A Rotting people from Capitalistic Corruption

The word "addiction" has a very negative connotation. Webster's dictionary defines addiction as a "compulsive need for and use of a habit-forming substance (as heroin, nicotine, or alcohol) characterized by tolerance and by well-defined physiological symptoms upon withdrawal; broadly : persistent compulsive use of a substance known by the user to be harmful." I think the interesting part about this definition, which I literally copied and pasted from the Webster's dictionary, is the part that says "use of a habit-forming substance (as heroin, nicotine, or alcohol)." I think this shows a lot of the narrow thinking that the majority of people have about addictions. Most people are uninformed on addictions: what they are, who has them, how one can become addicted, what substances. I can understand why addiction does have a negative connotation. They are detrimental to a person's mental health and more often than not suppress personal and mental growth. Addictions, though it can be argued, at some points in time assist in personal growth. However growth occurs as the addict pushes themselves through the painful and dreary process of recovery. Extreme amounts of  growth and learning can come from this recovery period in ways that those not seriously addicted can not understand.
I really don't think addiction or even the idea of them are very far from home for anyone. As we saw in the documentary today about video game, there are people who are addicted to video games. It would seem there is a common theme with those that are addicted to  pornography.  It begins with a few times then to "relieve boredom" then it escalates into a point where the person needs it and has a full blown addiction. 
I am not sure that there really is much difference from any addiction really. They all stem from a need to fill a space within: a void. It is my personal belief that everyone is addicted even slightly to something. Addictions as I see them is anyway that a person searches outside themselves to "get high" or as a form of consistent self-esteem. The most common example I believe is the idea of searching outside oneself for approval. The validation that is needed to make decisions in our lives can easily become a form of addiction. If we look outside ourselves to bring us up, we are then affected by factors outside of us in negative ways the same. These negative factors bring us down in the same ways that positive factors bring us up. In this way we have become a puppet to our environment. A common example is seeking out advice. When one seeks out advice they are looking to be told what to do. Most people will "count votes." They choose the path that most people supported. They are seeking to be socially accepted by their friends so they choose the path that leads to social approval. While there is nothing wrong with asking for advice once in awhile, I believe that answers to our questions can always be answered from within if we seek it out. The problem with asking for advice too often is we mute our own inner abilities to make sound decisions. We were born with all the answers we will ever need. 
This kind of interactional process and mental pattern is very common among Americans. I know we can look at where this kind of empty thinking comes from: its very easy to see its roots in marketing. 
I was once talking with my brother about my job. I am a bank teller and like almost every job I have had there is some kind of sales aspect involved in it. It would seem that no matter what job we are taking companies feel the need to incorporate sales into every aspect as much as possible to increase revenue as much as possible. I told him I was having trouble with my sales at work and I asked for his advice. He has been in sale for a long time as well. What he said to me has always stuck with me. He said that the best sales people create a need in a customer ("Are you seeing results you want and work for after your work outs?" Inevitably the question is set up to say "no" in a nation of overworked people.) Then the sales person will create a solution for the customer: their product ("I use this product and it works for me. This product is awesome. It guarantees results from plateaus.....") This kind of marketing is everywhere though: in commercial, magazines, radio ads, billboards. The idea is the self we are in the current moment is not good enough. So really the self we are in EVERY moment is not good enough because every moment we are living in is the "current moment." Hence these voids are created in people: constant and addictions are created. Addictions are really never having enough of what we don't want. The things we fill our voids with will never satisfy it and somewhere in us, this is a truth we know.
He noted that in sales the goal is really to sell yourself and not the product. If the customer likes the person selling the product then they are much more likely to trust their judgement and listen to them. Someone could be selling a piece of crap but if the customer is convinced they are trustworthy than they will listen to them and buy the crap. This is one way we can be addicted to approval. The idea that we need someone or something outside of us to give us value will always lead to controlled consistent behavior towards others in ways that does not feel self-worthy. 
It is no wonder to me that things like video-games and pornography are addictive substances but more over that they are rampant here in America: where we pride ourselves on a free market and capitalism. I find myself continuing to come back to this same reflection. I wonder what kind of cost we are really paying for a "free market." It seems the cost of our mental health and self-esteem. In a market where anything goes for the sake of making money, how can we deviate from the "norm" or from a destruction of ourselves?