"No, that is the great fallacy: the wisdom of old men. They do not grow wise. They grow careful."
— Ernest Hemingway

I've come to the conclusion that one of the most dangerous things in the modern world is surrogate activities. Vices like Alcohol, Drugs, and cigarettes', these target the body and mind. Social Media, Pornography, Videogames, all of these modern vices target the soul and destroy us from the inside. All of us, once past our basic human needs, have a desire for more in the forms of Love and Belonging, Self-Esteem, and Self Actualization (refer to Maslow's Hierarchy of needs for specific examples of what these look like), and naturally, we are conditioned to seek them out. When we seek them out, we take action in the world and form meaningful connections, making us happy and help us bring happiness to others. Modern vices subvert this by acting as surrogate activities for these needs. Want to look good and connect with people? Go on social media, you get to live your life through the lens of others. Sure you never went to Venice, but you saw the pictures from someone who did. Sure you never talked to that girl, but you saw a POV from a pickup artist who did. Want to find intimacy with someone? No problem, pick your model from a list of porno sites, right down to the situation. Want to achieve something big? Play a video game. Why not start a business in a server instead of starting on in real life?

All of these modern vices meets the higher levels of human needs without the risk of actually doing it, and I theorize that it acts as a level cap for people who would otherwise go out into the world and do things. It keeps people comfortable instead of being the greatest version of themselves. Once you're past survival, these literally sap your Vril and disable your Will to Power. If you have to use these, make your time productive with it. If you're watching YouTube, take notes on whatever you watched, treat it as a study time rather than leisure time. Use social media to connect with other, not in a shallow "I Liked her post" way, but to find like minded people and meet up. Maybe you can use videogames to unwind or as a social activity, or even strategy/management games to simulate problems, but never let them reach a point where you feel proud of what you did in game.

A good test for surrogate activities is to see if you say "Wow, I really enjoyed watching/doing that (in game)" or "Wow, you can do that? I should try that later today". If the activity that you do gives you a sense of satisfaction that you would otherwise get from doing it in real life, its a surrogate.

"More life may trickle out of men through thought than through a gaping wound."

— Thomas Hardy

When you use a negative reaction, this is who you're hurting...

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I think it's time to invade Italy...

“Deeds will not be less valiant because they are unpraised.”

— J. R. R. Tolkien

Would you have a great empire? First rule over yourself.
– Publilio Siro