Dreamscapes: Traversing Landscapes of Addiction

Dreamscapes brings anthropological addiction research to the stage and into public life. Emerging from the FWF-funded project Making Sense of Smartphone Addiction, it explores how addiction, whether to substances or technologies, reflects broader social realities rather than isolated personal failures. Addiction is approached not only as a medical or psychological condition, but as a deeply human way of navigating challenging circumstances in increasingly attention-driven environments. Alcohol, opioids, gambling, and digital media are understood as part of complex social and commercial landscapes from global drug distribution and alcohol marketing to data extraction and the attention economy. At the same time, Dreamscapes shows that these environments are not only destructive but also ambivalent spaces of relief and connection. Its title captures this duality: the dreamlike states of escapism and coping that addiction often entails. The project invites the public to reflect on questions beyond diagnosis or statistics: What does addiction reveal about our society? Why are some addictions more visible or stigmatized than others? And how can empathy, rather than judgment and prohibitions, shape our collective response? Grounded in ethnographic fieldwork within an Austrian addiction clinic, Dreamscapes draws on real experiences of relapse, stigma, and resilience, revealing how new forms of digital dependency often mirror long-standing social dynamics. Through theatre, storytelling, and participatory formats, Dreamscapes translates anthropological research into lived experience. A co-created theatre play, podcast series, digital installations, school workshops, and a public flashmob invite audiences to enter shared spaces of reflection rather than passive observation reducing distance between science and the public, between patients and non-patients. Its goal is not to present facts or solutions, but to pose the open questions that emerged from research back to the public. By creating spaces for dialogue, connection, and imagination, Dreamscapes encourages reflection on what addiction means in an era of constant connectivity and consumption.