Both :
Give pleasure. Alter your consciousness. Are addictive. Are delivered via a small, portable device.

  • By that logic - that fiction is a drug because consuming it releases endorphins or dopamine or whatever - then anything that gives pleasure is a drug.

    If you enjoy it, then

    • rock climbing is a drug
    • jogging is a drug
    • feeding the birds in the park is a drug
    • petting your cat is a drug

    Oh no! They were right! TV is a drug!! Rock and roll is a drug! Sex - drug! Not being miserable: definitely a drug. Unless you’re a masochist, in which case: being miserable is a drug!

  • AbouBenAdhem@lemmy.world
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    21 days ago

    I think most anthropologists would agree that storytelling is an innate human activity far older than drug use.

      • AbouBenAdhem@lemmy.world
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        21 days ago

        Fair, but there’s no evidence it became a regular part of human culture before the agricultural revolution. Whereas storytelling seems to be an innate social activity, probably as old as language itself.