Jinn

How do you draw a line between a hobby and an addiction?

Traditionally, they say the line for addiction is that it begins to interfere with other important parts of your life; it affects your ability to be a good father or mother, it affects your ability to get or maintain a job, even your ability to maintain your own hygiene or mental health. But when do you personally draw the line between a simple hobby and an addiction?

These days, it seems like that there many things that people could be 'functional addicts' to. From video games to sex, one could potentially be 'addicted' in the sense that it takes control of their lives and feels more like a need than an enjoyable hobby, but they still maintain good relationships with their families, keep steady employment, and even maintain a relationship with their significant others. So where is the line? Where do you personally draw the line? It is a certain frequency (twice a week, twice a day, twice a month.. ?), is it a the level of obsession (how often you think about the activity) or is it simply just certain things - you can be addicted to gambling or alcohol, but not masturbation or video games?

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