Why your phone is making you sad

Summary

This video delves into the science behind our phone addiction, explaining how smartphones trigger dopamine release, leading to compulsive behavior and potential mental health issues like depression and anxiety. It explores the impact of constant digital stimulation on our attention spans and offers three evidence-based strategies to curb phone usage: chronological binding, physical binding, and categorical binding, emphasizing the importance of self-regulation in our tech-driven lives.

Takeaways

• 📱 Smartphones have drastically increased in use, with 91% of adults accessing the internet from their phones, compared to just 20% 15 years ago.
• 🕒 The average adult now spends 11 hours per day interacting with media, with a significant portion of this time on their phones.
• 🔒 71% of people never turn off their phones, indicating a high level of dependency on these devices.
• 🤳 31% of individuals admit to not being able to control their phone use, suggesting a compulsive behavior pattern.
• 👨‍👧 Parents are not immune to this trend, with 17.3% spending more time on their phones than with their children.
• 🧠 Our brains are not adapted to handle the constant stimulation from devices, which can lead to negative psychological effects.
• 💊 Dopamine, the 'feel-good' neurotransmitter, plays a crucial role in motivation and reward, and smartphones can artificially stimulate its release.
• 📊 High dopamine release from activities like eating chocolate or sex can be mimicked by the instant gratification provided by smartphones.
• 🔄 The constant dopamine hits from phones can lead to a decrease in the excitement of everyday life and an increase in malaise or depression.
• 📉 Studies have shown that increased phone use is linked to a decrease in attention spans and an inability to delay gratification.
• 🚫 The addictive nature of phones is being recognized, with questions about cravings, mood impact, tolerance, withdrawal, and relapse indicating potential phone addiction.
• 🛠️ There are strategies to combat phone addiction, such as chronological binding, physical binding, and categorical binding, which aim to rewire our brains and regain control over phone use.

Q & A

What was the percentage of people accessing the internet from their phone 15 years ago?

Fifteen years ago, only 20 percent of people accessed the internet from their phone.

What percentage of adults now access the internet from their phone?

Now, it's up to 91 percent of adults who access the internet from their phone.

How many hours per day do adults spend interacting with media?

Adults spend 11 hours per day interacting with media.

What percentage of people never turn off their phone?

71 percent of people never turn off their phone.

What percentage of people admit to not being able to control their phone use?

31 percent of people admit to not being able to control their phone use.

What percentage of parents spend more time on their phone than with their children?

17.3 percent of parents spend more time on their phone than with their children.

What is the role of dopamine in motivation and addiction?

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that plays a major role in motivating behavior and is involved in the reward system of the brain, which can lead to addiction when constantly stimulated, as with smartphone use.

How does smartphone use affect dopamine pathways in the brain?

Smartphone use strengthens the mesocortical, mesolimbic, and nigrostriatal pathways in the brain through a process called long-term potentiation, as these pathways are activated when anticipating and experiencing rewards.

What impact does constant dopamine release from smartphone use have on our daily life?

Constant dopamine release from smartphone use can make the novel aspects of our daily life less exciting and lead to a state of malaise, depression, and decreased attention spans.

How does the pursuit of constant pleasure from smartphone use affect our ability to delay gratification?

The pursuit of constant pleasure can lead to anhedonia, the inability to feel pleasure of any kind, and make it harder for us to focus and delay gratification.

What are the potential negative effects of high levels of screen interaction on young people?

Young people who spend seven hours or more a day interacting with screens are twice as likely to be diagnosed with depression or anxiety than those who use screens more moderately.

What are the three main tips to decrease phone use and gain back control of your life?

The three main tips are chronological binding (restricting phone use to narrow units of time), physical binding (making it harder to access certain apps or the phone itself), and categorical binding (making the phone less stimulating and meaningful).

How can the concept of neuroplasticity be applied to decrease phone addiction?

Neuroplasticity allows us to rewire our brains; by applying the tips mentioned, we can change our brain pathways and reduce phone addiction.

What are some physical binding techniques mentioned to reduce phone use?

Some physical binding techniques include logging out of trigger apps and giving your password to a friend, turning off the phone at night and placing it in a drawer, and having deviceless meals with family or roommates.

How can categorical binding help in reducing phone use?

Categorical binding involves making the phone less appealing by using it only for essential tasks like texting and emails, putting it on grayscale mode, and deleting unnecessary or time-wasting apps.

What is the potential impact of smartphone use on our bodies according to the script?

The script suggests that smartphone use could be causing physical changes such as hunching and nearsightedness.

Outlines

00:00

📱 Smartphone Addiction and Its Impact on the Brain

This paragraph discusses the alarming increase in smartphone usage and its effects on the human brain. It highlights how the constant engagement with phones releases dopamine, a neurotransmitter associated with pleasure and reward, which can lead to addiction. The overuse of smartphones is linked to boredom, sadness, and an inability to focus, as well as a decrease in attention spans and an increased likelihood of mental health issues like depression and anxiety. The paragraph also explains the science behind why our brains are not evolved to handle the constant stimulation from devices and how this can result in a compulsive need to check phones, even at the expense of personal relationships and well-being.

05:02

🔒 Strategies to Combat Phone Addiction

The second paragraph delves into the signs of phone addiction, such as cravings, mood swings related to phone use, tolerance, withdrawal symptoms, and relapse behaviors. It emphasizes the importance of recognizing these signs to understand the depth of one's phone dependency. The paragraph then offers three evidence-based tips to reduce phone usage: chronological binding, which involves restricting phone use to specific time units; physical binding, where one limits access to certain apps or the phone itself through physical means; and categorical binding, which suggests making the phone less appealing or meaningful by using it only for essential tasks. The summary underscores the need for a collective effort to manage phone usage and the potential for individual strategies to vary based on personal experiences and effectiveness.

Keywords

💡Internet Access

Internet Access refers to the ability to connect to the internet, which has seen a significant increase over the past 15 years, particularly through mobile phones. In the video's context, it highlights the shift from only 20% of people accessing the internet via their phones to the current 91% of adults, illustrating the pervasive integration of technology into daily life.

💡Media Interaction

Media Interaction denotes the time and engagement individuals spend with various forms of media. The script mentions that adults spend 11 hours per day interacting with media, emphasizing the extensive use of digital platforms and the potential impacts on behavior and mental health.

💡Dopamine

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter associated with feelings of pleasure and reward. The video explains its role in motivation and addiction, particularly in the context of smartphone use. Dopamine release is triggered by activities such as receiving notifications or engaging with social media, potentially leading to compulsive phone use.

💡Long-term Potentiation

Long-term Potentiation (LTP) is a process that strengthens synapses through increased stimulation, leading to enhanced neuronal pathways. The script uses LTP to describe how repeated smartphone use can reinforce certain brain pathways associated with dopamine release, contributing to addiction.

💡Neurotransmitter

A Neurotransmitter is a chemical that transmits signals in the brain and nervous system. The video script discusses dopamine as a key neurotransmitter involved in the brain's reward system and its relation to smartphone addiction.

💡Addiction

Addiction is a compulsive engagement in behaviors or substance use despite negative consequences. The script explores the concept of smartphone addiction, using dopamine release as a measure of addictive potential and discussing the criteria for identifying phone addiction.

💡Neuroplasticity

Neuroplasticity refers to the brain's ability to reorganize and form new neural connections throughout life. The video suggests that understanding neuroplasticity is key to rewiring our brains to reduce phone use and regain control over our lives.

💡Social Media

Social Media is a collection of online platforms that allow users to create and share content or participate in social networking. The script discusses the impact of social media on mental health, including increased anxiety and negative social comparison, and its role in smartphone addiction.

💡Anhedonia

Anhedonia is the inability to feel pleasure. The video script connects the pursuit of constant pleasure through smartphone use to the potential development of anhedonia, where life's novel aspects become less exciting due to constant dopamine stimulation.

💡Cortisol

Cortisol is a hormone associated with stress. The script mentions that putting down the phone can trigger cortisol release, causing stress and potentially leading to a cycle of phone use to alleviate this stress.

💡Chronological Binding

Chronological Binding is a strategy mentioned in the script to limit phone use by restricting it to specific time units, such as one hour per day. This approach aims to prevent compulsive phone use by controlling the time spent on devices.

💡Physical Binding

Physical Binding involves making the phone less accessible or less appealing to reduce usage. The script suggests techniques such as logging out of trigger apps and giving the password to a friend, or turning off the phone at night and storing it away, to decrease the compulsion to use it.

💡Categorical Binding

Categorical Binding is a method to make the phone less significant in certain contexts, such as making deviceless meals or using grayscale mode to make the phone interface less stimulating. The script presents this as a way to rewire our brains and reduce the allure of the phone.

Highlights

15 years ago, only 20% of people accessed the internet from their phones, now it's up to 91%.

Adults spend 11 hours per day interacting with media.

71% of people never turn off their phone.

31% of people admit to not being able to control their phone use.

17.3% of parents spend more time on their phone than with their children.

The science behind our compulsive addiction to phones is concerning.

Dopamine plays a major role in motivation and reward in the brain.

Smartphones provide an unlimited supply of dopamine and stimuli.

Constant dopamine hits from phones can make daily life less exciting.

Phones are decreasing our attention spans and ability to delay gratification.

High screen time is linked to depression, anxiety, and reduced well-being.

Phones are associated with anxiety and a negative impact on face-to-face communication.

Increased social media use is linked to social comparison and fear of missing out.

Apps are designed to provide dopamine hits, creating compulsive checking behavior.

Dopamine measures are used to assess the addictive potential of substances, including phones.

Addiction is defined as the continued consumption of a substance or behavior despite harm.

Five key questions to determine if you are addicted to your phone.

Neuroplasticity allows us to rewire our brains to change phone use habits.

Top three scientifically backed tips to decrease phone use and regain control.

Chronological binding can help avoid compulsive phone consumption.

Physical binding techniques can limit access to trigger apps.

Categorical binding involves making the phone less stimulating and meaningful.

The need for self-regulation in phone use due to the lack of external controls.

Transcripts

just 15 years ago only 20 percent of

people access the internet from their

phone now it's up to 91 percent adults

spend 11 hours per day interacting with

media 71 of people never turn off their

phone 31 of people admit to not being

able to control their phone use and 17.3

percent of parents spend more time on

their phone than with their children our

brains have not evolved to deal with

these devices the science behind why we

are also compulsively addicted to our

phones is freaking scary so today first

up we're going to explain the new

research about how your phone is

changing your brain why it's making you

more bored sad unable to focus and why

you can't go anywhere without it then

we'll try to figure out if you are

actually addicted to your phone

clinically and at the end of the episode

go over the top three best research back

tips to decrease phone use and gain back

control of your life first up what your

phone's doing to your brain we've all

heard of the neurotransmitter dopamine

as that feel good reward chemical in

your brain but it also plays a major

role in motivating Behavior genetically

engineered mice unable to make dopamine

will not even seek out food and starve

to death when the food is placed just

inches from their mouths dopamine is

therefore important in our motivation to

do evolutionarily beneficial behaviors

like have sex eat food or have good

social interactions with people also to

be clear High dopamine substances don't

actually have dopamine in them but they

trigger the release of dopamine in your

brain chocolate for example increases

the basal dopamine of a rat in a box by

55 and sex by 100 and there are three

main Pathways in your brain that involve

the neurotransmitter dopamine they're

called the mesocortical mesolimbic

nigrostriato pathways these become

activated when anticipating and

experiencing rewards and the thing is

that every time you get a notification

laugh at a funny Tick Tock video or get

a follower on Instagram these neuronal

processes in your brain become stronger

through a process called long-term

potentiation smartphones give us an

unlimited supply of dopamine and stimuli

to be specific Pathways in our brain

therefore these Pathways in our brain

are getting stronger we now watch

hundreds of pieces of content on Tick

Tock in a few minutes you scroll through

Twitter seeing memes images jokes at

record speed or you interact with large

group of friends in group chats or on

Instagram DMS all of those things are

releasing dopamine in those brain

Pathways making them stronger and you're

getting these feelings without ever

having to like leave the house all you

have to do is be on your phone to get

that neurological impact and it has been

found that this could be leading to a

sad malaise and depression with life

rats in a diverse novel stimulating

environment have a proliferation of

dopamine release compared to those who

are in their same old lab cage but if

those same rats are pre-treated with a

dopamine stimulant before entering this

enriched novel environment they fail to

show the synaptic changes that happens

with the novel stimulating environment

because we're having constant dopamine

hits from our phone the novel aspects of

our day-to-day life become less exciting

on top of it new studies have found that

these phones are decreasing our

attention spans making it harder for us

to focus and harder for us to delay

gratification known as delay discounting

people who use their phones more are

more likely to think that the value of a

reward goes down the longer you have to

wait for it the pursuit of constant

pleasure can lead to anhedonia the

inability to feel pleasure of any kind a

study from two years ago found that

young people who spend seven hours or

more a day interacting with their

screens are twice as likely to be

diagnosed with depression or anxiety

than those who use screens more

moderately a 2018 study found that

students who trimmed their use of social

media to 30 minutes a day had

significant improvements in well-being

cell phone use is positively associated

with anxiety and results in negative

association with willingness to engage

in face-to-face communication teens who

spend five hours daily on their mobile

devices are 71 percent more likely to

develop risk factors for suicide

compared to those who only use their

devices for an hour increased Tick-Tock

use has been linked to increased upward

social comparison which is comparing

yourself off to others online who seem

to have better lives than you or a fear

of missing out this can make you want to

check your phone even more as the

short-term addictive dopamine driven

hits create feedback loops that make you

compulsively check for notifications

more and these apps are designed to give

you that dopamine hit so you

compulsively check for them you might

notice that every time you go on

Instagram or Tick Tock there's a new

like notification they'll hold those

likes back so that every time you go on

they show you that someone has

interacted with your page now let's find

out if you are in fact addicted to your

phone researchers use dopamine as a

measure for how addictive a substance

can be and since we now know that your

phone is constantly giving you dopamine

hits this is why researchers and

clinicians are worried about the

addictive potential of your phone

addiction broadly defined as the

continued and compulsive consumption of

a substance or behavior despite its harm

to yourself or others and these next

five questions are important to

understand if you are in fact addicted

to your phone number one do you have

cravings do you want to look at your

phone at the expense of other Act

activities such as talking to your

partner talking to your kids talking to

a barista working out or interacting

with friends salience does your phone

impact your mood are you happier when

you get lots of likes are you sad or

angry if you get less likes on a post

does a picture of someone else trigger

your mood to change for the worse this

is a serious concern because this means

that your phone can be controlling your

life I notice that this can happen to me

I post and I'm looking to see how many

likes it gets I see a photo of someone

else having a really good time and maybe

I'm having a bad day and it makes me

feel worse I'm like okay so I guess I

might be addicted to my tolerance do you

need to spend increasing amounts of time

on your phone this isn't your fault if

this is true because this can happen

because of the neural adaptation of the

dopamine systems in your brain it means

that you need more phone checking more

new apps in order to get the same amount

of pleasure you might have needed before

withdrawal do you feel angry or maybe

you can't focus or you're uneasy when

you don't have access to or are on your

phone this also isn't your your fault

because if you are used to checking your

phone numerous Studies have found that

putting down your phone can trigger the

release of cortisol this hormone can

make you feel stressed therefore to get

rid of this anxious feeling that the

cortisol is giving you you pick up your

phone to see if anything has happened or

changed putting down the phone doesn't

shut off your brain our phone addiction

doesn't stop when we put down our phone

in some cases it can make us more aware

of it and finally relapse do you try to

decrease your phone use and find that

you can't I also relate to this one I

have tried so many different ways to

decrease my phone use and it feels like

I always end up back where I started if

you think that this could be you in any

way you are not alone 78 of people in a

recent poll said they could not live

without their phone but we can change

this our brains have neuroplasticity we

can rewire our brains so these are the

top three scientific backed tips to try

and decrease your phone use to start

there is a lot of varied research about

how long it takes to change these brain

Pathways in your brain some people say a

month some people say three months some

studies say two years so this is a long

process and since we can't fully have

abstinence from our phones it's how we

talk to our family to our kids these

tips are rooted in the fact that you

will have to continue to use your phone

chronological binding rats given

unlimited access to cocaine gradually

increase lever pressing for more cocaine

over time to the point of physical

exhaustion and even death rats who have

access to cocaine for only one hour per

day use steady amounts over time and

don't press the lever for more cocaine

per unit time restricting phone use to

narrow units of time one hour per day

for example may be the key to avoid

compulsive elevating phone consumption

that comes with the unlimited access we

have to our phones this way you can keep

up with your DMs text your friends make

plans and let people know you're putting

your phone away the sign says your brain

can re-adapt and gain better control

this way physical binding if you think

that there are certain trigger apps such

as Instagram or Tick Tock that you want

to not use for a month you log out and

give your password to a friend friend or

family therefore you have to ask them

for it back to use these apps other

physical binding techniques are turning

off your phone at 9pm and putting it in

a drawer until the next day sometimes

the compulsiveness comes from how close

the phone is to you physically another

thing is to work with people within your

house whether it's roommates or family

to have deviceless meals categorical

binding trying to make your phone mean

less to you one easy thing to do is to

put it on grayscale so it becomes more

boring only check social media dating

apps or high dopamine reward apps on

your computer so your phone is for

texting emails and more boring stimuli

also delete any apps that you find

meaningless or that you're wasting time

on and you don't even care about make

sure your phone is not your alarm that

is too meaningful of a concept and

charge your phone in a cumbersome area

overnight maybe in a drawer that you

can't access a lot of This research is

flooding in now because people are

really concerned if you are finding that

your phone is having a negative impact

on your life just know you aren't alone

and study those three steps and choose

which ones are best for you leave a

comment below about what's working for

you what's not this is a discussion that

I think we all need to continue to have

and help each other out now if you want

more information about how your phone is

actually changing your body we made a

podcast about how it could be causing us

to hunch it could be making us

nearsighted these are all just insane

impact that these things that we are all

obsessed with and so recently have come

into our lives have affected our brains

and our bodies thank you for watching

this is obviously a journey that I'm

still on I've made lots of videos about

this leave comments below for any tips

you have I will be reading them because

I also am trying to decrease my phone

use and honestly good luck it's hard

until like the government or someone

actually regulates these phones and

social media apps I think it's up to us

to understand the science to regulate it

ourselves