Are you addicted?

[Oneeyedvic]

It's perhaps the biggest threat to the nation's mental wellbeing, yet it's freely available on every street – for pennies. The dealers claim it expands the mind and bolsters the intellect: users experience an initial rush of emotion (often euphoria or rage), followed by what they believe is a state of enhanced awareness. Tragically this "awareness" is a delusion. As they grow increasingly detached from reality, heavy users often exhibit impaired decision-making abilities, becoming paranoid, agitated and quick to anger. In extreme cases they've even been known to form mobs and attack people. Technically it's called "a newspaper", although it's better known by one of its many "street names", such as "The Currant Bun" or "The Mail" or "The Grauniad" (see me – Ed).

In its purest form, a newspaper consists of a collection of facts which, in controlled circumstances, can actively improve knowledge. Unfortunately, facts are expensive, so to save costs and drive up sales, unscrupulous dealers often "cut" the basic contents with cheaper material, such as wild opinion, ***, empty hysteria, reheated press releases, advertorial padding and photographs of Lady Gaga with her bum hanging out. The hapless user has little or no concept of the toxicity of the end product: they digest the contents in good faith, only to pay the price later when they find themselves raging incoherently in pubs, or – increasingly – on internet messageboards.

http://www.guardian.c...papers-dangerous-drug

[Androcles]

This is a major issue which is a great worry to all of us at Pressconcern. There are too many citizens of this land who do not realise the damage that they are doing to their credibility and even in the most serious cases, their minds by reading such things.

Join our campaign to get the government ot limit access to the printed word and increasingly electronic manifestations which are causing so much trouble to honest decent upright politicians, business people, celebrities, and others who need to keep their activities private and away from prying eyes.

[jake-the-peg]

No irony at all in a journalist writing this is there? :c)

[society]

I find Answerbank to be more addictive. :-)

[jno]

the nation is steadily weaning itself off them. Circulation figures have been declining for years. A healthier nation, untroubled by worrying Facts, will soon be within our grasp.

As society suggests, AB is ahead of the curve on this one.