The reason for this is that frequent stimulation of dopamine creates a feedback loop that feeds an addiction. Tie this in with someone that has an addictive personality, or disorders that make them susceptible to addiction, as well as the genetic predisposition to addiction, and you essentially trigger a vicious cycle.
This then ties in with instant gratification and that addictive personality may drift from one substance or compulsion to others, which is why a lot of people who give up smoking then find they end up comfort eating (addiction to food), in addition to the fact that nicotine is an appetite suppressant.
If you look at how constantly dopamine is stimulated then to stimulate it with sugar as well is going to contribute to these bouts of pleasure infliction and out of that stems a society based on instant gratification, as a society is essentially a sum of all it’s parts, each individual.
What do people suffering pleasure infliction do? Well, they do things that make them happy in the here and now. They buy things they don’t need, they eat cakes, they smoke, they often become addicted to social media because the likes on Facebook trigger the same response, and this can and does fuel other personality disorders as well as multiple other physical health issues.
Those who suffer from pleasure infliction and need instant gratification tend to not appreciate delayed gratification, and how patience, self control and discipline as well as focus is required to get places. Essentially, building a house is not just the finished article but the placing of every brick in a methodical way.
For a market based around consumerism this is perfect. People who live off pleasure infliction and instant gratification impulse purchase, get into debt, eat unhealthily. smoke and drink in excess. All of these things lead to expenditure and keep the market flowing.
I have a question for you, how often do you think people hug one another? Now, how many likes do you think the average person receives on social media per day taking into consideration one post alone can have dozens of likes?