They become a distraction and can be injured.

As with our colleges, so with a hundred ‘modern improvements;’ there is an illusion about them; there is not always a positive advance. The devil goes on exacting compound interest to the last for his early share and numerous succeeding investments in them. Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. They are but improved means to an unimproved end, an end which it was already but too easy to arrive at...

Our culture is about distraction, numbing oneself.

I agree. For us it's a real distraction. We're fighting hard for our Premiership existence. You see, once you get there, John, that's when your problems really begin.

That may be a ... distraction,

Acclaim is a distraction.