since even though I spent almost 300$ on it over the years maybe more.
The disgusting Part is that "freemium" games are using exactly those mechanics that real life gambling is being forbidden to use. Here in europe gambling machines are not even allowed to call out to Players with a voiceline before starting the game or have animated blinking art to attract customers.
i do a lot of drugs but i really don't get alcohol. Why do people drink? It's like the worst drug. It makes you vomit and feel sick and confused and lose control of your body. It's like everything i hate about a drug wrapped up into one substance. The world would be a much better place if you could buy MDMA instead of beer.
I actually have a question regarding this. Whenever a game has one of those mechanics, my brain immediately goes full defense mode and becomes annoyed wayyy too fast for my own liking. It drives me NUTS. It's like my brain does not enjoy being rewarded. If a game constantly sends me reminders of "play me!", or tries to get me to buy lootboxes (or even grab some free ones where all I have to do is watch an ad), I oftentimes immediately uninstall it, NOT out of my own free will but because I immediately feel something akin to disgust. Is there any explanation for that? This also makes me struggle with chores and stuff because I can not reward myself for finishing chores as the reward will have no impact on my behavior, it's like I can't condition myself, neither positively nor negatively.
The part where Satan talked about dopamine made so much sense to me that I credit it with helping me with my physical addiction to opioids. I'm 10 years and 17 days sober. It's a shame that it isn't completely accurate. I wonder if that guy I used to know downtown is out of prison yet.
You should do one of these on Captain Planet’s Mind Pollution. Captain Planet aways gets it about 60-75% right but delivers it in the most over the top, sensational way possible.
I'm a competitive drinker and I feel like there's a huge misconception regarding competitive drinking. It's not about the drinking, it's about the competition.
Stopped playing a Facebook game when I saw how much time it was sucking up, and what it was going to take to improve. Very glad that I dodged that bullet.
I never got into real gambling. I play RPGs and I super hate it when it's like "hey, want this unique weapon? Gamble for it. Yeah I know it's gonna take like 4 hours but you want that whip, right?" I'm taking about Dragon Quest 11 specifically
Knowing something is bad for me, and doing it anyway is being self aware and understanding the risks involved... Thats not a contradiction. I know i might die speeding on my motorcycle, or my Newports may give me cancer. I know, i understand, and i do it anyway vecause i want to. Doesnt seem confusing at all
I had played an MMO game that has these money mechanics in it. But for me it kinda just got me to eventually stop playing. When progress slows to a crawl, or I can't get a particular item, I quickly lose interest and move on to something else. I also found that slot machines have no effect on me. I just find them boring and pointless.
This is why as parents you should hold out on making or giving your kids their own debit card. I remembered I can't pay for adventure quest AC a currency that required real life money so I need to grind for it to the point where I quit out of boredom from watching ads everyday while not making any progress. As a grown up thank God I don't have debit card when I was 12
A few years ago my dad locked the NAT-Type, so me and my brother couldn't play online games anymore. He denies it to this date, but I know he did it. And honestly I'm glad. Without that, I probably never would have experienced beauties like Phoenix Wright, Dark Souls, Lost in Random, Skyrim and many more. Single player games are simply superior to most live-service games.
8:41 I just realized. Randy drank the wine in the wrong order for an actual tasting. You are supposed to drink white wines before red wines because otherwise you won't be able to taste the whites later. So Randy drank his wine in a way to not be able to actually taste it.
Besides, I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to drink the whole glass
@@maxb5201 Also, I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to drink it at all. You sip, circle it in your mouth, and then spit it into a bucket.
@@Eweiit that's kinda gross I thought they were like samples and it was fancy or something, to sip one after another or something but
@@Eweiit Also, i'm pretty sure you're supposed to smell it before that
Jimmy mentions “Canada Cash”in this episode. When we in fact know it is “Cana-Dough”. Jimmy doesn’t know what it’s called because he never played the game.
Sweet catch.
"I'm not having a glass of wine, I'm having 6. It's called a tasting and it's classy" I quote this all the time and it's hilarious. A lot of people use alcohol, energy drinks, and other stuff in my industry to cover up burnout and it leads to addiction and also makes burnout worse so joking about it makes it easier to cope with.
As someone who is currently working to get off of energy drinks I feel that, it got so bad I was having heart issues, high blood pressure and palpitations, I was having up to a gram of caffeine in my worst days, I felt awful but couldn't stop, I only bring this up to say thank you for mentioning caffeine being addictive, many people just ignore how addictive it actually can be
It's the same issue where I work, too
The truly awful thing is that it is so normalized at this point that no one can see it much less help themselves or each other.
You just get into the habit of survival mode to cope because you have to make it through the day somehow
I'm guessing you're either a chef or a software developer
@@nonpondo_ I've been spotted 👀👀👀. I'm an ex chef and currently switched over to kitchen manager over a food service department. As much as I love restaurants, the enviornment just isn't a place for a healthy happy person
@@atomiccrouton Feel ya. I’m a recovering addict and have worked BOH and FOH my entire life…
It’s hilarious because once in one of my therapy groups we talked about how alcohol is socially acceptable. You can go to Applebee’s and get bottomless mimosas and no one thinks twice. In fact, it’s encouraged. But if I pulled out a bottle cap and started mixing my dope up? I’m going to jail. When the whole reason I was legit on pain meds was because a drunk caused my car to flip on the highway and I was ejected from the crash. Then randomly got cut off from my lifeline that helped me function.
That's not a glass, it's a trophy, that YOU won...for drinking
🤣🤣🤣
South Park is Legendary. It best joke is the original warning that it should not be watched by anyone. When actually it should be watched by everyone.
Isnt it deliciously just ironic, how presumably the most immoral being and the source of all the evil in the world (Satan), is actually the most sane character in this whole episode? Gotta love South Park ❤
Arguably the only character not pretending to be something he's not
Satan is also a close friend of Stan
What is evil anyway?
Is there reason to the rhyme,
That without evil there can be no good so it must be good to be evil sometimes!
Satan in South Park literally goes to heaven after his death at the hands of Manbearpig. He's mourned by the town, no less. Hell, in the movie, he's not the one responsible for a burgeoning World War: he's the one who puts a stop to it.
I wouldn't say that, Satan is considered a deceiver and a puppet master so it makes sense that he is sane and fully cognisant and aware of what he is doing and how he is manipulating people
I'm an alcoholic and both this episode and your commentary was helpful to me. Thank you.
I wish you the best for your recovery! One of my parents is also an alcoholic but sober now for over 30 years.
Me too mate. All the best
Ever hear the song "I Need A New Drug" and really feel that sentiment?
Duolingo doesn’t make you pay, it literally uses the same principles as this to get you addicted to learning the language which is a way of bettering yourself, it’s beautiful lol
Except their ways of teaching are not really good. I know it's free, so I shouldn't complain, but Duolingo is very one-sided in teaching languages.
"The emium is Latin, for "not really". Hilarious.
What does it actually stand for?
One part of the "Free-mium" elements that I have also heard is a large part is what's also mentioned here, that is the disconnect between money and ingame currency. The fact that it's not "pay 1 dollar to get this thing", but instead "pay 1 gem for this thing".
this also has some secondary effects, like the "house" being able to gift you currency to keep you engaged, having multiple currencies so conversions are harder and also you're more likely one currency (which you don't want to waste) but not another, and ensuring that you always have some currency left (by controlling the buy amount options), and all of these effects interact. It's can be a very powerful tool for control, really.
Modern freemium games are taking that one step further. In games like, say, Genshin impact, it's more along the lines of "X currency is worth $1USD. That can be converted into Y currency, and then to use it you have to convert it again into either A, B or C currency." By time you get to the second or third currency conversion from real money, you've completely lost the real world value of the currency - and that's the point. Genshin Impact had 13 currencies last I checked, for this exact reason.
@@LevadeNZ Wow. That sounds beyond shady.
@@LevadeNZ Jesus, that's why I just don't buy anything or if I do it is one time to say "thank you for the hours of entertainment". Those types of games shouldn't be played if you have a tendency to fall into regularly paying because you want this item or character. That is how you go from 0 to 1000 before you realize.
Used at many events too these days. "2 Zwonkies for a soda" somehow is a lower threshold than "$4 for a soda".
That “please drink responsibly” commercial makes me laugh every time I see it.
When Portugal decriminalized drugs I remember an interview with the guy in charge of their addiction recovery centers where he was talking how gambling us basically the worst addiction to deal with because while heroin and cocaine have a physical substance you can point at and understand and fight its effects (by getting people addicted to replacement drugs) gambling is an abstract addiction in that it is purely internal and you can't really substitute it. Need to find that interview again.
Gambling's simple: Just swap the addict back to schoolyard gamblings. Pennies and stickers and Oreos instead of $10 a pop.
Gambling has the highest suicide I've heard
Reminds me of a documentary I watched about porn addiction, the biggest challenge is the great availability, if you want to do coke you need to get it first, then you eventually run out of it. Porn instead is a few click away in every moment and at every place, imagine an alcoholic who constantly has an unlimited stash of booze on him
Meanwhile in America.
Politicians: is bad.
Special interest groups: Here's some money.
Politicians: 🙈🙉🙊
I'm so disgusted that the UK still hasn't legalised weed!
This is something I didn’t see you talk about (reasonably, it wasn’t super involved) but the fact that Stand WANTED and was WILLING to learn and change.
A lot of time people are scared to have classes in school about drugs alcohol and addiction, but when it comes down to it, kids (and people in general) are willing to learn.
The scare tactics from his father about his grandfather wasn’t enough to get him to stop- but having Satan sit him down and talk to him about it, teach him and get the ball rolling for supporting him with the information and knowledge of it all, stain was willing, and ready, and even enthusiastic to know more. And that was what he needed to start changing.
I am a new discoverer to your channel and I very much enjoy that you aren't afraid to get technical and break down specifically what something is, but you're not trying to be arrogant or threatening. It's something rather didn't from how a lot of the internet uses negativity and drama to keep people invested.
Also I like supporting a fellow gay who knows his stuff.
yay for fellow gays supporting each other
Yes, he's a fine psychiatrist, - great psycho-education channel. (Following even not gay, which is irrelevant anyway) .
I'm not a fellow gay, but I agree with you gay fellows.
(Sorry, the wordplay was irresistible, had to say it.)
"he is prioritizing the game instead of going to school" - I would prioritize hitting my head on the brick wall instead of going to school. 😅😂
4:11 interesting thing. More recently built casinos have started incorporating more windows and natural light.
I suspect the presence of cellphones, has probably lessened the effectiveness of that psychological effect. Everyone’s got a clock on their body 24/7.
Some jurisdictions have laws requiring visible clocks nowadays.
17:12 "The response is rewarded after an unpredictable amount of time" - like getting a bus in Sydney
I heard about a really interesting study, where people were given a quantity of money to bet on the outcome of coin clips, and were told that the coin would come up heads 60% of the time. Most of them started out betting on heads every time, because that guarantees a small return. But pretty quickly, people started betting on tails, to try to beat the odds, even though it was basically random.
This, I think, is how freemium games hook a lot of people. They tap into whatever part of us makes us think that we can beat the odds.
“Board games go good with a glass of wine.” 😂
Not monopoly. Wine will only make the arguments worse
That's the best part@@DoctorElliottCarthy
When you are watching this at 5am after not sleeping watching TH-cam all night... and it's hitting a little too close to home...
I wasted a lot of money on these mobile games and became addicted to them, despite the fact that they weren't even that good. This episode actually helped me a lot to become aware of it and stop playing them. Sure, it would be better to play in moderation and show some discipline, but I'm not that strong. I can get very impulsive when it comes addictive stuff so it's easier for me to completely stay away from it
It might help to get a $100 stack of ones and a couple of rolls each of quarters, dimes, and nickels. That's $134. Every time you're about to hit that button, move the money from a cash box into a trash can. That should help you visualize what's going on. If you don't have the money to do that, don't play. If you run out, quit. I know it sounds hard, but maybe it would help. It's like gambling. Remember: never risk more than you can afford to, you're paying for entertainment, so if it's not fun, quit, and the house always wins.
It helps that the games are terribly boring.
"Sure, it would be better to play in moderation"
It wouldn't be though, because they're shit. They're not even really games. Quitting was the right move.
"I can get very impulsive when it comes addictive stuff" Oh, can you? Well, gee, that must suck for you in particular...No wait, that's just how addiction works at all.
I know this comment is five months old but same for me! My games of choice where Conquer Online and Dungeon Hunter 5. I probably spent about a couple hundred dollars on both before I stopped playing them.
Love these videos, they are so informative and entertaining. South Park manages to tackle deep topics while staying funny. Another great episode to look at would be You're Getting Old, episode 7 of season 15. Having struggled with depression myself I found its portrayal of the loss of joy that comes with it and the way you end up pushing people away very realistic and would be interesting to see what you think
Stopping app notifications has been super helpful in managing how much I am on my phone. It's an easy thing to do that gives some control back.
As a current Bio Psych major, I thank you so much for releasing this entertaining and useful short lecture for me to study for my finals.
I just watched your video analyzing the South Park episode "Freemium Isn't Free," and I wanted to take a moment to express my gratitude for your insightful analysis.
Your ability to break down and analyze the portrayal of addiction in the episode was incredibly helpful and informative. It's important to have mental health professionals like yourself who can provide accurate and relatable information about complex issues such as addiction.
Your compassionate and relatable approach to discussing mental health is truly inspiring, and I appreciate the time and effort you put into creating this valuable resource.
Once again, thank you for all that you do, and I look forward to learning more from you in the future.
My family has a really bad addiction problem. Like I never met my grandma because she died at 40 from cirrhosis of the liver, and I've had an uncle OD on heroin well before the opioid crisis. So the only substance I touch is caffeine and it's much easier to get scarred off on trying stuff when you have a lot of family in rehab or death from it before getting to old.
"Free MIUM." Mium is Latin for "Not Really" Lol.
genius
I remember once getting into a fremium game. Spent 100$ on an addon. I then saw how quickly it went away for such little reward and then thought over what I could've spent 100$ on and decided to delete the app and since then I've never touched a free to play game again besides a few exceptions that don't have pay addons.
What I hate more than "free" games are idle games
I did the same thing with Blackjack. I lost $20 in less than a minute, and never gambled again.
Maybe it's like the thing when scammers are intentionally low effort So the victims who do interact with them are the most vulnerable.
Here in Germany, being drunk while committing an offense really *is* considered a mitigating factor! You're considered to have been acting with impaired judgment and are therefore *less* responsible for your actions. (Unless you deliberately got drunk *in order* to commit the crime, i.e. gave yourself Dutch courage. Also doesn't apply to drunk driving, obviously.) I was absolutely gobsmacked when I learned that. I think it's disgusting, but I'm just a foreigner living in Germany, so my opinion doesn't count.
I am German and I think alcohol should not be a mitigationg factor. In fact I think people should be punished harder for that. Especially when it comes to drunk driving etc. The whole drinking cuture in Germany is a mess tbh.
That's interesting. I could go on a long rant about the way the criminal justice system sees all drug and alcohol use as a form of bad behaviour, regardless of whether there is an dependence or not (and if and how much dependence truley interferes with free will which is yet another debate that is v interesting)
@@DoctorElliottCarthy I think my harshness comes from my frustration with the German legal system and its shockingly lax treatment of people who commit serious crimes under the influence and barely get any punishment. You are right, a nuanced and serious discussion needs to be had about consumption and addiction and all that comes with it. But also most grown ups know what effects alcohol has on them. So,e.g., if they know alcohol makes them aggressive and they starts fights maybe they should not drink to that point where it escalates. Drinking should not be absolution.
Why do you think It's disgusting? Its problematic. But disgusting is not the word I would use. Its perfectly reasonable to take that someone had severely impaired judgement due to drunkeness into account. Unless its a repeated offense. Imagine how terrible you would feel if you found out afterwards that you did something shameful while blackout drunk. Something you'd never do again. You should probably be ordained to take antabus or something to limit your drinking. But its not "disgusting" to take it into account.
@@adrianaslund8605 Because they chose the actions that resulted in their impaired judgement, knowing it would impair their judgement. Unless someone poured the drink down their throat, it should not be a mitigating factor as they are the ones who created the risky circumstances to begin with. It's like if someone damaged their own tires, had a blow out that caused a wreck, and then the court considered their damaged tires a mitigating factor. It was their responsibility.
Ever since I heard of observational bias, I started seeing it everywhere!
Most of the "self-policing" is actually just a way to get control over the policing to make sure it can't actually cut into your profits.
Gaming suffers from that a lot. The gaming commissions that are supposed to police games for being age-appropriate and generally acceptable to the public are sponsored by and mostly sponsored by current or previous industry people from big gaming corporations.
Consequently, any and all attempts to get at least the most obviously predatory mechanisms banned outright or at least made 18+ because they're quite clearly gambling have run into a complete brick wall.
The people who are financed by and incentivized to act in the interest of the biggest game publishers surprisingly didn't want to ban or regulate something that brought in billions in profit every year at the expense of people that are prone to addiction.
They're policing themselves in the same way gangs are - just enough to make sure the public doesn't stamp them out, riding that bleeding edge where the profits are fattest.
The commission exists to give the public the illusion that a higher power is keeping big business from going too far so that they won't push for ACTUAL oversight that may or may not be easily bribed.
As someone who was taught this stuff from a very young age, and still has problems with dependency and addiction I still see value in the episode.
Though very flawed, I still think it is a decent way to explain it to the average person who thinks it is a "just say no" or a "just choose happiness" problem, instead of the more common/ accurate "I have been doing this so long it's becoming a problem and I'm not sure how to/if I can stop" situation.
16:18 Hey, it's Zombicide! Cool game, but I've found that you end up Zombie Chow more often than not (especially if the dice are not your friend).
In south park the devil is a decent guy. The worst thing he ever did was kick Steve Irwin out of his sweet 16 party.
And that was an honest mistake too
I mean it was a costume party and he had no costume tho
This is why I turn all notifications off apart from texts and calls. I made the decision after listening to the audio book - IRRESISTIBLE by Adam Alter. You can't help but notice everything after listening/reading it. Far more productive now 😃
To me, it is shocking how normalized alcoholism is.
Alcoholism is at the lowest level in thousands of years.
That's because people have been drinking for over 10,000 years. Coffee was only introduced like 400 years ago in europe and 800 years ago in the near East
As a gambling addict. Video games, social media use bright lights, high pitch sounds, and ETC to gets you the "high" off gambling.
What's really crazy about this is the gaming companies are targeting children with these advanced tools to help them become better gamblers.
Monitoring my kids digital well being is exhausting.
Procrastinating on revising for my A-Level Psychology, so this is part revision, part entertainment and part special interest in South Park!
They have an earlier episode with the same topic but take a different stance. S9E14 "Bloody Mary". Maybe you'd like to look into it.
16:25 Crazy. They're playing Zombicide. I have friends that work at the company that distributes that in the USA and did the Kickstarter campaigns for all the sequel version (CMON).
14:25 I love the changes in facial expression as it just got darker and darker.
Hi Dr Carthy I like your videos and find them informative. I am from Australia and have schizoaffective disorder. I think you mentioned in one of your videos that you wanted to know what caused particular delusions to manifest in different ways in different people when they were psychotic. I found when I had my psychotic episode I had delusions about what would be one of my greatest fears - that someone I cared about deeply had done something horrible to me (the story was unbelievable though). It really affected me very deeply. Well done on the videos and keep them coming. Thanks Alicia
Congratulations on your self awareness well done. I am addicted to a certain plant that people say isn’t I know I am and can admit it first step I guess. But I don’t want to quit completely yet. My long winded point is that not all drugs are bad John Hopkins research hospital is or has doing a study of mushrooms Psilocybin has been great for treating people with terminal conditions and delusional and obsessive compulsive people
@@PaliSvapna Cannabis? Kratom?
Satan rambling about dopamine like an ADHDer talking about his fixation, my new favorite thing
Ugh, that cognitive dissonance part really hit me. The changing the idea instead of the action. Used to do meth and I definitely did that. Hard to deny it’s a bad thing for you, so you just do different things to justify it. Oh well, I’ll be more productive when I’m on it, or I’ll spend less on this other thing (food haha) to balance it out. All excuses to do more meth.
Love South Park! Also just found your channel and I learned a lot from you here. Cool stuff.
I never thought I would see South Park on this channel but I love it! South park is one of my favorite shows ever (I coincidentally watched four episodes of it today). Hope to see more south park on this channel, but that's your choice of course. One episode that i recommend you and everyone else is season 11 episode 2 which has conversion therapy in it. It's a very dark episode but it's also fun and overplays the most horrific stuff that happens in conversion therapy.
You just made me feel old! I was an adult when that first south park jesus and santa kinda christmas video (pre-pilot) was being passed around on VHS tapes in my downtown apartment complex hahaha.
What also makes it hard to get of addictions is not just the withdrawal effects but also that our psyche usually wants to stick with what it knows, being secure.
Change is scary cause it is uncertain, unknown territory.
Trough my Depression and Adhd i have pretty much a ruminating addiction and to break that is still hard, as it is deeply ingrained:
An advice i have: Yes. Change IS hard never let anyone guilt or gaslight you its easy. But if you dont even try, it never will gets easier
The 'mium' is Latin for 'Not really' cracked me the hell up
me too
I was radicalized by Johann Hari's Chasing the Scream. Which is a book that argues very successfully that the psychological aspect of addiction has been criminally overlooked. And that the war on drugs is largely counterproductive and immoral. One problem with the drug centric view too is that other addictions are not taken seriously and are stigmatized as "not real" one that Is frustratingly overlooked is "adult entertainment" addiction. Which kind of blows my mind. An activity that literally causes a strong bodily euphoria and arguably causes an altered state is somehow not taken seriously as an addiction.
"That's the way I teach it" - 11:56 . Right as your face is just as red as Satan's.
Sometimes I find myself playing solitaire over and over on the phone:
when a game begins, I'm excited;
when I don't win, I'm frustrated;
when I win, I'm disappointed.
Randy’s perpetually rotating addictions are one of my favorite long running character gags in the show
I'm a recovering addict and my son's dad is a practicing addict. My son is in his 20s and takes great pride in the fact that he has only drank once, and never taken drugs. Sadly, the addiction gene was passed down from both his parents, and he is addicted to those gambling video games. He usually budgets his gambling game money, but sometimes he falls short and I have to help him out.
Hope they recognize the issue and get support
There are other southpark-episodes about addiction - Bloody Mary comes to mind
What's sad is this episode has only become more relevant the worse the video game industry gets.
South Park is far more intellectual and thought-provoking than people would think at face-value. Amazing show and it's a true testament of its creators that they not only stuck with it unlike many other sitcoms of its time, but grew as individuals whilst finding ways to evolve it. Matt Stone and Trey Parker are very rare type of entertainers that you just do not see anywhere.
This is the clearest exploration & explanation of addiction I've yet seen - thank you! 💚
I wasted so much money on these types of games over the years. I finally stopped about a year ago, but the only solution that worked was just never installing these types of games at all. Now, if a game says it's free, i just ignore it, even if it looks legitimately fun.
"Ya ya ya, I am Lord" 😂😂😂
Have you seen the South Park Episode T.M.I? It’s about anger and how anger is related to a specific part of male anatomy. And it’s not the brain.
Both sides of my family had alcoholism. I drink around a pint of 80-proof a day. I try to justify it by keeping complete control not stumbling around, hooting and hollering, drunk singing, talking annoyingly. No one would ever know I was drinking unless I told them.
It is one of my fav episodes. It does a great job, and is very entertaining. Your reaction vid was very good. It was nice to see how a doctor with the appropriate knowledge felt about SP efforts.
South park has a great way if picking on the crazy people of both sides of a conflict, leaving out information, and having things escalate mostly naturally.
I was a jury foreman in a murder trial, and the defendant asserted that he was very drunk and had taken a lot of Xanax and didn't remember the murder. I didn't believe him because of the motor control it took to operate the particular weapon he used. Anyway, we were told that him being impaired didn't matter at all. This was in the US.
I had an addiction to Candy Crush and this episode of South Park actually helped me kick the habit. I still play those freemium games, but the only microtransaction they ever get out of me is the one time $5 payment to get rid of adverts. Thank you, Satan.
Amazing! More South Park please!
Honestly I’m just happy you’ve seen South Park and seem like a fan at least a bit x3 makes this feel even better
Satan legitimately explaining how addiction works and reworks the very chemical balances of the brain in such a thoughtful, informative manner, is probably one of South Park's best bits.
I recently stocked what is essentially a home bar because I like cocktails. I obsessively measure and account for every drop drunk and how strong every drink is and how much per day/week health guidelines dictate is okay (relatively speaking; like how much can a body filter in a given time) because mixology is interesting and flavors are fun but addiction sounds annoying.
You’re deluded or a genius I can’t tell
If it weren't for the fact I think most alcohol tastes like SHEIT I totally would do something similar.
@@heinrichze-france4089 have you tried mixers? I have no idea what they are but I think they’re something to mix with alcohol to make it taste nicer
The drinking commercial is perfection
Your brain also wants to see patterns and make connections. Where none exist. That’s why in a casino they will show that the roulette wheel has come up. Red the last seven spins in a row, your mind sees that as evidence that black is more likely, even though the wheel doesn’t remember what it just spun. Just the dark side of behavioural economics
Hooo boy, something in my wheelhouse. I've worked in childrens gaming for nearly 15 years, and I'm so glad to have been picked up by a company that recognises all of the cognitive traps that competitors are using and either avoids them, or turns them into learning opportunities for players.
The original 2008 game (lost to the death of Flash Player) was freemium, but ran on one currency. No waiting times, no gems or premium money, just a single currency that was easy to earn in game. We actively encouraged kids to, instead of paying birthday money for more, to go and play the minigames with the biggest payouts - math, logic and typing. Or write us a story, or draw a picture - those also earned game currency! Not to mention quests, written by us and rotated semi-frequently, which told a story but also tried to teach all kinds of concepts that didn't fit in minigames. Kids could easily earn everything in the game without ever spending real money.
With how predatory freemium became since the original game's release, the owners decided that the next one is going to be up-front purchase. We were always weirded out by the Farmville tactics, but modern freemium games have gotten incredibly frightening. If you have time for a detailed breakdown of what those tactics in modern games look like, I can't recommend "A serious critique of Genshin Impact" by NeverKnowsBest enough.
I have a question though: How beneficial was it to pay for the in-game currency? Did it actually make things much easier or faster?
@@aliasella488 That's a great question! I have to be a little vague as I'm still under NDA. It did make getting currency faster - by how much depended on what the player liked to do in game, as educational minigames generated currency the fastest. It wasn't a huge gap - the equivalent of $1USD could be earned in about 5 minutes of math games. All of the premuim features were easily obtainable for free with about 1hr of play a month.
Most parents who purchased currency also had a parent account where they could monitor their child/ren's account, and opted for a set length subscription option that basically gave the child an in-game "allowance" monthly as a way to learn money and bill/rent management in a safe way. That tended to be the main benefit purchasers were looking for, besides adult players who already had plenty of currency, but wanted to support the game.
3:02 I feel rather called out watching this while playing RuneScape, the entire premise of which is that of the variable ratio schedule you describe haha
The duo lingo bird is good cuz instead of spending money it's learning a language
I’d like to see you react to the “Bloody Mary” episode where South Park exposes the flaws of AA.
The reality is that Randy’s “tasting/sampling” doesn’t actually count as such because actual professionals will only take a sip, taste it then spit it out to avoid getting drunk. It was a method invented in France at least as far back as the Viking age, possibly earlier.
I had to listen to “disorder of motivation” thrice. That is, for me finally, a perfect description of the affliction of addiction.
I love Randy lecturing Stand and Grandpa on gambling addiction.
13:38 so its not true you are F up for rest of life? If I overcome any addiction. (mentaly, socialy, physicly, change enviorment)
will I be completly as normal as I would never tried that stuff and NOT became addicted at all?
stabel support network does work -- I had quit smoking just because I was around people who did not smoke --unfortunatly I enlisted and that ended quick
I think one form of addiction that is always overlooked is food addiction or obesity.
Diet industry works extremely hard to push the narrative that "you are just lazy and need to work harder (buy my pills please)" with the specific intention to direct the general publics perceptions of being overweight as a choice. No person ever wants to be fat yet the diet industry has completely brainwashed the world into thinking that is exactly the reason and that fat people should be shamed into losing the weight. However all this does is isolate overweight people and prevent them from reaching out and getting help. You know its really bad when even doctors are just telling overweight people they are fat and lazy.
Food addiction or eating disorders is one of the worst forms of addiction you can get imo. With nearly every other form of addiction, its a matter of no longer using it, eg, gambling addiction just stop playing any form of gambling remove yourself from places that cater to that eg pubs and casinos, alcohol addiction just stop drinking alcohol. However with food you cant just stop eating, you are constantly triggered everyday and you have to learn to manage the trigger as well as the addiction. its totally insane. and this is why it is so god damn hard for people to lose weight, one they dont even realise theres an element of addiction of they have an ED and two it is exceptionally hard to manage those or even get help to do so.
Studying for my RBT exam and hearing you go over the terms is actually helping me for this test 💃💃
any time i install an app on my phone and i get a "we haven't seen you in a while" notification, i uninstall the app immediately
SSRIs were prescribed to me younger...when I found a good therapist and was able to think through it and talk it out, I have never needed them again or looked back. I learned to recognize my triggers and bad spots. **Jmho, NOT Med advice**
My favorite bit about this episode is when Satan tells Stan that the game is blatant Skinner box manipulation. It drives home that addiction has operant Conditioning play a part in it.
This kind of video shows why southpark has been around as long as it has.
When this episode came out I was deep into Dungeon Hunter 5 on iOS and it made me realize I was trapped just like Stan. I quit and haven’t played since even though I spent almost 300$ on it over the years maybe more.
The disgusting Part is that "freemium" games are using exactly those mechanics that real life gambling is being forbidden to use.
Here in europe gambling machines are not even allowed to call out to Players with a voiceline before starting the game or have animated blinking art to attract customers.
6:47 and the oil/plastic industry too with their faux "plastic recycling" (which isn't really a thing).
i do a lot of drugs but i really don't get alcohol. Why do people drink? It's like the worst drug. It makes you vomit and feel sick and confused and lose control of your body. It's like everything i hate about a drug wrapped up into one substance. The world would be a much better place if you could buy MDMA instead of beer.
great answers very educational thank you
I actually have a question regarding this. Whenever a game has one of those mechanics, my brain immediately goes full defense mode and becomes annoyed wayyy too fast for my own liking. It drives me NUTS. It's like my brain does not enjoy being rewarded. If a game constantly sends me reminders of "play me!", or tries to get me to buy lootboxes (or even grab some free ones where all I have to do is watch an ad), I oftentimes immediately uninstall it, NOT out of my own free will but because I immediately feel something akin to disgust. Is there any explanation for that? This also makes me struggle with chores and stuff because I can not reward myself for finishing chores as the reward will have no impact on my behavior, it's like I can't condition myself, neither positively nor negatively.
The part where Satan talked about dopamine made so much sense to me that I credit it with helping me with my physical addiction to opioids. I'm 10 years and 17 days sober. It's a shame that it isn't completely accurate.
I wonder if that guy I used to know downtown is out of prison yet.
You should do one of these on Captain Planet’s Mind Pollution. Captain Planet aways gets it about 60-75% right but delivers it in the most over the top, sensational way possible.
I'm a competitive drinker and I feel like there's a huge misconception regarding competitive drinking. It's not about the drinking, it's about the competition.
Stopped playing a Facebook game when I saw how much time it was sucking up, and what it was going to take to improve. Very glad that I dodged that bullet.
I never got into real gambling. I play RPGs and I super hate it when it's like "hey, want this unique weapon? Gamble for it. Yeah I know it's gonna take like 4 hours but you want that whip, right?"
I'm taking about Dragon Quest 11 specifically
Knowing something is bad for me, and doing it anyway is being self aware and understanding the risks involved... Thats not a contradiction.
I know i might die speeding on my motorcycle, or my Newports may give me cancer. I know, i understand, and i do it anyway vecause i want to. Doesnt seem confusing at all