Addiction is defined as the condition of having physical and psychological dependence on foreign matter or drugs such as alcohol, tobacco, opium and other narcotics derived from plants. The sudden withdrawal of which may give a hard time to addicts who hanker for an immediate substitute for comfort.
An addict cannot stay normal without his usual dose after getting used to it. Both alcohol and narcotics are nerve-shattering, reducing the power of decision-making and taking away the sense of right and wrong. An addict ultimately loses respect in the eyes of his friends, relatives, immediate family members, shunning them all for his addiction that eventually matters to him the most. There is no vision or mission left in the life of an addict. Addiction to drugs can stem from bad company, repeated frustration or disappointment.
Many activities persistently carried out are also tantamount to addiction. Luckily, such activities are not as detrimental to an individual’s health and family. Take the case of those who get used to a particular brand of tea, coffee, butter or even powdered milk. Give them any other brand and they do not accept it due to their preference for a particular one. Their liking for their favourite brands goes to such an extent that can be akin to addiction.
Others are so much given to watching television that it makes them TV addicts. They hardly leave their homes or want to get disturbed as long as their favourite show is on. They even resort to lame excuses for not being able to attend social calls or functions. This used to be the case until a few years back when Amjad Islam Amjad’s TV serial Waris and Hasina Moin’s plays were aired by PTV. Similarly, the English TV serial Fugitive also cast a powerful spell on the local viewers. The roads presented a deserted look and people tried to reach home early from work and elsewhere so as not to miss their favourite TV programmes.
Recently, viewers remained glued to their TV sets when Kaun Banega Crorepati compered by the Amitabh Bachchan and Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi were being aired. This kind of addiction can be called compulsive addiction. Some people play cards or chess, read mystery novels or view pornographic material to such an extent that they also become addicts.
In this age of computers, students and even adults spend hours chatting or playing computer games, which has turned them into computer-aholics. Newspapers are also no less addictive. Everybody in the house likes to be the first to read the morning paper. If the paper is delayed by only a few minutes, the inmates’ gaze starts wandering to the front door and ultimately the newspaper boy is reprimanded for delaying its delivery.
Office-goers leave for work only after they have scanned the paper. Big bosses who shut themselves in air-conditioned offices start their routine after they have poured over the paper first. Senior citizens fume and froth if their newspaper is misplaced or not delivered in time. As soon as the paper is made available, their sour mood turns sweet and their restlessness disappears. They enjoy their breakfast more if their newspaper in on the table.
English eveningers and their contemporaries, with their sensational reporting, spicy and scandalous stories, have further contributed to the addiction of newspaper reading. A friend in the neighbourhood, a pensioner, subscribes to many newspapers to satisfy his voracious appetite for the printed word. He is said to lose his cool if any one of the papers is missing. The day when there is no paper hangs heavy on newspaper addicts. They feel that something very important in life has gone amiss.
Coloured photojournalism has now revolutionized the printing and processing industries, raising the cost of newspapers, periodicals and fashion magazines. Almost all Urdu and English dailies now provide lots of reading material to their readers. This kind of addiction is educative and certainly not detrimental.
People living in far-flung areas usually get their morning papers in the afternoon by road and/or rail. People sitting in front of computers screens for long hours are also addicts of a kind. The only redeeming feature is, however, that such addiction is not as harmful as alcohol and narcotics. After all, there is nothing better than a newspaper or a good book or magazine to educate you.
Addiction is defined as the condition of having physical and psychological dependence on foreign matter or drugs such as alcohol, tobacco, opium and other narcotics derived from plants. The sudden withdrawal of which may give a hard time to addicts who hanker for an immediate substitute for comfort.
