surrogate activity
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.37 in modern English
26
Scrabble Score
17
Letters
6
Syllables
12
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
an artificial, nonessential activity done solely for the sense of fulfillment that comes with having some goal to work towards.
Example Sentences
- "[…] devotion to cults and sects that have no goal beyond that of giving “peace,” “health,” or “inspiration” to their members; aimless, restless movement such as rapid change of residence and “going for a ride just to be going’’, petty crime, useless shoplifting; and many other surreptitious or overt surrogate activities practiced by the segmental man."
- "39. We use the term “surrogate activity” to designate an activity that is directed toward an artificial goal that people set up for themselves merely in order to have some goal to work toward, or let us say, merely for the sake of the “fulfillment” that they get from pursuing the goal."
- "But a parakeet living in captivity is by necessity deprived of natural life. The bird has to make do with human beings, confined living space, and surrogate activities."
- "She continued, “Beyond midlife crisis, John, and male menopause, whatever that is, is the desire to simply be a man. I mean in the most basic biological sense, in a way no one wants to speak about in polite company. To fight a war, or knock somebody over the head, or some surrogate activity like hunting or building a log cabin or climbing a mountain."
- "Many young men in the West are addicted to video games. They spend hours and hours hunched over in front of a screen and they spend tons of money to make those hours as “fun-filled” as possible. The truth of the matter is this: video games are a surrogate activity and playing them will NEVER give you the same rush as accomplishing something good in the real world."
Etymology
Appears in psychological texts since early 20th century. Popularized in 1995 by Ted Kaczynski's Industrial Society and its Future.