A book worth looking into even tho it is not free online + La Vie Quotidenne

Gambling Addiction/Technology

More Natasha Schull

One of the jobs I work is in the realm of social services. I deal with people: I have to pretend to be nice, pretend that I care, pretend I know the answers to inane questions. By the end of the day I just want to "zone out"--play an online game or watch tv online--anything that doesn't involve the variability, unpredictability and humanity of people. This is how some people who became addicted to machine gambling (slots, video poker, etc.) got into it in the first place. They wanted to escape into a world of two options: yes/no, one/zero, win/lose. Face-to-face or "real" gambling (like sitting at a poker table with friends) is a relic--something people did in the post-industrialized world to escape being in mechanized, invariable factories. Now that more workers are in the social services, our method of escape is also changing.

The strangest feeling though sometimes is working on the computer all day and also finding my escape here. I don't feel good after a day like that.