I learned recently that the number one online  activity is watching videos. My initial guess was email, but as I thought more about how we have grown-up watching television, and that the average American now spends more than five hours a day in front of a screen (TVs, computers and mobile devices, non-worked related), this outcome is hardly surprising. Email actually ranks third behind online banking. These statistics got me thinking about the most effective way to provide you science-based, easy-to-understand information about addiction and how to overcome it as a problem. Call me a little slow, but if watching videos is where all the action is online, then it seems to make sense that I go there as well. So I am excited to tell you that I have taken the leap and completely updated this site with lots of video! You will now find many short snippets, most just a few minutes long, on a wide range of addiction-related topics.

A few words about the clips. Last year I joined the Board of Shangri-La, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping Oregon’s most vulnerable populations with housing, employment, and a multitude of other needed services. What an amazing group of people! I can’t say enough great things about how they are making a difference in the lives of so many people at a time when so many are struggling. One reason for my involvement has been the increasing prevalence of addiction among the populations they serve. To help out, I presented some material about addiction to about 80 of their managers and staff, and in return, they taped it so I could use it on this site. Thanks again guys!

The first set of clips I am posting are primarily aimed at helping you better understand addiction. Here is one of them focused on addiction being about relationships.

Last week I watched the independent film Race to Nowhere that has won numerous awards for its strong messages about our broken educational system. Through interviews with students, parents, teachers, and others, the movie illustrates the dark side of being a kid in school. The race to nowhere for students is paved with an over-scheduling of activities, too much homework, too little sleep, and increased stress that is resulting in health problems, drug abuse, eating disorders, and suicide. What is even more troubling, is that for all the effort kids are putting into their school work and extracurricular activities, many are being churned out of our educational system lacking some of the most important qualities of a good education, including:  the ability to reflect deeply on topics, handle difficult emotions in the face of stress, and successfully engage in a wide range of healthy relationships. The film points the finger at numerous perpetrators, but in the end, fails to hit home that no one individual person or group is to blame, but rather it is the entire educational system that we must examine more carefully if we are to find the truth behind the worrisome outcomes.

When I think about the fact that over 80 percent of those who end up struggling with addiction begin their behaviors prior to the age of 15, this film frightens me even more. When did school become so competitive and stressful? Much of the over-scheduling of extra-curricular activities and hours of homework is in response to the demands, both perceived and real, associated with getting accepting into a college or university. What is sad is that the stress and pressure begin long before high school. My wife and I spent a couple of years tearing our hair out (the little I have left) trying to identify and enroll our son in the best possible elementary school. I put more time and effort into researching options, attending open houses, completing enrollment packets that included writing lengthy essays, than I ever did applying to graduate school! The process was absolutely crazy, and I know we were not alone. And now I know it was just the beginning.

Race to Nowhere illustrates painfully many of the current antecedents to addiction, and why we absolutely must reexamine our understanding of what education means and how we are going about educating our children. Failure to do so will only lead to a new generation of addicts.