“Life is what happens between wifi signals.”
Day 26 Morning Scorecard and Social Media Self-Reflection:
Brain and Screen Time
I think we can all agree that social media, television, and smartphones are really good at grabbing our attention. Therefore, it begs the question, why are our brains so easily to manipulate? The short answer is that all of these modern technologies tap into old brain programming that tells us to gather information about those around us, pay attention to fast-moving stimuli, and to consume dopamine when it is available. Social media taps into our tribal past by allowing us to determine where we stand in the social hierarchy, which was essential survival information for our ancestors. However, instead of comparing ourselves to a small band of people close to us, modern humans are forced to see how they stack up against people from all over the globe. This maybe one reason why depression and anxiety rates are currently at all-time highs. Television also taps into our need to gather social information by telling us stories about “those around us.” Television goes on step further, however, by changing frames rapidly which activates humans “orientating response,” which diverts our attention towards moving objects that might be a threat. However, smartphones take the crown of attention-grabbing tactics by manipulating our dopamine systems better than social media and television combined. Smartphones accomplish this task by giving out large amounts of dopamine but only at random intervals, like a slot machine in a casino. So we constantly check our phones to see if we hit the “jackpot” of somebody close to us reaching out or an email from our boss praising our achievements. Overall, modern technologies are making money off of our brain’s emotional systems while stealing our time and energy in the process.
FACT: 80% of casual conversation is about social information and we get the highest dopamine surge when we hear gossip about those slightly above or below us in the social hierarchy.
TAKEAWAY: The bigger people's social circle the bigger their brain becomes, literally. Many researchers hypothesize that language developed in humans as a means of keeping tabs and gossiping about others in the tribe.
Natural Dopamine: The Way Life Use to Be
Dopamine is neurochemical that helps us pay attention when our survival is at stake. For our ancestors that meant feeling pleasure when they were bonding with others, hunting, and eating food. However, our brains don’t know the difference between synthetic dopamine (man-made sources) and natural dopamine. The brain only registers the quantity levels of the neurotransmitter. If there is a lot of dopamine released, no matter the source, the brain believes it has found something important. If there is a slow release of dopamine, like one gets from most natural dopamine sources, the brain gets excited. However, synthetic dopamine, from a a fast-food burger or heroin from a syringe gets released at a higher dosage with quicker results causing the brain to give it a higher value. Therefore, our brains give priority to the higher value item and put natural dopamine sources on the back burner.
FACT: Rodents who have had their dopamine receptors blocked will die from starvation, even if a piece of cheese is placed one-inch away from them.
TAKEAWAY: Dopamine is a powerful motivator and if we screw with our dopamine system it will have life-altering results.
““When asked “What thing about humanity surprises you the most?”, the Dalai Lama answered:
“Man…. Because he sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived.””