Social Work 1022 Ted Talk Assignment Paper.
The contemporary society is plagued with all sorts of vices and ills that threaten the
preservation of the right set of values and norms. The existence of advisors, counsellors as well
as wide elders is paramount to peaceful living because these people are tasked with the duty of
guiding people towards the right direction. Social Work 1022 Ted Talk Assignment Paper.The process of holding frequent talks and sessions of counselling enables the young generation to adhere to the social norms and avoid any kind of wayward behavior. Addiction is perhaps one of the persistent problem that is present in virtually
all communities and it is responsible for wreaking havoc in people’s lives. There are many myths
and facts that have been coined up regarding addiction such that some people do not know what
to believe anymore. This paper is a social work essay that provides a response based on an online
ted talk that discusses about addiction. Social Work 1022 Ted Talk Assignment Paper.
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Essay Instructions
Watch the following small Ted Talk online and give a respective response based on the issues
discussed. Johann Hari: “Everything you think you know about addiction is wrong”.
Link
https://www.ted.com/talks/johann_hari_everything_you_think_you_know_about_addiction_is_w
rong?language=en
Body of the Essay
Essay Questions
1) What are your reactions to the message in this video? Social Work 1022 Ted Talk Assignment Paper.
The video by Johann Hari tries to demystify all the things that people think they know
about addiction by laying down the straight facts. My first reaction to this video is that it sparked
my inner thoughts because most of the thinks the speaker says is what I have always believed.
For instance, Johann states that most people think that addiction to drugs comes about due to the
dependency habit that comes with it (Ted Talk, 2016). He goes ahead to give an illustration with
some people in the audience and tells them to imagine that they were taking heroine thrice a day
for almost three weeks. The end result is that after this time frame, these people would
automatically be converted into addicts who cannot live without the heroine. Social Work 1022 Ted Talk Assignment Paper.
Johann Hari explains that this is one of the beliefs that is actually misunderstood by most
people and is totally wrong (This naked mind, 2016). In fact, he goes ahead to affirm that these
people cannot become addicts after this period. Instead, there are other factors that come into
play for any individual to become a drug addict. My reaction to this clip was also sentimental at
some point because the speaker talks from experience. Johann Hari has seen and witnessed a
number of his family members go through cocaine addiction and he was actually left traumatized
by the experience (The Georgia Straight, 2016).
This ted talk also made me question what I knew about addiction due to some of the
things that the speaker mentions. For instance, Johann Hari mentions that there were some
questions on addiction that he had no answers to at all. He could not explain how one became
addicted during his previous years and neither could be tell whether one drug had a higher level
of addiction compared to the other. It was after doing a lot of research that he was able to
compile a lot of knowledge that finally answered all the queries he had. What’s more, the
message from this video was really informative in the sense that I got to clarify a lot of facts that
I previously thought were true in regards to addiction (Ted Talk, 2016). Social Work 1022 Ted Talk Assignment Paper.
Further, I got to relate this message with matters of social work where I learnt that every
person in the community have their own role to play when it comes to averting some of the
troubles and problems that are present. The mention of the physical component when it comes to addiction is a sociological aspect that explains how people get attached to the habit (Ted Talk,
2016). In fact, Johann Hari himself explains that the isolation by people in the society is what
them continue using the drugs. This helped me to dispel the belief that it is not the regular intake
that makes people addicted rather it is the social behavior that people display that makes others
feel alienated. The following part of this essay discusses the views and opinions of this video
based on the topic of addiction. Social Work 1022 Ted Talk Assignment Paper.
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2) How did watching the video change your views on this topic?
There are a number of lessons that I learnt from Johann Hari’s talk that changed my
views when it comes to addiction. To begin with, my perception that punishing addicts is one
way of making them get rid of their wayward behavior was actually changed because I got to
know that this strategy does not help them at all. The speaker explains this fact through the use
of sociological theories and facts (Ted Talk, 2016). He explains that the rat park study conducted
an experiment that sought to observe how mice would react when they are placed on opium for a
given period of time. Further, this research separated some rats and kept them in isolation while
another number was kept in a socially enriched environment that had many rats (Sefiha, 2012).
The psychologists observed that the rats that were living together with one another did
not become hooked to the opium and neither did they overdose on it. On the other hand, the rats
that were left in isolation quickly became addicted to the drugs and even some of them
overdosed and died. This sociological study shows that people do not become addicted because
of frequent intake of a substance, but rather it is because of the isolation and segregation (Smith
and Stewart, 2008). Social Work 1022 Ted Talk Assignment Paper. This made me learn that addiction has a strong human connection to matters of happiness and love rather than the drug itself. What’s more, when people live with one another in a friendly and cordial manner, then they become well-grounded such that they cannot
fall into temptations of wrongful behavior such as drug addiction (Solberg and Ringer, 2011).
When Johann Hari talks about the Vietnam War, he mentions a real life scenario where
people actually stopped their addictive habits once they were shown love and care. The speaker
narrates how soldiers in this war torn country fell into addiction because they were isolated in the
battle field. However, most of them recovered quite fast because they went back to their families
where they connected with their children, wives, husbands and friends who showed them all the
care, support and love that they needed. What is even more surprising is the fact that most of
them did not go through the withdrawal phase and neither did they crave for the drugs (Ted Talk,
2016). Social Work 1022 Ted Talk Assignment Paper.
This dispels the notion that placing people under a certain program where they cannot
access the drugs can make them heal faster is not right or helpful at all (Ted Talk, 2016).
From a social angle, the same case is true when it comes to all forms of vices and breaking of the
norms. People who indulge in stealing, abusive tendencies or even kidnapping do so because
they are not showered with care, love or even support by their family members (Smith and
Stewart, 2008). Moreover, some of them are raised in households where nobody is concerned
with their lives. For this reason, they resort to engaging in unacceptable behavior as an escape
route or a way to find recognition by members of their gangs. Social Work 1022 Ted Talk Assignment Paper.
Johann Hari also touches on this by stating that connection is a very fundamental
element that is capable of not only healing addiction, but also restoring harmony in society. The
same case is true for people who are addicted to alcohol because they do it to escape the
loneliness they feel inside (Smith and Stewart, 2008). However, when they gain connection with
a spouse, friends or relatives, they easily break the habit since they are in a better position to make rational and reasoned decisions. This ted talk indeed changed my views on addiction and
enabled me to learn that social connection, happiness and emotional attachment are all
intertwined. Social Work 1022 Ted Talk Assignment Paper.
3) How do you think the content of the message could be used by social workers?
The content present in this online talk can come in handy in assisting social workers deal
with addicts. To begin with, they get to learn that care, comfort and love is the right prescription
that can help them to stop their wayward behavior. This means that social workers should avoid
being hostile and unfriendly to them, but instead begin to associate closely with them. Further,
social workers should shower their patients with love and even show interest in their lives. The
fact that every human being thrives on being appreciated means that drug and alcohol addicts can
heal much faster when people show interest in their lives. Social Work 1022 Ted Talk Assignment Paper.
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This can work even better when compared to all the other medical regimen that are
normally used in rehabilitation centers. Additionally, social workers can also benefit from
teaching these addicts that healing begins by loving themselves and quitting the blame game.
The minute they begin reconnecting with their inner self they get on the first track towards
resuming to their normal lives. Conclusively, love and care is the right medicine and cure that
can heal the addictive behavior of any human being.
References
Sefiha, O 2012, the social construction of drug use', Contemporary Drug Problems, 39, 2, pp.
213-245, Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost, viewed 18 June 2016.
Smith, A, & Stewart, B 2008, 'Drug policy in society: hidden assumptions and inherent
contradictions', Drug & Alcohol Review, 27, 2, pp. 123-129, Academic Search Premier,
EBSCOhost, viewed 18 June 2016. Social Work 1022 Ted Talk Assignment Paper.
Solberg, J, & Ringer, R 2011, Drug Use and addiction: The Impact of Culture', Ethics &
Behavior, 21, 2, pp. 91-102, Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost, viewed 18 June
2016.
Ted Talk. (2016). Johann Hari: “Everything you think you know about addiction is wrong”. Social Work 1022 Ted Talk Assignment Paper.
Retrieved on 18 June 2016 from
https://www.ted.com/talks/johann_hari_everything_you_think_you_know_about_addicti
on_is_wrong?language=en
This naked mind. (2016). “Everything you think you know about addiction is wrong”.TED Talk
by Johann Hari. Retrieved on 18 June 2016 from https://thisnakedmind.com/everything-
you-think-you-know-about-addiction-is-wrong-ted-talk-by-johann-hari/
The Georgia Straight. (2016). TED 2015. Johann Hari explains how everything you think you
know about addiction is wrong. Retrieved on 18 June 2016 from
http://www.straight.com/blogra/487341/ted-2015-johann-hari-explains-how-everything-
you-think-you-know-about-addiction-wrong.
Ted+Talk+Assignment+SW+1022+2016
Social Work 1022 Ted Talk Assignment Paper.