In today’s society, most people are busy studying or doing their work, and they have many values to chase. They often say they are obsessed to something. Obsession is defined as spending too much time or effort thinking about something. Though the denotation of “obsession” is “a state in which someone thinks about someone or something constantly or frequently especially in a way that is not normal” (Merriam-Webster dictionary), there are various connotations of the word. Some people may accept obsession as a positive meaning and relate it to passion or responsibility. Obsession is used to explain what motivates people’s actions. On the other hand, some people accept obsession as negative meaning and in this case obsession means an unnecessary clinging that causes anxiety.
Postechains also have their own obsessions and these are different from individual to individual because of the various interpretations of obsession. The Postech Times conducted a survey to investigate what obsessions Postechians have. Out of 137 people, 10 said they have never had an obsession. The most frequent obsession reported was GPA (46%). Postechians are obsessed by it because if the GPA is too low, they cannot get scholarships. The second most frequent obsession is social relationships with other students (16%). In order to have wider social relationships, students spend too much time participating in gatherings. The third most frequent obsession is romantic relationships (12%). This obsession means that someone continuously thinks about and cannot forget his or her lover or he/she is obsessed by having a romantic partner. SNS and games each accounted for 4% of obsessions. SNS and games are new obsessions that appear in the smartphone era. In fact, things like SNS or Games are closer to addictions than obsessions. Addiction is a curiosity and mere escape from an unhappy reality. If addictions get out of control, they affect one’s daily life. Some other obsessions that appeared in the survey are self-improvement and music.
Obsession is not always bad. When one thinks of obsession as a guide and source of motivation, it can have positive effects. However, obsession isn’t always positive. To overcome obsessions that we do not want, what should we do? The Postech Times interviewed Professor Jung Ki Kim (HSS) for advice. She advises us to learn how to be more generous to ourselves. Tell yourself that it is okay. Everyone makes mistakes. Through these mistakes, we become stronger and more experienced. For example, in the case of a breakup or a rejection to a proposal, the way we think causes the way we feel. Most obsessions happen because people judge the values subjectively. Think about it. You cannot and do not love everyone in the world. The same goes for your opponent. The thought that everyone has to like everyone is instead absurd. If you step away from the problem and look at it in a broader aspect, things will look different.