After A Few Minutes Of Social Media, This Happens - Neuroscientist Andrew Huberman
Summary
TLDRThe video script delves into the psychological impact of cell phones and social media on dopamine levels. It explains that initial exposure to social media triggers a significant dopamine release due to novelty and excitement. However, as users continue to scroll, the novelty fades, leading to a shift towards obsessive-compulsive behaviors, driven by the intermittent reward system of social media algorithms. The script contrasts dopamine's role in seeking and novelty with serotonin's role in contentment and satisfaction, highlighting the addictive nature of social media.
Takeaways
- đ± **Dopamine Release and Novelty**: Using a phone or social media for the first time after a break can lead to a substantial release of dopamine due to the novelty and excitement.
- đ§ **Dopamine vs. Serotonin**: Dopamine is associated with pursuit, excitement, and seeking, whereas serotonin brings about feelings of satisfaction, contentment, and quiescence.
- đ **Dopamine and Addiction**: High dopamine levels, as seen with drug use like cocaine or methamphetamine, drive relentless pursuit and addiction-like behaviors.
- đ **Shift from Dopamine to Compulsive Behavior**: After the initial dopamine rush, social media use can shift to compulsive behavior, similar to OCD, where the act of scrolling becomes an end in itself.
- đ **The Fade of Dopamine**: The dopamine release from social media quickly diminishes as the novelty fades, leading to a state where users scroll without a clear reason.
- đ° **Intermittent Rewards and Algorithms**: Social media algorithms are designed to provide intermittent and random rewards, similar to gambling, which keeps users engaged and seeking the next 'hit'.
- đ **Signal to Noise Ratio**: Users are drawn to high-signal content amidst the noise, such as significant news or tragic events, which can further perpetuate the cycle of compulsive scrolling.
- đ€ **Questioning Motivations**: The speaker prompts users to question why they continue to scroll on social media, highlighting the lack of inherent interest or reward.
- đ§ **Observing Behavioral Patterns**: Comparing human social media behavior to animal experiments can reveal unhealthy patterns, such as the compulsive digging for a nonexistent reward.
- đ **Call to Action**: The speaker encourages viewers to reflect on their social media habits and consider the impact on their mental state and well-being.
Q & A
What is the role of dopamine in our response to phones and social media?
-Dopamine is associated with novelty, surprise, and excitement. It is released in substantial amounts when we first use social media after a break, leading to a state of readiness and anticipation. However, as the novelty fades, the dopamine release decreases, and the behavior can shift towards an obsessive-compulsive pattern.
How does dopamine differ from serotonin in terms of our brain's response?
-Dopamine is about pursuit and excitement, driving us towards novel experiences outside our immediate sphere. In contrast, serotonin is associated with satisfaction, quiescence, and comfort with what we have, promoting a more contented state within our immediate environment.
What is the effect of high dopamine levels, as seen in individuals using stimulants like cocaine or methamphetamine?
-High dopamine levels, as seen with stimulant use, result in a strong drive for pursuit, characterized by a constant seeking of reward and excitement.
How do selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) like Prozac or Zoloft affect serotonin levels?
-SSRIs increase serotonin levels, which can lead to feelings of satisfaction and contentment. However, if the dosage is too high, it can result in side effects like lack of appetite, low libido, and a general sense of indifference towards life.
Why do we continue to scroll on social media even when it's no longer providing novelty?
-The behavior can shift from seeking novelty to an obsessive-compulsive pattern where the compulsion to scroll serves to increase the obsession, even without the initial dopaminergic reward.
How do social media algorithms contribute to our continued use of platforms?
-Social media algorithms are designed to provide intermittent random rewards, which is a powerful way to keep users engaged. The unpredictability of when a rewarding piece of content will appear mimics the effect of gambling, encouraging users to keep scrolling for the next 'hit' of dopamine.
What is the difference between the initial dopaminergic response to social media and the subsequent behavior?
-Initially, social media provides a dopaminergic rush of reward, surprise, and excitement. As time goes on, this response wanes, and the behavior can become more compulsive, driven by the anticipation of the next reward rather than the reward itself.
How does the concept of 'signal to noise' apply to social media content?
-In the context of social media, 'signal to noise' refers to the ratio of valuable or interesting content (signal) to irrelevant or mundane content (noise). Users are drawn to the 'signal' or high-quality content, which can trigger dopamine release, while the 'noise' is less engaging.
What is the psychological comparison made between an animal exhibiting compulsive behavior and a person scrolling on social media?
-The script compares a person endlessly scrolling on social media to an animal compulsively digging for a bone, suggesting that such behavior, when observed, might be seen as a sign of distress or compulsion, similar to an animal's repetitive, unrewarded actions.
Why might the speaker not want to demonize social media algorithms despite their potential to encourage compulsive behavior?
-The speaker acknowledges that while social media algorithms can encourage compulsive behaviors by leveraging the power of intermittent random rewards, they also provide significant value and are a part of the speaker's own life, suggesting a balanced view of their utility and potential drawbacks.
Outlines
đ± Dopamine and Smartphone Addiction
The paragraph discusses the impact of smartphones and social media on dopamine release in the brain. It explains that the novelty of social media triggers a substantial dopamine response, which is associated with feelings of excitement and anticipation. The speaker contrasts dopamine with serotonin, highlighting that while dopamine drives us to seek novelty, serotonin promotes contentment and satisfaction with our current state. The paragraph then delves into how the initial dopamine rush from social media quickly diminishes, leading to a compulsive behavior similar to obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), where the user continues scrolling without the initial reward. The speaker also touches on the role of social media algorithms in perpetuating this behavior by providing intermittent, random rewards, akin to gambling, which keeps users engaged in the hope of the next 'hit' of dopamine.
Mindmap
Keywords
đĄDopamine
đĄNovelty
đĄSerotonin
đĄAnticipation
đĄObsessive-Compulsive Behavior
đĄSignal to Noise
đĄIntermittent Random Reward
đĄAlgorithms
đĄGambling
đĄSatiety
đĄNeurotransmitters
Highlights
Phones and social media can trigger a substantial release of dopamine due to their novelty and excitement.
Dopamine is linked to novelty, surprise, and the pursuit of things outside our immediate sphere.
Serotonin, in contrast to dopamine, makes us feel satisfied and comfortable with what we have.
High dopamine levels are associated with a 'go-go-go' mentality, similar to the effects of cocaine or methamphetamine.
Serotonin-rich states, induced by drugs like Prozac or Zoloft, can lead to a lack of appetite and libido.
The initial dopamine rush from cell phones and social media is quickly replaced by a sense of compulsion.
Social media algorithms are designed to keep users engaged through intermittent random rewards.
The pursuit of dopamine through social media can resemble obsessive-compulsive behaviors.
The novelty of social media fades as users scroll, leading to a search for the next dopamine hit.
Social media platforms use high signal-to-noise ratios to capture user attention with dramatic content.
The gravitational pull of tragic or sensational content can increase the compulsion to scroll.
The comparison of social media scrolling to gambling highlights the unpredictable nature of dopamine rewards.
The transition from initial excitement to compulsive behavior on social media mirrors animal experiments.
The discussion suggests that excessive social media use may be indicative of an underlying issue.
The speaker acknowledges the role of social media in their life while also critiquing its addictive nature.
The call to action encourages viewers to watch the full episode and subscribe for more content.
Transcripts
just how triggering are our phones when
it comes to dopamine okay great question
we often hear that
you know the social media getting
dopamine hit after dopamine hit
when we first get on social media after
a walk for the first time or after a
long period of time the amount of
dopamine that's released we think is
quite substantial it's novel remember
dopamine is about novelty surprise and
the sense that we are on some exciting
track that's what dopamine is really
about it puts us into states of
readiness anticipation looking seeking
etc almost always for things outside the
confines of our skin
just to contrast it maybe for a bit more
of a future discussion
serotonin does the opposite when there's
a lot of serotonin in our brain and body
typically it makes us feel satisfied
stated more quiescent comfortable with
what we have in our own immediate sphere
and within us right the comfort of a
good meal the food you have dopamine is
about go go go if you look at somebody
who's high on cocaine or methamphetamine
it's all about pursuit because that's a
very dopaminergic drug you look at
somebody who's taken a drug
and i'm not suggesting people do this
but it really ramps up serotonin let's
say a selective serotonin reuptake
inhibitor prozag zoloft etc
the side effects of those drugs if the
dosages are too high lack of appetite
lack of libido
kind of meh about life you know then so
they'll adjust the dose down that's
because those are serotonergic drugs
so
in in general
we are in pursuit of things dopamine is
is quite high so
now you have to remind me your question
because i've set up the dopamine
serotonin
cell phones yes
um forgive me so
the thing about cell phones is when you
first get on there
and you haven't let's say you're no
wi-fi on the flight or something and you
land it can actually be quite
stimulating you get a lot of dope i mean
oh there's this oh there's that but very
quickly when you're scrolling on social
media
you're no longer getting the novelty but
you're continuing to do it you almost
don't know why you're doing it at that
point it shifts over to something that's
a bit more like an obsessive compulsive
behavior where that we can define an
obsessive-compulsive behavior where the
obsession leads to a compulsion so the
obsession is a thought the compulsion is
a behavior but the acting out of the
compulsion merely serves to increase the
obsession
right this is very different than being
obsessed with food or obsessed with
cleanliness there's no payoff right
exactly there's no anxiety relief by
carrying out the compulsion with ocd
behaviors
like scrolling social media the dopamine
quickly wanes and then you find that
you're just sort of and we've all been
there you're scrolling like why am i
doing this this isn't that interesting
that is this isn't that interesting now
the algorithms for social media are very
clever and i don't want to demonize it i
you know provide a lot of a lot of my
life is spent on you know on social
media now but
in the algorithms that they've
incorporated function on the the most
powerful
way to keep people doing a behavior or
an animal for that matter is
intermittent random reward a random
intermittent reward that you don't know
when you're going to hit the jackpot so
you're scrolling you're scrolling and
then you see something typically it's
very high what you know in nerd speak
we'd say signal to noise so if you're
reading some interesting things this
came out in the news this came out and
then it's all of a sudden a riot
or a person that is jumped base jumping
off a building or um you know for people
that are are scrolling looking at bodies
or something like that live bodies so
hopefully people aren't looking at the
dead bodies but look if something's very
tragic then that has this gravitational
pull and then you what happens is you
start getting
the system working for that next
dopamine hit that you don't know when
it's going to come it's just like
gambling so i look at social media as
initially being very dopaminergic
driving reward surprise and excitement
but very quickly transitioning to
something more like ocd
and the kinds of behaviors where it
looks if you if we were to look at
ourselves through the lens of an
experiment like we would an animal
experiment we think that animal is sick
if you saw an animal digging in the
corner looking looking looking looking
for a bone the dog is looking looking
looking looking looking looking looking
looking you'd think that's really sad
that's us what's happening people if you
enjoyed that then press here for the
full unedited episode and don't forget
to subscribe
peace
you
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