The Drum Awards for Marketing - Extended Deadline

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By Tom Ollerton and Alastair Cole, hosts

July 31, 2015 | 7 min read

On the same day in 2011 that we recorded this week’s Innovation Ramble, Amy Winehouse died from complications between her eating disorder, complex drug and alcohol addictions. In a world of reality TV, X-Factor wannabes and pastiche boybands, Winehouse was a fascinating rock-and-roller who let the pressures of fame and dependencies cut short what could have been a cracking career.

It wasn’t just Winehouse who liked a taste of the darkside, Hitler and Churchill were both regular methamphetamine users. This week the podcast looks into the science and psychology of addiction and how innovation is trying to combat it.

One such effort was the addicted toaster created by Italian product designer Simone Rebaudengo. Programmed to increase its demands every time it was used, the toaster was coded to replicate human addiction. During periods of withdrawal, it vented its frustration by moving its lever up and down and making unpleasant noises. Connected to the internet through a built-in Ethernet port, it had the ability to inform the network (of other toasters) about the cruelty of its owner, and could threaten to leave.

The effects (good and bad) of narcotics have been around since the Palaeolithic period – a key stage of ancient human development characterised by the use of rudimentary tools. There is evidence from archaeology in the Sahara desert that the use of Psilocybin (magic) mushrooms took place at this time, within the contexts and rituals of a mysticoreligious nature. The compounds in psilocybin mushrooms may give users a "mind-melting" feeling, but in fact, the drug does just the opposite – psilocybin actually boosts the brain's connectivity, according to an October 2014 study by researchers at King's College London.

Academics across the world appear to be at somewhat of a crossroads about the very nature of addiction is. Some academics are suggesting that addiction could be a habit, rather than the accepted notion that addiction is a chronic, relapsing brain disease. The argument centres around the belief by some that drugs affect harmful changes to the human brain. This is difficult to prove because our brains have evolved to have a high degree of plasticity (adaptability) and are constantly changing. Given we’re talking brains here, medical research proving/disproving these theories is not easy, and requires the help of our unfortunate rodent friends.

A landmark innovative experiment by Bruce Alexander was undertaken after he noticed that if a rat in a cage is given two bottles of water, one with heroin and one without, the rat will get addicted to the heroin and eventually overdose and die. He thought that the rat’s problem wasn’t the heroin but the environment. Who wouldn’t get hooked on heroin if they were stuck in a cage with no hope of release? So he created an environment perfect for rats with wheels, tunnels and other rats to have sex with. In this environment only a tiny percent of the rats used the heroin and none overdose.

In the Vietnam war 20 per cent of US troops were on heroin and 95 per cent just stopped after returning to the love and support of their family environment. Some innovative psychologists say that addiction isn’t the right word. As creatures we bond with things that make us happy. Those things could be people around us but if there isn't happiness or love in our lives we can bond with drugs, food, sex, porn or gaming.

Leading the way in all things digital, China was first to classify internet addiction as an illness in 2008. China and South Korea treat excessive internet use in teenagers through counseling and boot camp-style treatment centers. According to a new study from Pew Research Center, 92 per cent of teens report going online daily, including 24 per cent who say they go online “almost constantly”. Research from Germany shows that 60 per cent of nine to ten-year-olds cannot go for longer than half an hour without interacting with a computer or smartphone screen.

There is hope for a direct solution to problems with those struggling with addictive behaviours and habit. Scientists have developed a light sensitive molecule that is beamed into rat’s brains that turns off neurons related to memory. This could in theory allow doctors to use light to turn off negative addiction based brain activity.

If you can’t wait for that, how about the Moment app that tracks your time and allows you to set limits for how often/long you can use your phone? Flipd is another digital detox service, that sends text auto-replies saying you're unable to respond, and even allows you to block app use during certain times.

If you need more of an incentive to change your habits, consider trying Pavlok – an app that uses positive reinforcement if you keep on track, and a wristband that delivers a small electric shock if you can’t. Pavlok also comes with a companion app allowing your friends to shock you via Bluetooth.

The innovations referenced above are novel and interesting ways of helping us overcome our habits. But when it comes to drug addiction, there are alternatives available to us...

If you think that drugs shouldn’t be decriminalised then it’s worth looking at Portugal’s innovative approach to reducing drug crime. 15 years ago the government decriminalised all drugs and redirected all of the drug enforcement budget into reconnecting addicts with their families, setting them up with microloans and subsidising 50 per cent of their wages for the first year of employment. Is this crazy? Not when you look at the data. Drug use in Portugal is down 50 per cent from what it was 15 years ago.

We finish the Innovation Ramble’s Addiction episode with quotes from two different eras. American actress and sex symbol Mae West, whose career spanned seven decades, once suggested: “I'll try anything once, twice if I like it, three times to make sure.” And from Johann Hari’s 2015 TED talk: “The opposite of addiction is not sobriety, the opposite of addiction is connection."

Tom Ollerton is We Are Social's marketing and innovation director and Alastair Cole is chief innovation officer at Partners Andrews Aldridge / Engine Group. You can follow their innovation ramblings @innovramble and subscribe to the Innovation Ramble on iTunes.

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