Alok Kanojia blames lost purpose for male addiction

Three out of four young men now engage in daily compulsive digital behavior.

On Modern Wisdom, psychiatrist Alok Kanojia traced the spike in video game, gambling, and pornography use to a systemic breakdown in real-world agency. Traditional paths to higher education, economic stability, and romantic partnership no longer feel reliable. As a result, men retreat into artificial achievement ladders that offer immediate feedback without real-world risk.

"Digital compulsion isn't the primary illness; it is merely the symptom."

- Alok Kanojia, Modern Wisdom

Host Chris Williamson highlighted how retail financial media online shifted from long-term investing toward high-risk gambling apps. Kanojia noted that this shift mirrors deep anxiety over conventional economic mobility. High-stakes shortcuts offer an illusion of progress when sustained effort feels unrewarded.

The erosion of struggle extends far beyond digital entertainment into broad consumer technology. Kanojia warned that tools like weight-loss drugs and generative artificial intelligence systematically sever output from effort.

While weight-loss drugs offer clinical benefits for severe medical cases, bypassing physical friction eliminates the psychological accumulation of willpower. Generative AI similarly removes the cognitive friction required for critical thought, contributing to recorded plateaus in human IQ testing over recent decades.

Constant screen stimulation drains dopamine reserves, leaving young men with severe anhedonia and emotional instability. Culture now preaches maximum output with zero discomfort, creating a profound intolerance for uncertainty.

"You cannot cheat the laws of physics without paying a hidden price."

- Alok Kanojia, Modern Wisdom

Reversing the trend requires deliberately reintroducing friction, boredom, and real-world physical discomfort into daily routine. Bypassing struggle only deepens the void.