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Dr. Drew Pinsky compared the smartphone in your pocket to a “crack pipe” while warning that these devices place gambling and sexual behavior in the palm of your hand on Tuesday’s episode of “Hang Out with Sean Hannity.”
“I want you to think gambling and sex in the same thought,” he said. “It’s really on right now, those two behavioral addictions.”
Dr. Drew Pinksy called smartphones a “crack pipe in your hand” while warning that they provide easy access to addictive actions like gambling and sexual behavior. (Getty Images)
But these addictive behaviors aren’t one-size-fits-all. Gamblers, he said, come in “several different flavors.”
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“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,” said Pinsky.
“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.”
Drew Pinsky speaks onstage during the 2019 iHeartRadio Podcast Awards Presented By Capital One at iHeartRadio Theater on January 18, 2019, in Burbank, California. (Getty Images)
As for sex addiction, Pinsky called it a “big problem now, growing fast,” pointing to pornography as a major part of the issue. He also defended group-based recovery programs, saying communities of recovering addicts tend to police themselves and treat sexual relationships between participants as a serious threat to recovery.
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Pinsky added that alcoholism is “mixed in” with the behavioral addictions he described. The doctor’s warning comes as recent research points to shifts in drinking habits among Americans.
New data shows that drinking in the U.S. has declined for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic. But overall alcohol use still remains above pre-pandemic levels, with one particular group showing a sharp increase in heavy intake.
A study led by the University of Southern California/Keck Medicine found that among adults ages 50 to 64, alcohol use increased by nearly 4% from 2018 to 2024, while heavy drinking increased by more than 36%.
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Across all age groups, alcohol use declined by nearly 2%, and heavy drinking declined by more than 8% from 2022 to 2024. Among Gen Z adults, alcohol use declined by more than 5%. Millennials drank approximately 17% less from 2022 to 2024.
“Hang Out with Sean Hannity” fans can watch or listen to Hannity’s full conversation with Dr. Drew Pinsky on iHeartRadio, YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts or wherever they get their podcasts.
Fox News Digital’s Melissa Rudy contributed to this report.