Dopamine Addiction is a Myth -- Here's What the Science Says

Summary

This video explores the concept of 'monk mode,' a lifestyle trend where individuals cut out distractions to focus on long-term goals, often attributed to dopamine regulation. It critically examines the scientific basis of monk mode, dopamine's role in addiction, and the idea of 'dopamine fasting.' The script challenges the notion of social media causing dopamine addiction, suggesting that predispositions to usage problems may be linked to mental health issues rather than social media itself. It concludes that while monk mode might help some, it's not universally beneficial and professional help should be sought for serious distress.

Takeaways

• 🧘 Monk mode is a lifestyle trend where individuals self-isolate to focus on long-term goals, cutting out distractions like social media and unhealthy habits.
• 📱 The concept suggests that social media is addictive due to its ability to release dopamine, a neurotransmitter linked to the brain's reward system.
• 🧠 Dopamine is a hormone crucial for survival, affecting movement, mood, and attention, and is associated with activities that promote survival like eating and social contact.
• 🚫 'Dopamine addiction' and 'dopamine fasting' are popular terms without strong scientific evidence, suggesting that some people may be predisposed to develop usage problems.
• 🔬 Neuroscientists view dopamine more as a signal for attention and effort rather than just a 'feel-good' hormone, released in anticipation of rewards.
• 💡 The idea of monk mode may be effective as a form of self-help or DIY behavioral therapy for those who feel a need to address their social media usage.
• 🤔 The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) does not classify social media use as an addiction, distinguishing instead between substance abuse and obsessive-compulsive disorders.
• 📉 Studies on the effects of social media have shown mixed results, with some suggesting a correlation between heavy usage and changes in brain activity or structure.
• 🔄 'Dopamine fasting' proposes eliminating pleasurable experiences to reset the brain's dopamine system, but its effectiveness is not scientifically proven.
• 🌐 Quitting social media can have both positive and negative effects, such as increased meaningful interactions but also a sense of disconnection from the world.
• 🛡️ The video also discusses the importance of online privacy and security, mentioning the use of VPN services like NordVPN to protect personal data.

Q & A

What is the 'monk mode' trend on social media?

Monk mode is a lifestyle trend where individuals cut out distractions and self-isolate to become more productive, focusing on long-term goals and forgoing short-term rewards such as social media and unhealthy habits.

What is the connection between monk mode and dopamine levels?

Monk mode is thought to be about managing dopamine levels by avoiding activities that trigger a quick dopamine release, like social media use, to promote focus and productivity towards long-term goals.

How does dopamine play a role in our brain's reward system?

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that aids the transfer of signals between neurons and is involved in motivation, learning, and the anticipation of rewards, which can influence habits and behaviors.

What is the scientific view on the relationship between social media use and dopamine addiction?

There is no strong scientific evidence to support the idea of 'dopamine addiction' from social media use. Dopamine is more about signaling what to pay attention to rather than just a feel-good hormone.

What is dopamine fasting, and how does it relate to monk mode?

Dopamine fasting is a practice where individuals eliminate pleasurable experiences to reset their brain's dopamine system. It is more extreme than monk mode, which encourages a moderate approach to pleasure management.

How does the DSM-5 classify mental health disorders, and is there a classification for social media addiction?

The DSM-5 classifies mental health disorders into categories like substance abuse and obsessive-compulsive disorders but does not have a specific entry for social media addiction.

What are the potential benefits of quitting social media according to a 2020 study?

The study found that users who quit social media reported increased meaningful interactions with friends and family, as well as higher levels of focus and happiness.

What are the potential drawbacks of quitting social media as reported by users?

Some users reported a lack of networking opportunities and feeling disconnected or out of touch with the world as potential drawbacks of quitting social media.

How does the script suggest approaching social media use if one feels it is problematic?

The script suggests that if someone feels they are spending too much time on social media, they might consider trying monk mode or 'dopamine fasting,' but if they are seriously distressed, they should seek professional help.

What is the role of cognitive-behavioral therapy in treating mental health disorders?

Cognitive-behavioral therapy is used to treat disorders like OCD, depression, and anxiety by focusing on self-reflection and habit-building, which is similar to the principles behind monk mode.

What is the script's stance on the effectiveness of monk mode?

The script suggests that monk mode might work as a DIY version of behavioral therapy for those who believe they have a problem with social media or distraction, but it is not necessarily beneficial for everyone.

Outlines

00:00

🧘 Introduction to Monk Mode

The video script introduces the concept of 'monk mode,' a lifestyle trend that involves self-isolation to increase productivity by cutting out distractions like social media. It's based on the idea of focusing on long-term goals and forgoing short-term rewards. The trend is popular among millennials and has been popularized by influencers like Jay Shetty, who lived as a monk and wrote 'Think Like A Monk.' The script questions the effectiveness of monk mode and its scientific basis, particularly in relation to dopamine levels and addiction.

05:06

🧠 Dopamine and the Monk Mode

This paragraph delves into the science behind monk mode, focusing on dopamine's role in the brain's reward system. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter linked to motivation, learning, and the formation of habits. The script discusses the idea of 'dopamine addiction' and 'dopamine fasting,' suggesting that by reducing pleasurable experiences, one can reset their brain to achieve greater focus later. However, the script also challenges these concepts, noting that the actual scientific understanding of dopamine is more complex than commonly portrayed, with dopamine being more about anticipation of rewards rather than the rewards themselves.

10:09

🔬 The Science of Dopamine and Social Media

The script critically examines the scientific evidence linking social media use to dopamine release and addiction. It discusses studies on animals and humans that suggest dopamine is released in anticipation of rewards, which could theoretically apply to social media engagement. However, the script points out that the evidence is not conclusive and that the effects of social media on the brain are not well understood. It also mentions that some individuals may be predisposed to develop problems with social media use, which could be linked to other mental health issues rather than the social media itself.

15:09

📚 DSM-5 and the Classification of Disorders

This paragraph addresses the classification of mental health disorders, specifically discussing the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). It explains that the DSM-5 does not classify social media use as a disorder, distinguishing instead between substance abuse and obsessive-compulsive disorders. The script also touches on the potential benefits and drawbacks of monk mode, suggesting that while it may help some individuals with self-imposed problems, it is not a universally beneficial solution. The paragraph concludes with a discussion on the importance of professional help for those seriously distressed by their social media use.

🛡️ Online Privacy and Security

The final paragraph shifts focus to the importance of online privacy and security, promoting the use of NordVPN as a solution to protect personal data and maintain privacy while browsing the internet. It outlines the features of NordVPN, including creating a secure connection, threat protection, and the ability to access geo-restricted content. The script also mentions a special offer for viewers, providing a link and a coupon code for a discount.

Keywords

💡Monk Mode

Monk mode is a lifestyle trend that emphasizes self-isolation and the avoidance of distractions to increase productivity. It is likened to the disciplined lifestyle of Buddhist monks and is particularly popular among millennials. The concept is central to the video's theme, which explores its effectiveness and scientific basis. In the script, monk mode is described as a way to focus on long-term goals by forgoing short-term rewards and distractions, such as social media and unhealthy food.

💡Dopamine

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter in the brain that plays a significant role in the reward system, influencing motivation, learning, and habit formation. The video discusses dopamine in the context of addiction and the idea of 'dopamine fasting', which is related to monk mode. It is suggested that monk mode could help regulate dopamine levels by avoiding activities that trigger excessive dopamine release, such as social media usage. The script explains that dopamine is released in anticipation of a reward, not upon receiving it, which is a key insight into its role in behavior and addiction.

💡Addiction

Addiction, in the context of the video, refers to the compulsive engagement in activities, such as social media use, despite negative consequences. The script questions whether social media can be addictive and explores the concept of 'dopamine addiction', which is the idea that certain activities can lead to an unhealthy dependence due to their impact on dopamine levels. The video also discusses the scientific validity of this concept and whether it is supported by evidence.

💡Social Media

Social media is a central concept in the video, as it is often cited as a major source of distraction and a potential cause of addiction due to its ability to trigger dopamine release. The script explores the idea that social media use might be problematic for some individuals, leading to excessive time spent online and potential neglect of real-life interactions and long-term goals.

💡Self-help Guru

A self-help guru is a person who provides guidance on personal development, often through books, videos, or seminars. In the script, Jay Shetty is mentioned as an example of a self-help guru who popularized monk mode after living as a monk and writing a book titled 'Think Like A Monk'. The term is used to illustrate the influence certain individuals have in promoting lifestyle trends like monk mode.

💡Neuroplasticity

Neuroplasticity refers to the brain's ability to reorganize itself by forming new neural connections throughout life. The script mentions how dopamine can influence neuroplasticity by rewiring the brain and building habits through activities that release this neurotransmitter. This concept is relevant to the discussion of how monk mode might help in forming beneficial habits by avoiding activities that trigger excessive dopamine.

💡Dopamine Fasting

Dopamine fasting is a concept where individuals eliminate pleasurable experiences to 'reset' their brain's dopamine system, potentially leading to increased focus and productivity. The video discusses this idea in relation to monk mode, questioning its scientific basis and effectiveness. The script explains that dopamine fasting became popular among tech workers and entrepreneurs, suggesting a link between this practice and the pursuit of heightened mental clarity.

💡Mental Health

Mental health is a broad term encompassing emotional, psychological, and social well-being. The video explores the potential impact of monk mode on mental health, suggesting that it might be beneficial for those who feel overwhelmed by social media and other distractions. The script also discusses the potential downsides of completely discontinuing social media, such as feelings of disconnection and loss of networking opportunities.

💡Neurotransmitter

A neurotransmitter is a chemical substance that transmits signals in the nervous system. Dopamine, as a neurotransmitter, is highlighted in the script for its role in the brain's reward system and its influence on behavior and mood. The video explains how neurotransmitters like dopamine are involved in the anticipation of rewards and the formation of habits.

💡Behavioral Therapy

Behavioral therapy is a type of psychological treatment that focuses on changing problematic behaviors, thoughts, and feelings through self-reflection and habit-building. The script suggests that monk mode could be seen as a DIY version of behavioral therapy, potentially helping individuals to improve their mental health by addressing issues related to excessive social media use or other distractions.

💡Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

Cognitive-behavioral therapy is a form of psychotherapy that aims to change patterns of thinking or behavior that are causing psychological problems. The script mentions CBT as a treatment for conditions like obsessive-compulsive disorder, depression, and anxiety, and it implies that monk mode might work in a similar way by helping individuals develop healthier habits and thought patterns.

Highlights

Monk mode is a lifestyle trend that involves self-isolation to increase productivity by eliminating distractions.

Monk mode is based on the philosophy of Buddhist monks and focuses on personal development and self-reflection.

The trend is popular among millennials and has been popularized by influencers like Jay Shetty.

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter linked to the brain's reward system and plays a role in habit formation.

Dopamine fasting is a concept where pleasurable experiences are eliminated to reset the brain's dopamine system.

Monk mode suggests a moderate approach to dopamine regulation, selecting pleasures that align with long-term goals.

Neuroscientists view dopamine as a signal for attention and effort rather than solely a feel-good hormone.

Dopamine is released in anticipation of rewards, encoding expectations about the future.

Studies on animals have shown dopamine activity in relation to expected rewards, not just received rewards.

The effect of social media on dopamine levels and the concept of dopamine addiction lack scientific evidence.

Some individuals may be predisposed to develop usage problems with social media, correlating with other mental health risks.

The DSM-5 does not classify social media use as a disorder, distinguishing between substance abuse and obsessive-compulsive disorders.

Monk mode can be seen as a DIY version of behavioral therapy, potentially beneficial for mental health if there's a perceived problem.

Quitting social media may lead to increased meaningful interactions and focus, but also potential drawbacks like disconnection.

Monk mode may work for some individuals, but it's not universally beneficial and should be approached with caution.

The video discusses the importance of mental health and the potential benefits and risks of social media use.

The video is sponsored by NordVPN, emphasizing the importance of online privacy and security.

Transcripts

I recently learned there’s a new trend on social  media: monk mode. First time I heard of this,  

I thought it means you pull a hood over your  face and start brewing beer in the basement,  

but not so. Monk mode, it turns out,  means cutting out distractions and  

going into self-isolation to become  more productive. It’s supposedly  

based on science and particularly  concerned with avoiding social media,  

because that’s addictive. And addictions are not  good. But can social media really be addictive?  

Does the monk mode work? And what’s the science  behind it? That’s what we’ll talk about today.

First things first, what is monk mode? Monk mode  is a lifestyle trend that aims to help adherents  

to live a purposeful life by focusing on  long-term goals. To achieve those goals,  

the monk foregoes short-term rewards and  distractions, such as unhealthy food,  

social media, and other forms of entertainment,  for example binge watching YouTube. Though I’d  

argue that watching all my videos is a very  worthy life goal, just take my word for it.

Monk mode is loosely based on the philosophy  of Buddhist monks, hence the name, and seems  

to be particularly popular among millennials. Monk  mode encourages practitioners to focus on personal  

development, self-reflection, and productivity,  and to think about what they’re doing.

To me this sounds basically like growing up, and  in my day we did it without becoming monks. Or  

nuns, as it were. But in the past years, monk mode  has attracted interest as a way of science-based  

stress management. And since its  particular appeal seems to be the  

claim that it’s backed up by science,  I thought it’d be worth looking at.

Monk mode has been popularized by some  influencers like Jay Shetty. Shetty is  

a 35-year-old British guy who spent three  years literally living as a monk in India.  

After his return he wrote a book called “Think  Like A Monk” that appeared with perfect timing  

at the height of the COVID pandemic. By  now he’s amassed a few million followers  

on YouTube where he’s handing out advice on  everything from long-distance relationships  

to mental health. The guy’s basically  a living cliché of a self-help guru.

Then there’s Imah Ghadzi is also a British  guy, but a decade younger. He seems to have  

tried various ways of making money online until  hitting gold with NFTs a few years ago. Ghadzi  

is less self-help guru and more personified  self-attribution bias, that’s the tendency of  

wealthy people to attribute their success  to their own talents and efforts rather  

than to external circumstance or luck. Ghadzi in  particular attributes his success to monk mode.

In his videos he explains that he sometimes  completely cuts himself off from social media,  

television, alcohol, junk food, turns off  the color on his phone for months at a time,  

and generally sounds like a lot of fun  to be with. He believes that this level  

of discipline has helped him achieve an  incredible amount of focus and claims  

it works because he is training his brain’s  dopamine system, which brings us to the science.

Living life in monk mode is supposedly all  about paying attention to your dopamine levels.  

Dopamine is a hormone produced in the brain  that plays a major role in what’s called the  

“reward system”. It’s a neurotransmitter, which  means it aids the transfer of certain signals  

between neurons. The story goes that dopamine  makes you feel good after certain activities,  

which encourages you to repeat them. This slowly  rewires your brain and builds habits. Dopamine  

affects everything from your desire to move,  to your mood, to the ability to pay attention.

Dopamine is incredibly important when it comes  to survival. Studies have found, for example,  

that genetically modified mice who could not  produce dopamine appeared normal at birth,  

but failed to learn food-seeking behavior, and  would later have died if they had not been fed.

Most of you watching this video probably  aren’t mice, but dopamine plays a similar  

role for humans. Dopamine levels have been  found to rise with many activities that could  

reasonably be said to be linked to survival:  eating, sex, exercise, and social contact,  

though individual differences are large. Low  dopamine levels are linked to mental health  

disorders, such as major depression, and other  illnesses, for example Parkinson’s disease.

Some of the most addictive drugs we know,  such as heroine, work by artificially  

increasing dopamine way beyond its natural  level. But even if you’re not doing drugs,  

it seems plausible that dopamine regulation  might become a problem in modern times. Pursuing  

dopamine kicks might have been a good strategy  in the stone age, but life is good now. You can  

get a lot of dopamine quickly and easily, and  that can interfere with your long-term goals.

This is where the idea of a “dopamine-addiction”  comes from. Using social media supposedly releases  

dopamine, and that makes you feel good, so  you keep on doing it. You become addicted.

“Dopamine-fasting,” has its root in this idea  too. Dopamine fasting became popular in 2019,  

especially among tech workers and entrepreneurs  in Silicon Valley. If you dopamine-fast,  

you eliminate pleasurable experiences, to  achieve a kind of “reset” of the brain,  

presumably to get higher kicks afterwards.  Monk mode is more moderate, in that you’re  

not supposed to cut out all pleasures, just pick  those that contribute to your long-term goals.

This all sounds quite plausible,  but the plausible idea are the  

ones you should be most careful with.  So let’s look at what the science says.

You won’t be surprised to hear that the true story  

is vastly more complicated than the  influencer-types want you to believe.  

Neuroscientists believe that  dopamine is less a feel-good hormone,  

and more a signal that tells us what to pay  attention to or what to make an effort with.

While it’s correct that dopamine plays a  major role both in motivation and in learning,  

it turns out that dopamine is usually  released in anticipation of a reward,  

not when the reward is received. Dopamine  encodes our expectation about the future.

This was first established in a series  of studies on macaque monkeys in the  

1990s who showed dopamine activity when  they had learned to expect that a reward  

was coming. Another extremely influential  study in 2003 found that rats who could  

get heroine by pressing down a lever had a  sharp spike in dopamine, before pressing it.

Studies on monkey also found that when a reward  is uncertain, that releases more dopamine. This  

is how neurologists think gambling addictions come  about: Dopamine is released in anticipation of an  

uncertain reward. Most people learn quickly that  the reward rarely comes and stop playing. A small  

fraction gets hooked on the possibility of a rare  reward, and those are the ones who get a problem.

It makes sense to think that some types of  social media engagement also trigger this  

reward anticipation. And that indeed might cause a  problem for some people. But how strong the effect  

is, differs from one person to the next, and  what it does to the brain is rather unclear.

At this point you may be wondering why I talk  about rats and monkeys when we’re interested  

in dopamine levels in the human brain. It’s  because they measure those dopamine levels  

by implanting electrodes into the brains of  those rats and monkeys, and ethics committees  

had issues with facebook’s proposal to do  the same on humans. The best thing that  

scientists can do in humans is measure activity  in certain brain regions that release dopamine.

One of those studies is from 2014 and used  functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging on 20  

participants. They found that heavy social media  users had more activity in a brain region that  

is also associated with other addictions. Then  again, not all the areas typically associated  

with addiction lit up. And fMRIs don’t exactly  have a reputation for being very accurate.

Another 2017 study used MRI scans on  50 high school students and found that  

excessive social media users had less grey  matter in some brain areas. Loosely speaking,  

grey brain matter is to process  information, while white brain  

matter is to connect different parts of the  brain. Grey matter is, among other things,  

important for planning and impulse control, so  having less grey matter is kind of not good.

In case that sounds like social  media is really bad for your brain,  

remember that correlation  is not causation. Maybe the  

study participants used social media more  because their brains worked differently?

The best study to date on the link between  social media and dopamine used positron  

emission tomography on 37 volunteers who also  reported their smartphone usage patterns. The  

found that a higher proportion of social  app interactions correlated with a lower  

capacity to produce dopamine. Yes, that’s  right, a lower capacity. The authors suggest  

that a lower capacity to produce dopamine makes  people prone to develop social media problems.

Basically, while all this talk about  social media leading to a “dopamine  

addiction” sounds superficially plausible, I  have found no scientific evidence that backs  

it up. Rather it seems that some people  are predisposed to develop usage problems,  

and this predisposition is also correlated  with a risk for other mental health disorders.

And then there is the question what we mean by  

addition anyway. Can one really  get addicted to social media?

The go-to reference for mental disorders  is the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual  

of Mental Disorders, DSM for short. It  assigns numbers to mental health problems.  

295 point 90 for example is “Schizophrenia  Spectrum and Other Psychotic Disorders”.

If you see a psychiatrist, first thing  they’ll do is diagnose you with a bunch  

of DSM numbers. I have a lot of those in  my record, but I won’t tell you which,  

because I don’t want to discourage you  from projecting your own problems on me.

The most recent version of  the DSM came out in 2013 and  

is called DSM-5. It doesn’t have any  entries for addiction. The DSM instead  

distinguishes between “substance abuse”  and “obsessive-compulsive disorders”.

Substance abuse is basically taking drugs  and ruining your life with it. Substance  

is hard to find on social media, unless  possibly you like chewing on your phone,  

so I’d argue social media doesn’t  lend itself to substance abuse.

An obsessive-compulsive disorder, OCD  for short, is any kind of behavior that  

negatively affects your life, but that you  can’t stop. OCDs include for example eating  

disorders, gambling addiction, hair-pulling,  hoarding, cleaning, and arranging objects.

Especially the last three are incredibly common  behaviors, and I’ve seen a lot of people jokingly  

refer to them as their OCD, but really it’s only  called a “disorder” if it negatively affects  

your life. I’m fond of making jokes, as I’m sure  you’ve noticed, but when everyone refers to normal  

behaviors as disorders, I fear that the people  who suffer from them won’t be taken seriously.

The DSM does not currently have an entry  referring to social media use or online  

behavior. A group of German researchers has  proposed what they call a “Social Media Use  

Disorder Scale for Adolescents” based  on DSM-5 classifications. It’s a mix of  

depression, anxiety, ADHD, and OCD. But this  classification has not been widely adopted.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, depression, and  anxiety are often treated by cognitive-behavioral  

therapy, sometimes accompanied by  medication. Behavioral therapy is  

one of the few psychotherapies  that has proved beneficial in  

random control trials. It basically works  by self-reflection and habit-building.

Monk mode looks to me like a DIY version  of behavioral therapy which makes me  

think that it quite possibly actually  works for improving your mental health,  

if you think there’s a problem  to be fixed in the first place.

But social media use isn’t necessarily  problematic, and discontinuing it has both  

pros and cons. A 2020 study found that users  who quit social media reported an increase in  

meaningful interactions with friends and family  and higher levels of focus and happiness. However,  

many of them also reported drawbacks,  primarily a lack of networking opportunities,  

and some felt disconnected or out  of touch with the world around them.

This is to say, just because some people say  they benefit from monk mode doesn’t mean it’s  

generally beneficial. It more likely means they  had a problem that needed fixing in the first  

place. Though if you’re watching videos about  it, there’s probably a reason for that, so.

In summary. There’s no evidence that social  media use has any particular impact on your  

dopamine levels, and neither “dopamine  addiction” nor “dopamine fasting” has any  

scientific backup. If you feel like you’re  spending too much time on social media,  

then maybe it’s worth giving it a try. But if  you’re seriously distressed, please don’t lock  

yourself up in a room, get professional help.  DIY is all well and fine, but it has its limit.

Many thanks to Joshua Berke and Michael  Treadway for helping with this video. Any  

remaining blunders are exclusively mine. The  biggest problem I have with social media are  

particle physicists, and they’d  miss me if I wasn’t around I’m sure,  

so I don’t think I’m going to try it. How  about you? Let me know in the comments.

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