Thanks.

Is there an addiction to Barbie too? ;P

I agree on that

It's normal because 'normal' is defined as what most people do. It's not defined in any way by what's good or bad, it's simply defined as how much a person conforms to the 'average person' in the society.

So since eating pillows isn't common, it would not be considered normal, and since drinking coffee (which does cause some physical dependence) is common, it's considered normal. If we lived in a society where people don't drink coffee, then it wouldn't be considered normal. Just like eating other people isn't normal in most places but is totally normal in cannibal tribes.

So if most people on SG are addicted to the site, then being addicted is normal.

Well, coffee is addicting because it's habit forming, ritualistic, and difficult to quit. If you use it regularly, and you don't have it, you crave it.. You can be addicted to something and still function normally. Coffee is healthy however, it can prevent alzheimers, contains lots of antioxidants, & helps improve focus.

Anything can become an addiction, even necessary life functions such as eating, sleeping, sex...

I was talking about addiction in the sense mentioned in the OP, not in the pathological sense. I agree, 'addiction' in general means something that's disruptive to normal behaviour, and most mild addictions (in the sense of repeat behaviours driven by a feeling of reward), such as coffee drinking or smoking, or visiting SG or gifting, etc., aren't disruptive.

What I meant was that there are a lot of behaviours that people do which are wasteful or have minor bad effects on their health and which are totally within the norm.

You might not be beating people if you don't get your coffee fix, but you will likely get a headache, be irritable, etc.

Caffeine withdrawal symptoms

All of them were done by addicts.

1. Become addict
2. Do some science
3. Say there are no addicts
4. ???
5. Die of barbie overdose...