Get *RID* of your PHONE Addiction using Neuroscience.

Summary

In this video, Dr. Shovel from Clarity for UPSC addresses the issue of phone addiction, explaining its neuroscience basis and the role of dopamine in seeking pleasure and rewards. He uses the analogy of a rat pressing a pleasure button to illustrate the brain's craving for dopamine, leading to addiction. Dr. Shovel offers a four-step solution to break free from phone addiction, including identifying triggers, changing the environment, finding alternatives to social media, and engaging in difficult tasks to reset the brain's dopamine levels. The video encourages viewers to take control of their phone usage and not become servants to technology.

Takeaways

• 😀 The video encourages viewers to recognize and overcome the habit of mindlessly scrolling on their phones, suggesting that most people will not watch the entire video.
• 🤔 It poses the question of whether viewers are addicted to their phones by defining addiction as the unnecessary and habitual use of the phone.
• 🧠 The script explains that addiction is driven by the brain's craving for reward and pleasure, stimulated by the release of dopamine.
• 🐀 It uses the example of rats pressing a 'pleasure button' to illustrate how much our brains crave reward, even in the face of pain.
• 📈 The video highlights that social media companies employ strategies to keep users engaged, which can lead to increased phone usage and addiction.
• 📊 It provides statistics from YouTube analytics to show that many viewers do not watch videos to the end, indicating a lack of attention span.
• 🌐 The script discusses the concept of neuroplasticity, explaining how our brains can adapt and crave more dopamine over time, leading to increased addiction.
• 📚 It recommends the book 'Dopamine Nation' by Dr. Anna Lembke for further understanding of the relationship between pleasure, pain, and dopamine.
• 🛠️ The video offers a four-step solution to phone addiction: identifying when one gets addicted, changing the environment, finding an alternate activity, and doing something difficult to counteract the dopamine crash.
• 🏆 It concludes by emphasizing the importance of viewing the phone as a tool, not a master, and encourages viewers to use their time for more meaningful activities.

Q & A

What is the main issue discussed in the video?

The main issue discussed in the video is the problem of phone addiction and how it affects people's lives, particularly in terms of mindlessly scrolling through social media and wasting time.

What is the first step to solving the problem of phone addiction according to the video?

The first step to solving the problem of phone addiction is to accept that you have a problem and identify when you start feeling the urge to use your phone excessively.

What is the role of dopamine in phone addiction?

Dopamine is a chemical in the brain that is released when you feel pleasure. It is responsible for the addictive behavior seen in phone addiction, as it gives a sense of reward and happiness, leading to a craving for more.

How does the video illustrate the concept of dopamine and addiction using a rat experiment?

The video uses a rat experiment where rats are given the option to press a pleasure button or seek food. The rat that presses the pleasure button works much harder and ultimately dies from the increasing electric shocks, showing how our brains crave reward and pleasure.

What is the impact of social media companies on phone addiction?

Social media companies employ strategies to keep users on their platforms longer, which contributes to phone addiction. They collect data about user behavior and preferences to show targeted advertisements, further enticing users to spend more time on their platforms.

How does the video suggest changing the environment to combat phone addiction?

The video suggests changing the environment by reordering the home screen, deleting social media apps, turning off notifications, and finding alternatives to social media apps like using a browser instead of an app.

What is the concept of neuroplasticity and how does it relate to addiction?

Neuroplasticity is the ability of the brain to reorganize itself based on what it experiences. In the context of addiction, it means that the brain gets used to a certain level of dopamine and craves more over time, leading to increased tolerance and addiction.

What is the significance of the 'dopamine time curve' mentioned in the video?

The 'dopamine time curve' refers to the pattern of dopamine release and its subsequent decrease. It explains how initial stimulation (like using a phone) leads to a spike in dopamine, followed by a crash, which then requires more stimulation to feel the same level of pleasure.

What is the solution proposed in the video to overcome phone addiction?

The solution proposed includes identifying when you are most likely to use your phone excessively, changing the environment to make it harder to access addictive apps, finding alternate activities that provide a sense of achievement, and doing something difficult to counteract the pleasure-seeking behavior.

How does the video use the concept of dopamine to keep viewers engaged?

The video uses the concept of dopamine by providing rewards and milestones (like being better than 50% of viewers who watched till a certain point) to keep viewers engaged and motivated to continue watching.

Outlines

00:00

📱 Overcoming Phone Addiction

The speaker, Dr. Shovel, introduces the issue of phone addiction, comparing it to substance abuse and challenging viewers to watch the entire video. He explains the neuroscience behind addiction, focusing on the role of dopamine in the brain. The speaker uses an analogy of a rat pressing a pleasure button despite pain, illustrating how our brains crave rewards. The purpose of the video is to help viewers understand the reasons behind their phone addiction and to provide strategies to overcome it.

05:01

🧠 The Impact of Social Media on Dopamine Levels

This paragraph delves into the effects of social media on our dopamine levels, highlighting how companies employ 'addiction engineers' to keep users engaged. The speaker provides an example of his own YouTube analytics to demonstrate the poor attention spans of viewers and the prevalence of late-night phone usage. He explains that every like, notification, and message acts as a dopamine spike, reinforcing the addictive behavior. The concept of neuroplasticity is introduced, suggesting that our brains adapt to constant stimulation, increasing the need for more dopamine to achieve the same level of pleasure.

10:01

📉 Dopamine Crash and the Need for Balance

The speaker discusses the consequences of excessive dopamine stimulation, such as feelings of emptiness and wasted days. He describes the 'dopamine time curve,' which illustrates the highs and lows of dopamine levels throughout the day. The video encourages viewers to recognize the times when they are most likely to use their phones and suggests that by doing something difficult, such as hard work, the brain can compensate by providing pleasure, thus balancing the dopamine levels.

15:04

🛠️ Implementing Strategies to Combat Phone Addiction

The speaker outlines a four-step solution to combat phone addiction. The first step is identifying the times and patterns of phone usage. The second step involves changing the environment, such as reordering the home screen and deleting social media apps, to create barriers to mindless phone use. The third step is finding alternatives to social media, like hobbies that provide a sense of accomplishment. The speaker emphasizes the importance of implementing these strategies to break free from the cycle of addiction.

20:04

🌟 Embracing Challenges and the Power of Implementation

In the final paragraph, the speaker challenges viewers to take action by not using YouTube or other social media platforms for the rest of the day after watching the video. He reflects on how the video itself uses dopamine mechanisms to keep viewers engaged and encourages them to use this understanding to their advantage by doing difficult tasks and rewarding themselves with genuine achievements. The speaker concludes by reminding viewers that the phone is a tool and should not control their lives, urging them to pursue greater things beyond social media.

Keywords

💡Addiction

Addiction refers to a compulsive or uncontrollable dependence on a substance or behavior. In the video, the term is used to describe the habitual and excessive use of phones, which is likened to substance abuse. The script discusses how people often mindlessly scroll through their phones, even when there is no apparent need or purpose, highlighting the behavioral pattern of addiction.

💡Dopamine

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter associated with the brain's reward system. It is responsible for feelings of pleasure and satisfaction. The video explains that the release of dopamine in the brain is what drives the craving for pleasure and reward, which is often associated with phone use. The script uses the example of a rat pressing a 'pleasure button' to illustrate how the brain craves dopamine, leading to addictive behavior.

💡Neuroscience

Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system and brain function. The video delves into the neuroscience behind phone addiction, exploring how the brain's reward system is activated by phone use. It explains that the brain's response to phone notifications and social media interactions is similar to its response to other addictive substances or behaviors.

💡Mindless Scrolling

Mindless scrolling refers to the habit of aimlessly browsing through content on a phone without a specific purpose. The video script highlights this behavior as a common symptom of phone addiction, where individuals find themselves repeatedly checking their phones even when there is no real need to do so.

💡Social Media

Social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube are mentioned in the video as significant contributors to phone addiction. The script discusses how these platforms employ 'addiction engineers' to keep users engaged for longer periods, which can lead to excessive phone use and procrastination.

💡Neuroplasticity

Neuroplasticity is the brain's ability to change and adapt in response to experiences. The video explains that the brain becomes accustomed to certain levels of dopamine and seeks more stimulation to achieve the same pleasurable feelings, which can lead to increased phone use. This concept is used to explain why addictions can worsen over time.

💡Dopamine Crash

A dopamine crash refers to the feeling of emptiness or lack of pleasure that follows a period of intense dopamine release. The video script uses this term to describe the aftermath of excessive phone use, where the brain experiences a drop in dopamine levels, leading to a sense of dissatisfaction or emptiness.

💡Implementation

Implementation in the context of the video refers to the act of putting into practice the strategies discussed to overcome phone addiction. The script emphasizes the importance of not just understanding the problem but also taking concrete steps to address it, such as changing phone habits and finding alternatives to social media.

💡Reward System

The reward system is a collection of neural structures responsible for the brain's response to rewarding stimuli. The video script discusses how the brain's reward system is activated by phone use, particularly through social media interactions and notifications, which can lead to addictive behavior as the brain seeks more of these rewarding experiences.

💡Hobbies

Hobbies are activities done regularly in one's leisure time for pleasure. The video suggests replacing time spent on social media with hobbies like cycling or jogging as a way to break the cycle of phone addiction. These activities can provide a more fulfilling sense of reward and satisfaction, helping to counteract the dopamine-driven cravings associated with phone use.

Highlights

The video addresses the issue of phone addiction and its impact on daily life, urging viewers to pay attention to the time they spend mindlessly scrolling.

Phone addiction is likened to substance abuse, with the brain's reward system being stimulated by the pleasure derived from using the phone.

The video explains the neuroscience behind addiction, focusing on the role of dopamine in creating a cycle of craving and pleasure.

An experiment with rats pressing a 'pleasure button' illustrates the extreme lengths the brain will go to seek dopamine, even in the face of pain.

The video challenges viewers to recognize their own phone addiction by reflecting on their usage patterns and the times they use their phone without a clear purpose.

The concept of neuroplasticity is introduced, explaining how the brain adapts to increased levels of dopamine and seeks more stimulation over time.

Social media companies are described as employing 'addiction engineers' to keep users engaged on their platforms for longer periods.

The video uses analytics to show that viewers who make it past certain timestamps are part of a select group, using this as a motivational tool to encourage continued viewing.

The speaker shares personal experiences with phone addiction and the steps taken to overcome it, emphasizing the importance of recognizing the problem.

A four-step solution is presented to combat phone addiction, starting with identifying the times when one is most likely to use the phone excessively.

Changing the environment, such as reordering the home screen and deleting social media apps, is suggested as a way to create barriers to phone usage.

The video recommends turning off notifications and using apps like Forest to help manage phone usage and focus on more productive activities.

Finding an alternate activity to replace time spent on social media is suggested, such as taking up a hobby or engaging in physical exercise.

The video emphasizes the importance of doing something difficult and rewarding oneself with the satisfaction of accomplishment rather than the fleeting pleasure of phone usage.

The final challenge issued to viewers is to abstain from using social media and watching YouTube for the rest of the day after watching the video.

The video concludes by reminding viewers that the phone is a tool and should not control one's life, encouraging them to pursue greater things beyond social media.

Transcripts

congratulations just by clicking on this

video you have shown that you are better

than most because you are willing to

improve give me the next 20 minutes of

your life and let me solve the Perpetual

problem of mindlessly scrolling your

phone

ninety percent of the people who see

this video will choose not to watch it

ninety percent of those who watch it

will not watch it till the end

ninety percent of those who watch it

till the end will not implement it but

if you can pass this barrier I promise

you you will see a change in your life

hello and welcome to Clarity for upsc I

am Dr shovel

let's understand the Neuroscience behind

phone addiction why are you addicted to

your phone and what can you do to change

that

let me ask you are you an addict

we think of someone who is maybe sitting

on a footpath drinking alcohol smoking

weed injecting themselves with Heroin

foreign

ask yourself when was the last time you

just randomly opened your phone and

checked it is

and just started checking it even though

there was no apparent work with the

phone

when was the last time you continuously

wasted time on your phone looking at

shots looking at reels looking at

Instagram Etc even though you knew okay

there is something better to do

when was the last time

you were able to say that okay today I

will not use my phone and able to do it

if all these three things are true you

are an addict I have been a phone addict

and the first step to solve this problem

is to accept that you have a problem

why do you have this problem

that why do we get addicted scientists

as soon as a button was pressed a

message would go to the brain and that

would simulate pleasure in the rad spray

foreign

on one side they put a pleasure button

but the but to press the pleasure button

the rat had to cross this barrier now

this barrier was electrified and Harvard

is

to cross this barrier that kept

increasing so the rat had to face a

certain amount of pain to go and press

this button then the rat had to come

back then again it would go it would

feel a certain amount of pain press the

button go back

this rat was hungry and on this side

there was food

out of the two Rats the rat that was

pressing the button for pleasure worked

much much harder than the rat that

wanted food

ultimately this rat that was getting

pleasure is

just by pressing the button dies because

the electricity in these wires keeps

increasing over time

it does not stop even though it keeps

facing excruciating pain it would go and

press the button over and over again and

ultimately die because of this

electrification

this is how much our brains crave reward

and pleasure

why why do We crave so much reward and

pleasure the chemical in the brain

responsible for this is called dopamine

this is its chemical structure

dopamine when it is released in the

brain it gives you the feeling of

pleasure the feeling of feeling good the

feeling of happiness

when dopamine is released you will feel

pleasure as a reward then you will have

more craving for it then the rat will

press the liver again it will endure the

pain because this pleasure is so

addictive that it would want dopamine

over and over again

this is how prediction happens but it is

not just happening to alcohol to

cigarettes to weed to heroin it can also

happen to your phone let me show you why

congratulations if you have reached here

this is your first reward you are better

than 50 of the people who are watching

this video and this figure is not

randomly generated I have analyzed my

YouTube analytics and I can tell you

with certainty that if you are still

watching at five minutes you are better

than 50 of the people that's how bad our

attention spans actually are

let me show you an example of us on our

phones

this is my telegram Channel

at 5 36 in the morning I checked

what did I check

at 103 last night I have posted a

message this is your message this

message is your reminder to turn off

your phone and sleep at 103 am at 5 36

5.5

000 people had seen it that means

between 1 am and 5 AM 5 000 people who

are upsc aspirants who are studying for

the world's most difficult comparative

exam had opened telegram on their phones

that's how bad the situation is

why why is it this bad it is bad because

every social media company employs

addiction Engineers this is not what

they are called but addiction Engineers

to keep you on your phone longer the

more time you spend on your phone the

more time you spend on YouTube on

Instagram on Facebook

Etc

the more

you are going to waste your time

you are procrastinating you are wasting

your time you should not be looking at

your phone but trust me be with me till

the end and this will help you

these phone companies or these social

media companies rather will collect data

about you I have so much YouTube

analytics data that I can tell you that

24 year old people or 24 year old women

from Lucknow watch my videos for how

long time

by age by gender by geography I can tell

you distribution

they have data about how much you scroll

how much time you spend on scrolling

what are your preferences what you don't

want what you want and then they can

show you targeted advertising foreign

is that every like every notification

every call every text is a spike of

dopamine

foreign

is what is addicting you this is not

different than the rat pressing the

liver

because you want another Spike of

dopamine

why is it not enough

because our addictions get worse our

brains are plastic this is a phenomena

called neuroplasticity

what does neuroplasticity mean that our

brains can reorganize ourselves on the

basis of what we feel

if you've watched pornography you would

understand that if you keep watching it

daily you would eventually need more and

more extreme forms to feel the same

pleasure that you felt before this is

nothing but neuroplasticity if somebody

drinks alcohol on the first day they

will be okay with one or two drinks but

after a month after a year they would

need five drinks six drinks this is

nothing but neuroplasticity this happens

even with hard work if you are working

hard

on the first day you might be only able

to study 30 minutes but eventually you

will reach 3 hours and then you might

even reach 10 hours because our brains

are plastic our brains are like a muscle

that can be trained so our brain gets

used to a certain amount of dopamine

once you get used to that certain amount

of dopamine you want even more pleasure

you want to press the lever again and

again and again just to feel the same

amount of good or just to feel the same

amount of happiness

I strongly recommend that you read this

book called dopamine Nation

but when you have time by Anne Lambert

MD she is a doctor and she has written

this book dopamine nation in this book

she says that Pleasure and Pain in the

body get processed in the same area

the brain will over compensate and give

you pain what do I mean

this is one place where Pleasure and

Pain are getting processed if you keep

giving pleasure to your brain

the skills get tipped on this side then

it has to come back to normal to come

back to normal you will feel pain

here does not mean physical pain it

means a feeling of emptiness

if you give yourself too much dopamine

you feel empty for the rest of the day

and let me tell you when you have

experienced it if you waste your entire

morning on the phone

without studying in the morning you

started using your phone

you would have realized that your entire

day gets wasted

and I don't have a bad academic record

but still I have faced this over and

over again every week I have faced a day

like this so it is normal don't feel bad

you get up in the morning

but for the rest of the day you will not

be able to study because

right this is how the dopamine time

curve Works once you stimulate pleasure

and it goes this High the brain will

then have a fall or crash of dopamine

then again you will need a very high

stimulation just to get there

stimulation

so over time

same stimulation say the dopamine level

starts reducing

is just to feel normal because otherwise

you will have a dopamine emptiness a

dopamine crash a lack of pleasure so job

dopamine reduce

this is what all of us are facing

congratulations you have reached till 13

minutes or 12 minutes you are now better

than 70 percent

if you will keep watching you will reach

the first barrier of 90 percent

and then you just have to implement it

now

let's understand the solution

dopamine nationally

Pleasure and Pain get processed in the

same place so if you give yourself Pain

by pain I mean you do something

difficult

and you don't look at your phone you

just do hard work in the end the brain

was tilted towards pain it will again

compensate compensate

this is exactly what happens when you do

something very very difficult the entire

day you feel pleasure at the end of the

day

remember the last time you studied very

very hard I'm sure

after studying right the end of the day

you must have felt good this is the

solution to the problem

now I'm going to give you a four step

solution to solve this problem trust me

70 of people have stopped watching if

you are still here you are better than

all of them

the first step you need to identify when

you get addicted to your phone what time

you start using your phone

I had take done the same thing but

problems

I started watching YouTube and Netflix

on my iPad

the voic permanent solution in here and

I have tried it that's why I'm telling

you that's a good solution but not a

permanent one this is a permanent

solution first you identify when you

start feeling these problems there are

certain times when you are likely to use

the phone

if you are studying for the upcoming

upsc prelims at late night after you

have worked hard when you are about to

sleep there are chances okay

or there are chances that early morning

when you know the days upcoming days

both of these are very dangerous so you

identify these times you identify the

patterns

you change something

but first step is identification the

second step is changing the environment

it is creating barriers

just reorder your home screen

of clicking

um the new locations you will keep let's

say you put clock in place of YouTube

you will open your clock at least 15

times in the next two days

and you will understand the extent of

your addiction the second thing

delete the apps of social media social

media more important because

use the browser

instagram.com

but on the browser it will be a

conscious decision

right there is a thing to stop you from

getting there Instagram

foreign

right this is one extra barrier delete

social media apps third turn off

notifications

you might have noticed many asked

like subscribe press the Bell icon

because what this does to you

stop using notifications

the notifications

we had to hunt smaller animals but we

had bigger animals like lions like

chimpanzees like orangutans who we have

to be scared of

our ancestors were scared because they

used to look at this thing moving and

thinking

this is what happens with notifications

you will see it let's say there is a

lizard there you will see it because

your Evolution your Evolution you are

your evolution is such that you are

hardwired to feel this last you can use

apps like Forest what is Forest

is already made a video and the link is

in the description

if you can do the second step changing

the environment it will be a huge

difference

if you live with your family

at late night or as soon as let's say

you're done with your studying or let's

say at nine PM give your phone to your

family take it back in the morning

this is how I dealt with it

third step find an alternate

Instagram Facebook YouTube

when you do this and you look at the

dopamine time curve these are easy

things there is no gain here there is no

pain there is only pleasure so as soon

as you start using you get a dopamine

Spike then the dopamine Falls but if you

replace these things with a hobby like

cycling jogging Etc

what will happen

over time after dopamine Spike icons

you will not have fun in it you will not

enjoy it but again

but once you get really really good at

it you know you spend time you've

learned the ins and out

and the best thing is it gives you again

purely selfish terms

you can't write I spent two hours a day

on YouTube on your daf

YouTube

as soon as this video is done go to your

subscriptions

[Music]

your field will become better

Channel

but that doesn't matter the issue is

much bigger here

last do something difficult

Pleasure and Pain get processed in the

same place if you give yourself pain if

you do something difficult you will get

a reward and this is the difficult thing

for today

the first difficult thing you have

already done right up this video okay

almost in the cargo you have reached 20

minutes

the most difficult thing that I am going

to tell you to do today is this after

this video you will shut YouTube and not

open it for the rest of the day you will

not open any other social media app also

what's up what's up

but no Facebook no Instagram no YouTube

no Snapchat no anything else till the

end of today

and then come back tomorrow here and

tell me how good it felt

congratulations you've crossed 20 minute

barrier and you've crossed the last

barrier that you could on this video you

clicked on the

and you are better than 90 because

you've reached almost the end of this

video now the last barrier is

implementation

if you do the difficult task today of

not watching anything on your YouTube

and come back tomorrow here and tell me

or even if you don't tell me even if you

don't comments

that you're able to do this that would

be amazing

the video was not over I just paused for

five seconds just to tell you how small

our attention spans are time

now let me blow your mind

videos

why because I used the dopamine

um the mechanism of dopamine in your

brain to make you watch this video

you've watched till here you're better

than 50 you've washed till here you're

better than 70 you are still here you're

better than ninety percent none of this

was a lie all of it brought some

analytics but many YouTube videos

and now on telegram on my channel I will

show you how this video has better

attention span than other videos when

your BSF record care but I'm confident

of the results because this is how

hungry we are for dopamine rewards just

by a random person telling you on

YouTube that you are better than this

congratulations you are watching it

makes you want to see the video more

when you understand yourself use it to

your advantage you are hungry for a

reward right use it how

use it by doing difficult things and

give yourself Rewards

today when you close this video no more

YouTube come back tomorrow and tell me

about it

this is the last line

this is the last slide of this video

your phone is an essential tool

important but it is merely a tool don't

become its servant don't become an

addict you were born for greater things

than looking at Instagram Facebook

social media and mindlessly texting

liking and commenting

thank you for your time I hope this has

helped you see you next time