Dr. Drew Pinsky compared smartphones to a “crack pipe,” warning that the devices give people constant, private access to behaviors that can become addictions, including gambling and sex, during an appearance on Tuesday’s episode of “Hang Out with Sean Hannity.”
“I want you to think gambling and sex in the same thought,” Pinsky said. “It’s really on right now, those two behavioral addictions.”
Pinsky said gambling addiction isn’t a single pattern of behavior. He described people who gamble to win as only one type, and not the most common one.
“One is the guys that like to win. That’s what we think of with gambling addiction. That’s not most of them. Most of them like to lose,” Pinsky said. “They don’t feel alive unless their back is against the wall. And then there’s sociopathic gambling, which is they just like to manipulate the system and find a way to win.”
On sex addiction, Pinsky called it a “big problem now, growing fast,” and pointed to pornography as a significant driver. He also spoke in favor of group-based recovery programs, saying communities of recovering addicts often hold each other accountable and treat romantic or sexual relationships between participants as a real threat to someone’s recovery.
Pinsky noted that alcoholism is also tied into the broader pattern of behavioral addiction he was describing.
Drinking Trends Shift, But Risks Remain for Older Adults
Pinsky’s comments came as new research shows a shift in American drinking habits. Alcohol use nationwide has declined for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic, though overall consumption remains higher than it was before the pandemic began.
A study led by the University of Southern California/Keck Medicine found that adults between the ages of 50 and 64 bucked the overall trend. In that age group, alcohol use rose by nearly 4% from 2018 to 2024, and heavy drinking increased by more than 36%.
Across all age groups combined, alcohol use fell by nearly 2% and heavy drinking fell by more than 8% between 2022 and 2024. Gen Z adults cut their alcohol use by more than 5% over that period, while millennials drank about 17% less.
Pinsky’s full conversation with Sean Hannity is available on iHeartRadio, YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts and other podcast platforms.
