Adrenalin Passage (9694_w20_qp_22)

1 It has long been understood that children are easily bored and crave excitement and adventure. There was a time when people were expected to grow out of this. But adults now have the same need for excitement and adventure; this is regrettable. High-adrenalin sports such as skiing are very popular even with people in their fifties and sixties. This adult craving for excitement represents a failure to grow up.

2 Social scientists have noted a shift in the last 15 years, from an employment situation where workers had a secure job for life to one that has been called 'disorganised capitalism'. In this new situation, people are encouraged to think of themselves as self-sufficient risk-takers, who relish the challenges of an uncertain future. So, rather than having a job for life, young people find themselves in what has been called the 'gig economy', in freelance self-employed work such as delivering parcels. Work of this kind has none of the advantages of secure employment, such as paid holidays and sick pay. In order to cope with these new conditions, one needs a risk-taking mindset, which is provided by exciting, adrenalin producing activities. So leisure involving such activities is a preparation for work, not an escape from it.

3 Many areas of natural beauty are threatened by this search for excitement. Mountain areas are disfigured by ski-lifts, and it was recently proposed that a zip-wire be put across a valley in the Lake District, a beautiful unspoilt area in England. This proposal was defeated but other such plans will come from the adrenalin junkies. If we want to preserve the beauty of these areas, we must leave them to the hikers and walkers.

4 These activities that produce an adrenalin rush have to have an element of risk in order to be exciting. This means that injuries are very common, which have to be dealt with by health services. So encouraging these activities increases the workload of health professionals. It is inconsistent for governments to mount health campaigns against excessive eating and drinking and not do the same for activities such as mountaineering, which also pose a risk to health.

5 The stresses of modern life are such that people need a safety valve to escape from them. Activities that produce an adrenalin rush enable people to do this, releasing them from the demands of society. People should not have to rely on these adrenalin rushes to cope with life. So we must instead strive to produce a society where such stresses no longer occur.