Surrogate Activity
An activity directed toward an artificial goal that a person sets up merely to have something to work toward, substituting for the pursuit of genuinely necessary or meaningful objectives.
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Origin
Ted Kaczynski introduced the term in his 1995 manifesto Industrial Society and Its Future (paragraphs 38–41, 84–89). He argued that modern technology satisfies basic survival needs so completely that people must invent artificial goals — hobbies, sport, activism, even science — to fill the psychological void, a process he considered demeaning compared to pursuing real necessities.
Updated February 22, 2026