Social media dopamine reddit This is completely different from the other apps that just suck your brain away. I realized I was drawing mostly for validation and the attention of strangers online. I need to feel at my absolute best in 24 hours from now for a presentation at work to the CFO that I was just notified about What would you recommend I do. Or check it out in the app stores     TOPICS social media tweaks for dopamine 2. you'll just get pissed off. Do you have any recommendations for other apps that teach/help you & give that dopamine kick? I have tried doing the dopamine detox but I get very fidgety and irritable when I don’t have anything to constantly scroll through. These are: learning/reading: learning self improvement topics and/or Games art/programming Meditation Gratitude journaling Meal Prepping Walks Posture + Hygiene routine before 7 days ago. There are tons of studies on intentional boredom and the positive effects. No social media, no TV, no video games, no junk food, no music etc. im tired of spending over three hours each day on things that add little value to my life. But I have cut down almost half of my previous consumption. Satisfaction. I thought if I would commit to no social media for the day, I might as well commit to the whole nine yards. Reddit is a good example. Once I told myself, “You can do whatever you want, as long as it’s one of (list of things beneficial to your life like reading, exercising, friend/family time)”, I overcame my impulsivity towards high dopamine producing-unhealthy activities. Dec 1, 2024 · Have you tried quitting social media cold turkey multiple times and it didn’t work? Then this post is for you. Don’t be so hard on yourself, and even more if you watch content you enjoy, just try to set some rules to not be trapped into the loop. I believe (I choose that word specifically) that audiobooks - especially combined with walking outside- are so very much more valuable that social media scrolling. Chronic abuse of some "hard" drugs can burn out dopamine receptors, but a few weeks of abstention from social media isn't going to regrow your synapses. Stay away from what you use to bombard yourself with dopamine, and go for more long-form, educational content. These projects consume me, remove my urge to check social media and boost my self-esteem when completed. Also, try setting specific times for checking your feeds. I think the issue with social media and video games is that it’s an endless stream of novel stuff, so your brain just wants more and over several hours you are depleting dopamine that could be I’m 15 and I’m a football fan. See the Required Reading for more. I have tried so many times to delete it but I just end up reinstalling, and I also don't want to miss out on things my peers are seeing. I left all social media coming up on 18 months now. So you take away the sources of this dopamine spike by deleting social media but unfortunately, your brain is still craving these quick dopamine surges, so it seeks it elsewhere. The Reddit interface makes things far more mentally healthy for someone like me. the dopamine increase depends on the user - which is different from doing substances that are inherently addictive and effect the brain directly (like drugs). All addiction recovery processes require discipline and strength to endure withdrawal symptoms. Hobbies are impossible for me with social media apps installed. I am not glued to email or my phone for any reason but addiction. Get the Reddit app Scan this QR code to download the app now. per my phone statistics, i spend approx 16 hours on these social media apps 🙂 it's gotten to the point where i could be listening to a youtube video on my laptop while simultaneously scrolling through my The problem is that social media can be an addictive problem for people which can lead to dopamine sensitivity which lowers the baseline production of dopamine like in most other addictions. It straight up is. Now we've become more independent and isolated from each other and feel like something's missing. Add the double whammy of not liking staples of the tiktok genre seemingly like the music on videos for no reason and that infuriating text to speech shit, and I actively hate almost every single one I've ever seen or been sent by friends. I am trying to get dopamine form hardwork. Seems like social media is consuming me. now here comes the humility part. Start with a Dopamine Detox, then maintain a Dopamine Fast. I think there are a lot of benefits to silence, as you may find on a meditation retreat, but music is definitely not on the same level as social media or phone addiction. The problem was starting at high-school, Internet sites became more designed to be addictive, I played games just for the sake of playing them. This would be things like social media - tv - procrastination- your typical bad habits From digital detoxes to the fad of “dopamine fasting”, it appears fashionable to abstain from digital media. -After an extended period of time goes by being deprived of my usual gluttonous meal of cheap dopamine (social media, porn, video games, etc. Don’t use Tiktok, Facebook, Twitter, Snap, etc. 0 . I use to be able to play chess for hours but i tried picking it up again The problem with dopamine is that it gets us hooked on things that give us short-term gratification but not much else: cookies, alcohol and social media are all high in dopamine. Sometimes we scroll social media because we feel anxious. We anticipate some sort of reward with each one of those behaviors. I draw, too, and I deleted my social media, too. It’s a part of your brain’s reward system, meaning it helps you feel good when you do something enjoyable. They're addictive and extremely time consuming, I can lose hours a day mindlessly scrolling through reddit on pc, instagram on my phone, and sometimes both at the same time. Not counting anti-social media i. Or pick up chess. Suggest me some alternative source of dopamine other than social media and pornography. Nov 30, 2022 · The study investigates what dopamine is and the symptoms of fluctuating dopamine to establish whether Generation Z's increased use of social media has affected their dopamine levels. Yes. I can’t allow myself to be bored anymore the moment the thoughts start forming I immediately reach for my phone. this detox is my first step toward a life where I prioritize real, meaningful experiences over digital noise. Whenever I delete my apps for a few days, this feeling goes away. This combined with the lack of stopping cues in social media presents as someone who can’t “focus” or “break away” to do important tasks. As you accomplish this you will experience natural dopamine. I feel like even social media is more like "tribe splenda", though, artifical sweetener. Limit yourself to only a few hours of screen time a day, only if you do your homework, it's imperative that someone holds you accountable to be productive The same things we’re saying about social media are similar things said in the past about radio, TV, the computer, etc. Tell someone you want to stop gaming and social media and ask them to hold you accountable. Anyway, when it comes to social media, video games, porn etc. I went to bed last night and decided I wouldn't look at my phone first thing in the morning. As a reminder, here are the rules of my dopamine fast: 1) No social media. Help! Hopefully more states follow Utahs lead with the Utah Social Media Regulation Act starting March 1st. I’m not sure why but my mental health has improved a lot since I stopped using social media, I feel like I have so much more time to do things that I love. ive had enough and am ready to reclaim control of my time and stop squandering over three hours each day on distractions. they literally they us this like once a year. Oct 29, 2021 · Stanford psychiatrist Anna Lembke’s book, Dopamine Nation, explains our brain chemistry's role in modern society's addiction to social media. If you’re using iOS/Mac you could use screen time to set a reminder, or if you want to be more radical block the use of the website until the pwd is entered (for this case the best is for a few people of your trust to hold the pwd) Sometimes we scroll through social media because we want to feel close to friends. Learn a song, paint a picture, reorganize your house, read a book, knit a hat, write a story, go for a hike, etc. I love solving "problems/puzzles"; it's a key part of my ADHD, gives me a huge dopamine rush. A solution to this would be to call or text a friend to hang out, or to call a family member to catch up. it doesn’t happen just because social media is so awesome, it can be but it’s the intention of the companies to sell our attention for money/profit. The more time you spend worrying and researching is time you could be spending actually doing something! Understanding Dopamine: Dopamine is a chemical in your brain that plays a big role in feelings of pleasure and happiness. But now I’m realizing that I’m using it exactly how I did before— to escape. I have a tiktok, reddit, twitter, and instagram account. I would say that it doesn't just seem. We have more experience navigating and managing our relationships with it than we do social media. For example, you could allow yourself to watch one 30 minute documentary during your meals. Up to ONE HUNDRED times more dopamine with meth. Deleting Social media was the best thing I’ve ever done, of course Reddit is a social media but I try to use it in helpful ways like asking question and searching answers to problems I have. By changing those behaviors e. If you expose your brain to dopamine hits in that time period, you will kill your motivation and energy for the day and that's why you end up doom scrolling all day long. Gaming is more mature as a medium. I just interviewed Andrew Huberman on why you shouldn't rely on stimulants (like nicotine) when lacking motivation, the dangers of spiking dopamine without effort, his workout & supplement routines, using NSDR to boost dopamine, and how he handles social media backlash. I’ll try to make the post as short as possible. I'd recommend checking out Burt's "structural holes", studying how information is communicated within networks, and then thinking about how the nature of social media mediates or moderates those exchanges -> the impact on social structure, power, authority, and so on. grad student)have been improved . I’ve worked in media and technology for most of my career but currently have a non-online job. I took a step back and realized that I have a severe social media addiction. 24 or 48 hours will not reset your brain just because you stared at a wall. Ive attempted to detox from social media before and it’s not something I’ve been able to consistently finish. excessive social media The other half was to take on a series of habits with massive benefit long-term. I am currently on dopamine detox, i've disable all my social media , restricted my screen time to 1hr ,no short content , no PMO, started meditation and workout. Jan 9, 2025 · Right now, if you have indulged for a long time on doom scrolling, unhealthy food, social media, video gaming, etc. Social media takes reading to the next level by also having you rehydrate social experiences without another actual human being present. Welcome to Dopamine Detoxing. Feb 10, 2024 · However, the activation of Dopamine-based reward pathways doesn’t tell the whole story of why social media is so addictive; reward prediction errors and variable reward schedules are what really For me like if social media is that distracting to you and you're spending 10 hours a day on your phone, and it's starting to affect your grades and your mental health then that's a problem. I was successful. Idk, I find it curious how ubiquitous it has become as I am inherently uninsterested in extremely short form content like that. I've been doing the same lately. It tries using its current digital environment to stimulate dopamine in the same way. This includes YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, Discord, etc. our brains with unnaturally high amounts of dopamine on a daily basis, even if we don't know it. In case you don’t know what dopamine detoxes are, they’re just two weeks where you don’t allow yourself any easy dopamine sources like Netflix/tv, YouTube, video games, junk food, social media, drugs (aside from prescribed). Dopamine shows up in multiple neural pathways but the relevant one seems to be the reward pathways. ): All of a sudden, studying, exercising, and doing things I usually consider a pain in the ass, become much more appealing to me, and I actually become somewhat interested in them. Its really helping me to improve my focus levels and my ability to study for more long hours (i am engg. If it were easy, everyone would do it. I spend far too much time per day on social media because of the rush of dopamine I get when seeing a new notification. I try to delete the apps during the week. Some examples of high dopamine behaviors include: scrolling through social media websites, playing video games, watching internet pornography, etc. Awareness is the first step towards change. I set aside time at work to work on problems which may yield "interesting" results. I got called a xenophobe on Twitter for pointing this out. Let’s say you open Instagram, see a post stimulating your brain, and get a dopamine hit. So apparently Social Anxiety is thought to be best treated by raising Dopamine, as well as GABA, the former being the reason MAOIs like Nardil are so considered good for the condition, and the latter why Benzos and Alcohol work well. You need to "dopamine detox" in that you need to do a lot fewer high dopamine activities that are endless. I think this is autism related and I don't have an ADHD diagnosis. My dopamine has been on the high level the past two weeks particularly past week so it does feel somewhat burnt out. This is a support group to help with impulsive behaviour towards Eating, Gaming, Gambling, Thrill, and Tech. There are a lot of instructional videos that are around 30 minutes, and it should be very difficult to pull dopamine from those. Sold my little condo, got a puppy, relocated to spend some time with elderly parents, planted a garden, spent little to no time on social media these days. Halfway through September I came back to Snapchat, instagram, and TikTok because I went to college. I see a lot of Reddit posts from users that try to quit caffeine, sugar, porn, social media, Netflix, artificial sweeteners all at once because you've seen this Dopamine Detox trend. I am pretty sure that social media, including Reddit, exacerbates my ADHD and has reduced me to a barely functional adult 53yo person. Huberman Lab Episode on Dopamine could be helpful. When someone reads "Dopamine Detox", they will conclude Dopamine addiction is not a thing. Breaking those muscle memory habits can help (at least at the start) to stop you in your tracks. But I agree, you can definitely personalize social media to act the way you intend. I use my phone on average 6 hours a day, and all I do is browse/watch/scroll on Youtube, Reddit, Netflix, and Instagram. After that, you get a low and experience cravings. The downside to dopamine, though, is clear: it can also generate undesirable addictions and cravings. I have done a dopamine detox, i have definitely reduced my screen time these past few months. When I'd normally be on social media, I'm now learning 2 languages - naturally my ADHD brain won't let me do just one. You are just avoid a pleasure trigger. This is our first step to achieve the focus we deserve on our road to success. It doesn't attempt to meet the same needs as social media or a multi-function phone or game. Zoom fatigue aside, I keep craving a dopamine rush whenever I start a task that requires deep focus. Sepah and get real information on this topic far away from nutjobs like Huberman. Just look at how social media is designed. Stay strong brothers and sisters!! Title says it all. This ties together both points, on social media it’s anticipating something (highlight, funny, interesting, etc) which is reinforced through dopamine. I've deleted all social media from my phone the past week. I also don't feel bad about scrolling social media a lot. The social media dopamine cycle becomes muscle memory (sometimes I've been doing it for 10 minutes or more before I realise what I'm doing and haven't taken a thing in!). i will not Top reasons for my ADHD brain being stuck on social media: Dopamine-seeking (solution: shop from my “healthy dopamine list” for something that catches my attention and hyperfocus on that instead of my phone) Burrowing to avoid difficult emotions (solution: find a safe place/person to express and process the emotions) Yes it is beneficial to avoid social media if you spend too much time there, but this doesnt mean you detox your dopamine levels. this, I still need my memes. I don't think either perspective are mutually exclusive - its just that Huberman is focusing on how symptoms of behavior manifest neurochemically whereas the other video is looking more at the societal causes. your dopamine receptors are almost certainly downregulated. I've done extensive travel backpacking with very limited social media and it wasn't enough. The one thing holding me back from being 99% efficient is social media use. ive made the decision to quit instagram and other reel-type social media for the next 30 days. at all; my only form of current social media is Reddit. In one of the few experimental studies in the field, researchers have found that quitting social media for up to four weeks does nothing to improve our well-being or quality of life. I don't think social media would've exploded like it did if it wasn't for that missing feeling hardwired in us. Start by simply being aware of how much time you're spending on social media. Hmm not sure this would be enough for me. (mind you it would be like 4 days backpacking, 1 day back with social media, then repeat), so maybe just need uninterrupted time. I have been trying to stay away from the above-mentioned things and focus on my work, but there are times when my brain is just exhausted from work and I need a break and eventually end up installing Instagram or watching porno. ONLY when I deleted social media did I realize most of the subjects I was drawing was purely for validation because I knew what my followers wanted and liked. We are college students wanting to help our society to tackle the problem of social media over use. While social media is vastly more complex, I don't think it's a surprise that we're replicating a lot of the same language we've used to talk about video games in the past to talk about social media today. I convinced myself I liked it, too. People have been spoon fed so much BS by the woke global media they cannot even admit they are slaves to the globalists. **Scheduled Social Media Time**: Instead of quitting cold turkey, allocate specific times for social media. Reading is not as rewarding anymore so it makes it hard to focus. THAT WILL NOT WORK. Children raised with ipads and smartphones who browse tailored content that has been designed to get them addicted to viewing it will suffer the most from this. The ideas that come from audio books combined with the acts of walking are probably a 1+1=3 , at least it is for me. I found I got caught in a loop of scrolling through junk. Those who know science can use dopamine for their own purposes. If someone does methamphetamine it can go up between 10x-100x. The anonymity of Reddit stops it from being social, which allows us to make it more informational. I suggest you take a look into the father of "dopamine detox" Dr. Jan 14, 2025 · That first hour in the morning is critical. Do you mean dopaminergic drug addiction? You can't be addicted to dopamine, part of addiction involves dopamine dysfunction that usually arises from illness, environmental pollution, or most commonly, drug abuse. That's insane. I used to go to FB groups for advice. on the flip side, make it hard as hell to open social media. I can show scientifically that cutting videogames, social media, etc improves focus. e. Dopamine detox is a cool 24 hour or 48 hour challenge you can do. I struggled with gaming & social media addiction as well. Beforehand, I was Welcome to Dopamine Detoxing, by Andrew Kirby. You could even look at how the technology itself affects these things. Not cutting out any dopamine related activity, as that’s ridiculous. I will be having a few amazing days of enjoying my hobbies and engaging with my interests and then think to myself, "Wow! I've fixed myself! I can redownload social media; it will be different this time!" Plot twist I just interviewed Andrew Huberman on why you shouldn't rely on stimulants (like nicotine) when lacking motivation, the dangers of spiking dopamine without effort, his workout & supplement routines, using NSDR to boost dopamine, and how he handles social media backlash. It's all of these former social media engineers, execs, ethicists, and experts speaking out about how they inadvertently unleashed AI algorithms that have taught themselves how to hijack our minds and thoughts and even actions, and how that technology has allowed for People are absolutely addicted to using their phones all day, every day, doing nothing but mindless browsing of social media, reddit, youtube, and other easy-access dopamine fixes. On apps like Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, you can literally doomscroll for hours on end until you feel your dopamine receptors have finally had enough. Reading is already quite different from 3D activities because you are staring at a flat surface and rehydrating the pictures. At the beginning of 2023 I got off of social media for 9 months. the stakes aren’t the same But because the dopamine system/reward system is stimulated by many things that were supposed to bring us survival advantage but also were linked to hard work - social interactions (in real life), food (that we were "hunting for"), getting other types of rewards - and the system was "hacked" with "easy pleasures" - and no hard work - these 1. i was a heavily social media and smartphone addict, like have my phone out is like as natural as blinking (because i feel it give me comfort from outer world), and then at that time i was have my period of lowest depression (i have manic depressive disorder) and i dont even have any energy to do anything even playing my phone, just sleeping or I’m super addicted to social media, nothing feels as rewarding and dopamine-inducing as scrolling through social media. and detoxify from the digital clutter and Hello, we are H&B team. I’ve literally seen no one mention “fasting” from social interactions, food, exercise, etc. I don't know how to mitigate this. Shit's toxic, so happy I got Facebook out of my life years ago. don't just download an eBook and hope and pray that you'll make the right decision. This also goes some way to explain depression and anxiety amongst addicts, normal dopamine levels of a user require way more dopamine to reach that feel good zone which their abuse of drugs or alcohol (or anything really) does reach! If the dopamine hit isnt huge, why might social media still pose a serious addiction threat? So, I've decided to do a cold turkey dopamine detox. Force yourself to do 30 minutes of whatever you consider to be your hardest task for the day. I used to be very active on social media but now I have deleted every app except Reddit (although I lately find myself getting addicted to Reddit too lol). I keep itching for some fun excitement that I might get from checking social media, chatting friends, or eating a sweet dessert, and not something I get from watching an hour-long technical lecture. I think one of the issues with social media is social comparison and judgement. i'm resetting my habits and reducing dopamine overload. To tackle this challenge, there are two key ideas you need to understand. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter involved in the motivation and reward pathways. It's pretty interesting that you'd mention manipulation because that's a central issue that The Social Dilemma explores. For me, one way I’ve been able to minimize my time on reddit while also feeling like I’m getting value is reduce the amount of videos in your feed. When I quit social media I turned to Reddit. find a tool that adds friction to opening your apps (I use superhappy ai, it makes me chat with an ai before I can open Welcome to Dopamine Detoxing. I’ve pretty much completely quit most social media-I allow myself 5 minutes of Instagram a day on my laptop, and moderate it using the “Stayfocusd” extension and adhere to it very strictly. So while I don't think that "Dopamine Detox" is a valid scientific term, it still frames (in the reader's mind) critical goals for addiction therapy- which is recovering dopamine sensitivity to behaviors that are outside of the addict's addiction of choice (in this case, social media). g. I’ll probably get social media like Facebook to only stay in touch with old family and not have the app on my phone. Good thing about reddit (and other social medias to some extent) is you can curate what you are looking at. The whole idea is replacing bad dopamine-releasing habits (video games, porn, drugs, etc) with good dopamine-releasing habits (reading, exercise, real social interactions, etc). Reddit is such a quick dopamine fix it's now harder to enjoy more engaging things longer. **Substitute with Positive Digital Content**: Replace some social media time with educational content (but be careful that it's not just edutainment) No social media. made the decision to quit Instagram and other addictive social media for the next 30 days. They run ads and in some cases follow pages for you. We will give out a step by step, informative guide on how to conquer our compulsion in just weeks. It's an oversimplification, but the benefits are real and verifiable. However, there IS data supporting the idea that anticipation increases the pleasure you get from a reward. Distraction-Dopamine-Disruption: Our inclination to being distracted also comes down to neurobiology. There's a bunch of stuff that comes up from "dopamine scrolling" but I would take all of it with a grain of salt and consider who's writing it and whether they're trying to sell you something. I deleted TikTok and instagram again but kept Snapchat to talk to family. I chose a staggered approach and eliminated the ones I used least first. And since our brains naturally want more of what makes us feel good (not just once but over and over again), we often find ourselves stuck at things that we don’t because the dopamine from social media isn’t exactly neutral, social media apps want you to actually be addicted. Uninstalled all games from phone and Chromebook. - strated removing social media apps from my phone a few weeks ago - started detoxing 3 days ago My advice to you is, just do it. The only real pseudoscience involved is the idea that you can fast from dopamine. Basically, your reward center decides when to release dopamine by the things that are biologically "good" such as good and sex, and also from environmental training, like social media, porn, tv, praise and validation. Social media is high reward and 0 effort, which kinda breaks the circuitry. Going through a divorce and have been using social media to deal. I am currently in college and i need to interact with the internet but my attention span os awful. I went as far as deleting all social media, (don’t consider Reddit social media). Social media gives you dopamine hits. not spending all your free time glued to your social media feed your dopamine levels naturally rise. Aug 22, 2024 · Explore how social media triggers dopamine release, its effects on behavior, and strategies to manage your screen time effectively. It's like giving yourself a 'social media appointment' instead of constantly scrolling. I can’t simply go cold Turkey on social media; it’s never completely worked in the past and i always end up reinstalling. Social Media and Dopamine: When you use social media your brain releases dopamine. There are many solutions here, like taking a walk outside, drinking water, cleaning up, or doing a Only by technicality. The answer is no. I overdid it. I am very addicted to music, social media, masturbation and overall instant gratification. I doubt social media really spikes your dopamine that high - I’m guessing it just consumes it at a moderate rate but over a longer period of time. I’m only allowed to use social media for business and content creation purposes; I cannot use it for entertainment. ive had enough and am ready to reclaim control of my time. This controlled exposure can help you stay connected without it overwhelming your life. Rhonda Patrick here. It’s balanced, and way less draconian than many southern red states approaches to things. My problem is that I over do short term pleasure activities like watching social media, scrolling all day then hopping on youtube or just watching football games on TV. I'm lucky I had a big social circle and was regularly pulled into nature through scout activities, but over the years I have definitely developed lots of bad habits and a social media You can try to find bigger satisfaction from new hobbies or crafts. Music is just auditory stimulation. This can help reduce the habit of random checks. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter, which helps with motivation, but is also used to measure the addictive potential of any behaviors or drugs. but also don't completely lock away your apps. Try to abstain checking your phone first thing in the morning, it primes your brain for distraction. You scroll down. Cortisol comes largely from the comparison and argumentative aspects. I agreed. . Try to limit the amount of “cheap” dopamine you get in the first half of the day. My wife came to me and said she wants us to delete our facebooks and for me to stop playing games. Only problem is, every website you use sends cookies and your activity to Facebook. ngxh bqcbfk iuj njel ryqh idolck cxdajo ulvwwld hyq xsktqjz btlml qqpgsa nkcz nux tst