Are Our Smartphones Making Us Dopamine Addicts? (theguardian.com) 78
"According to addiction expert Dr Anna Lembke, our smartphones are making us dopamine junkies," reports the Guardian, "with each swipe, like and tweet feeding our habit..."
As the chief of Stanford University's dual diagnosis addiction clinic (which caters to people with more than one disorder), Lembke has spent the past 25-plus years treating patients addicted to everything from heroin, gambling and sex to video games, Botox and ice baths... Her new book, Dopamine Nation, emphasises that we are now all addicts to a degree. She calls the smartphone the "modern-day hypodermic needle": we turn to it for quick hits, seeking attention, validation and distraction with each swipe, like and tweet. Since the turn of the millennium, behavioural (as opposed to substance) addictions have soared. Every spare second is an opportunity to be stimulated... "We're seeing a huge explosion in the numbers of people struggling with minor addictions," says Lembke.
That has consequences. Although we have endless founts of fun at our fingertips, "the data shows we're less and less happy," she says. Global depression rates have been climbing significantly in the past 30 years and, according to a World Happiness Report, people in high-income countries have become more unhappy over the past decade or so. We've forgotten how to be alone with our thoughts. We're forever "interrupting ourselves", as Lembke puts it, for a quick digital hit, meaning we rarely concentrate on taxing tasks for long or get into a creative flow. For many, the pandemic has exacerbated dependence on social media and other digital vices, as well as alcohol and drugs.
Addiction is a spectrum disorder: it's not as simple as being an addict or not being an addict. It's deemed worthy of clinical care when it "significantly interferes" with someone's life and ability to function, but when it comes to minor digital attachments, the effect is pernicious. "It gets into philosophical questions: how is the time I'm spending on my phone in subtle ways affecting my ability to be a good parent, spouse or friend?" says Lembke. "I do believe there is a cost — one that I don't think we fully recognise because it's hard to [see it] when you're in it...."
"It's very different from how life used to be, when we had to tolerate a lot more distress," says Lembke. "We're losing our capacity to delay gratification, solve problems and deal with frustration and pain in its many different forms."
The solution, according to the article, is dopamine fasts — "the longer, the better...to reset our brain's pathways and gain perspective on how our dependency affects us," eventually attaining the lost art of moderation.
That has consequences. Although we have endless founts of fun at our fingertips, "the data shows we're less and less happy," she says. Global depression rates have been climbing significantly in the past 30 years and, according to a World Happiness Report, people in high-income countries have become more unhappy over the past decade or so. We've forgotten how to be alone with our thoughts. We're forever "interrupting ourselves", as Lembke puts it, for a quick digital hit, meaning we rarely concentrate on taxing tasks for long or get into a creative flow. For many, the pandemic has exacerbated dependence on social media and other digital vices, as well as alcohol and drugs.
Addiction is a spectrum disorder: it's not as simple as being an addict or not being an addict. It's deemed worthy of clinical care when it "significantly interferes" with someone's life and ability to function, but when it comes to minor digital attachments, the effect is pernicious. "It gets into philosophical questions: how is the time I'm spending on my phone in subtle ways affecting my ability to be a good parent, spouse or friend?" says Lembke. "I do believe there is a cost — one that I don't think we fully recognise because it's hard to [see it] when you're in it...."
"It's very different from how life used to be, when we had to tolerate a lot more distress," says Lembke. "We're losing our capacity to delay gratification, solve problems and deal with frustration and pain in its many different forms."
The solution, according to the article, is dopamine fasts — "the longer, the better...to reset our brain's pathways and gain perspective on how our dependency affects us," eventually attaining the lost art of moderation.
Yes (Score:5, Insightful)
Yes.
Re: (Score:2, Funny)
Fuck you.
Sincerely,
Ian Betteridge
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Maybe this is the "exception that proves the rule", as the saying goes.
But yeah, I think this is one headline where the answer may very well be "yes".
Re: (Score:1, Troll)
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No. (Score:2)
"Are our smartphones making us dopamine addicts?"
No.
You were an addict already. The smartphone is just another way to feed the need.
Dopamine (Score:2, Interesting)
Saying that smart phone use makes people "dopamine junkies" is just a weird way of saying people like using smart phones. Any activity you enjoy will release dopamine. If you don't think someone else 'should' enjoy the things they do then you can say they're a dopamine junkie.
Re:Dopamine (Score:5, Interesting)
I think the point is people are doing it when actually they don't enjoy it. It's just releasing a need. Gotta break that cycle.
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I think the point is people are doing it when actually they don't enjoy it. It's just releasing a need. Gotta break that cycle.
You mean like this? [imgur.com] Or maybe this. [imgur.com]
Re:Dopamine (Score:5, Insightful)
Yeah exactly, just replace with "Slashdot"
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Re:Dopamine (Score:5, Interesting)
I think the point is people are doing it when actually they don't enjoy it. It's just releasing a need. Gotta break that cycle.
To build on your comment, it's not releasing the need. In the brain the cycle is dopamine and then serotonin (D.D.D.S). In the case of smart phone use, there is no serotonin release (D.D.D.D...), which cases the brain to expect a release that never happens. Think anticipation and then satisfaction.
This kind of UI behavior can be produced via various programmatic means to make it more addictive.
This exact same pattern exists in Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder as a function of enduring abuse. Victims are conditioned into addictive behavior patterns that cause them to behave within a set of emotional reactions that make them easier to manipulate. In the case of abuse the neuropeptide release is endomorphines which are a powerfully addictive opiate that the brain produces. A great example of this kind of abuse is Cancel Culture which produces the release in both the abused and abuser.
To round your premise off, the advertising industry uses similar influences to trick people into emotional states that causes them to buy things. There is a lot to be learned by studying the the father of public relations [wikipedia.org] who was also the nephew of Sigmund Freud. His early access to Freud's work meant he could use it in a way not intended by the author.
I suspect that this powerful influence is the cause of much of the mental health issues our modern society now endures, that advertising successfully used this model then smart phone manufacturers and companies like facebook use these techniques to ensure that users continue to use their platforms.
Recognizing the patterns gives people power over them and in me the peace of mind also has saved me significant amounts of money and stress.
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To build on your comment, it's not releasing the need. In the brain the cycle is dopamine and then serotonin (D.D.D.S). In the case of smart phone use, there is no serotonin release (D.D.D.D...), which cases the brain to expect a release that never happens. Think anticipation and then satisfaction.
Well that's an interesting idea. Where did you pick that up?
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This article is pretty much this song (A Perfect Circle - Disillusioned): https://youtu.be/BIsH686xWl0 [youtu.be]
In other case (Score:1)
Re:Dopamine (Score:5, Insightful)
Not just enjoy. Addiction is the continual pursuit of a substance or behavior in spite of negative consequences. So yeah. Dopamine addicts.
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What negative consequences?
Maybe you just think phones are bad and are trying to make up shit why it's true. Maybe 30 years ago someone just like you was saying that about TV, and 30 years before that newspaper gossip columns and comics, and 30 years before that fiction novels.
Re:Dopamine (Score:5, Insightful)
What negative consequences?
Everything from sitting on equipment in the gym while fiddling with a phone (just plain rude) to not watching traffic while driving (potentially lethal).
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and what very tiny percent of people do that? Some women put on makeup while driving and don't watch traffic, are you going to harp about makeup being bad dopamine thing too?
Going to the gym and working out is dopamine releaser too, why don't you belly ache about that?
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and what very tiny percent of people do that?
I can't tell if you are trolling or just never leave your house.
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I go to health club, NEVER saw that.
Cell phone use while driving is illegal here and cops very heavy handed about it and there are fines, so no never see it.
Not trolling, but it seems maybe you are. Get out more.
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Re: Dopamine (Score:2)
Cops are heavy handed about it because it's common and causes many accidents.
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Going to the gym and working out is dopamine releaser
No quite. Thinking about the gym releases dopamine.
Exercising (at the gym) releases serotonin.
Very different things.
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Maybe you just think phones are bad and are trying to make up shit why it's true.
Counterpoint: You're one of those addicts and are making shit up to justify your addiction.
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No, I hate tiny screen and use PC with two big-ass screens. Damn just knowing I have big-ass screens gives me dopamine rush.
If you want to say I'm addicted to PC that's another matter, I do use it to watch movies too. But I read more than I watch movies and maybe I'm book addict, though I prefer bookworm. I do pump iron and ride bicycle too, more dopamine boosting. I like sex too.
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Denial about what?
Phones with their shitty little screens? No, fuck phones. PC with big monitors is where the dopamine flows, and it's all good.
Why don't you become a right wing evangelical preacher, and say all the good things people enjoy are sinful and addictions and get paid for it while making people's lives a hell. Sounds good to you, doesn't it?
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No, you're just looking for something to make yourself feel superior to people having a good life and enjoying themselves. Sucks to be you.
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Maybe you just think phones are bad and are trying to make up shit why it's true.
Counterpoint: You're one of those addicts and are making shit up to justify your addiction.
Next you're gonna say he has false conciousness
Re:Dopamine (Score:4, Interesting)
If you're spending a large amount of time engaging in an addictive activity, what other opportunities are you missing out on to do this?
Meeting a friend? Going for a walk? Getting a good night's sleep before work? Making dinner for your kids? Attending a wedding?
Phones may be only one of many things that you can be "addicted" to, but claiming that addiction itself has no negative consequences is facile at best.
Re:Dopamine (Score:4, Insightful)
The point/problem is that frequent small releases fatigue responses to what ought to be bigger more rare releases (like actually accomplishing something). So they keep going back for more tiny releases.
Some people need to detox to get their mojo back.
cf. Dopamine Industrial Complex
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what nonsense, if I can make great food for myself time after time, if I can have good sex time after time, if I can enjoy reading time after time...
you're saying it's bad and I need detox.
What a load of nonsense. You've already decided phones are bad and are just making up a list of bullshit to support it.
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Do you eat 10 to 50 times a day?
Do you have sex 10 to 50 times a day?
And when I say 10 to 50 times per day, it's probably on the low count for social media addicts.
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what nonsense, if I can make great food for myself time after time, if I can have good sex time after time, if I can enjoy reading time after time...
If you're making great food that's mostly healthy, then you're using creativity and skill to nourish yourself. If you're having good sex then you're getting exercise and creating a connection with another human being. If you're reading then there's a good chance you're either learning useful stuff and/or exercising your imagination and/or enhancing your creative capacity. But when you're doom-scrolling?
Also keep in mind that in your examples you chose the content of the activity - you chose the food and the
Too much of a good thing is bad (Score:2)
The brain adapts to all situations - if you only have a good time all the time that becomes the new normal and the lesser stuff is crap. You require contrast to appreciate the highs and hate the lows - it doesn't have to be all bad but the range is what makes life interesting.
If you have constant stimulation to push your internal drug buttons you'll want to do that all the time for minor things. Eventually, you'll crave higher levels because your normal is dull and when you can't get your new baseline it wi
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well geez, and here I thought pandemic plus civil strife in USA and current shit storm in Afghanistan was enough downers to make all my fun times a good thing. But now that I listen to you I'm all guilt tripped about the good things in life...
or maybe I think you're just like whackjob religious leaders trying to make people feeling bad about the good things in life, and that you should fuck off and get a life.
Guess which is true.
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You sound like an addict in denial he is an addict. I've known a few. Maybe there is really something to this phone addiction thing after all...
"A life" is a roller coaster and you can't enjoy the good as much parts without the bad parts... (keep in mind a roller coaster has no absolutely bad parts; just relatively dull parts. ) it doesn't have to go to extremes to provide contrast.
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I hate phones for anything but answering calls though.
What I'm addicted to are books. And my PC with two big monitors, great for movies, reading, coding, and roasting self-righteous virtue signalers on slashdot.
Yes, life does roller coaster thing anyway with bad parts so doesn't matter how much I enjoy good stuff.
Re: Too much of a good thing is bad (Score:2)
Sometimes conversations get so insepid and boring that my brain puts my mouth on autopilot making it go "uh huh" and it wanders off to embark on a fantastic new voyages.
Really, I don't care about your cat. I don't care about what music you like, and I don't need or want to hear about the Suzy and Rick and their boring misadventures that has the bees swarming inside your bonnet.
Talk about something exciting, and my brain will stay and listen. Bore the fuck out of me, and my brain becomes Indiana Jones.
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Re: Too much of a good thing is bad (Score:2)
People stay engaged in topics of common interest.
People don't want to hear about the Sally or Tom that they have never met, and that's when people's mouths go on autopilot and their brains wander off.
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you're saying it's bad and I need detox.
What a load of nonsense. You've already decided phones are bad and are just making up a list of bullshit to support it.
Thank you, you have just provided the modern equivalent of, "I can quite anytime I want, I just don't want to."
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If you don't think someone else 'should' enjoy the things they do then you can say they're a dopamine junkie.
I think you're failing to differentiate between pleasure and happiness. Pleasure is (usually) a component of happiness; but it's both possible and distressingly common for people to have a life which is merely a succession of pleasures and devoid of happiness. Ask any long-term drug junkie - if you can find one who hasn't already died either from indulging in their pleasure or by suicide.
Re: Dopamine (Score:2)
The thing is the dopamine is released more often and in rapid succession compared to other activities wherein the reward takes time. Presumably the former is more addictive.
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Try putting down the phone, even like one day a week and experiencing life like you used to.
It is disconcerting, disorienting, and you feel it in your gut.
Or, at least I did, but I had a real issue.
I couldn't give my entire attention to a book, or a movie, or even a sporting event without checking twitter to see how others were experience the same events.
stocks I wasn't planning on selling still had to be checked dozens of times of day. News
ask your cellphone provider (Score:2)
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No need to go back that far. My flip phone has no idea what Facebook or Twitter might be, and no idea how to connect to them. It makes calls and texts, it receives calls and texts. It might even play back music, but I've never tried that.
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The #1 issue I had with flip phones was their calendaring was far inferior to what smartphones offer. #2 would probably be messaging - I don't do that a huge amount, but T9 was a PITA.
Flip phone address book management was also significantly inferior to what's available with smartphones, although that isn't quite as big a deal.
I do have a number of games on my iPhone, but I find I don't actually play them so much anymore. I think I could do just fine without most of the apps... but, until I retire, calendar
Re: ask your cellphone provider (Score:2)
The old flip phones were built solid and had very good battery life, but the UI by nature sucked because of the limitations of using a phone keypad to enter in data.
555337788884... to enter alphabetical text. Or relying on dicey autocomplete to enter in text faster, and you can forget about this if you have a lot of unique names to enter. And many of those phones had a memory count in the single digit *megabyte* range that filled up quick as pictures and J2ME apos shared this space.
It would be nice if there
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Or, what I do is, I simply don't install "apps" unless they're open source. And the ones I do have, I don't let them send notifications. So then, I can use navigation, camera, I can take notes on my phone, read PDFs, etc. If I want to watch a video, I can; and I do it in a regular web browser.
And if I want to computer, I use a computer. That way, when I'm in the car, or walking down the street, I have no urge at all to computer, because I'm not at a computer. If there is something I want to computer, it man
Phones don't make addicts (Score:2)
But people prone to addiction can latch on to phones just as easily anything else.
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Who isn't prone to addiction?
Re: Phones don't make addicts (Score:2)
TV was big in countless news articles as being a huge addiction 40-50 years ago. Some people were dropping enough quarters into arcade machines in the early 1980s to help with their college tuition because "I just got to play this one last game!" Throughout human history, people latched on to one thing or another to become addicted to.
The reason is because reality for the most part bites and people are looking to escape from it. They find that escape and they get hooked.
It's the same reason behind d
Well... duh? (Score:4, Interesting)
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Sugar+Caffeine (Score:2)
Whenever try to stop my coffee habit, I immediately lose interest in thumbing through content on my phone. Of course, the migraine doesn't help...
People said that about videogames years ago... (Score:2)
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Kek
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I was once a WoW widower. Felt like I had to wear elf ears to get any attention from my partner.
But Facebook ends the most relationships.
Yes, but it's not necessarily just the phones (Score:2)
This is just sort of an evolution for those of us who have been long working in front of a computer all day. For us, it probably really started with the web. One or two really cool things (whatever it was that you though was cool), and you were suddenly checking and re-checking a long list of websites. And out of control link sharing was well underway long before Facebook hit the scene, they just centralized it and added efficiencies.
Honestly, for a really old person like me, who has that addictive instinct
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Honestly, for a really old person like me, who has that addictive instinct, it started with the BBS system.
But it was hard to take a BBS into the bathroom with you. At this point I can't poop without a smartphone. Last week my phone battery was dead and things were urgent, so I grabbed a Cabela's catalog, like back in the old days. Kinda worked, I guess.
Once I was stuck at the DMV for two hours with a dead phone. It was torture.
No but clearly they are making us stupider. (Score:2)
I've seen a ton of similar headlines lately regarding "dopamine". Most of the articles, especially the "dopamine detox" related material are written by people who clearly don't understand how this stuff works. I don't understand the obsession lately with these things. Maybe we are just getting dumber as our devices get smarter.
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You could say that about anything. Scratch-off lottery tickets. E-mail, etc. Not sure that the dopamine factor is the right thing to focus on especially when it's being misunderstood and therefore a lot of people are being misinformed.
Yes (Score:2)
Just like TV , just like music, just like video games etc, etc...
But instead of going after the sympton, how about finding out why people are turning to these things to get their dopamine fix.
The reason the War on (some) Drugs was a colossal failure because they went after the symptom (drug use) rather than the cause.
Is news making us dopamine addicts? (Score:3)
... or "are the media making us dopamine addicts?"
The fact that people seem to have become more depressed over the decades, could possibly be down to the sheer amount of news consumed that has little to no bearing on an individuals life.
A huge part of the media is in the business of hyping up stories. A few incidents of "Killer bees" or something like that, is whipped up by the media into a nationwide issue.
Now these stories gain a life of their own, swirling around social media - people consume headlines, the vast bulk of which are pure opinion.
Those quick swipes just fill your head with a shit ton of "quick hits" - an animated gif meme, possibly related to a media event for instance.
Unlike print media, TV or Desktop computers, the smartphone is always by your side - "Wallet, check, Keys, check - go" is now "Smartphone, check, Keys, check - go".
There is no escape, unless you simply fight the urge, which is actually surprisingly easy to do... or it should be. ... and is just a phone.
There really should be a one button mute mode for everything but essential communication - maybe something on a timer.
For that amount of time, your smartphone becomes dumb
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I like this theory. I'd like to build on it....
News feeds are "shocking" to get engagement.
One won't click on a headline "In the sahara, nothing happened last week", but will click on "flash floods in germany, 200 dead".
News might be creating a negative bias, the world over. Add to that the stories getting a life of their own...
I see people around me getting addicted to news. twice an hour checking headlines. Then I look in a mirror, and see I'm doing exactly the same. Why? No idea.
I know I hated it on my e
Betteridge's law (Score:1)
This article is 10 years too late (Score:2)
No, not the phones (Score:1)
Facebook's own managers have admitted that they deliberately engineer the dopamine feedback the app provides to addict their users.
Delete any app that you use for more than 1/2 an our a day, other than those you need to use for work.