In the words of Harvard University, “Dopamine can provide an intense feeling of reward.”
Its purpose is to help us feel pleasure “as part of the brain’s reward system.”
Sounds great, right?
But what happens when something that is intended for good is, instead, manipulated for less honorable purposes?
Beware…The Dopamine Cartel is doing exactly that.
It’s a dangerous trend. J.D. Roth at Apex Money shared something a while back, and said “This topic is important enough to me that I want to spread it to as large an audience as possible.”
That “something” that he shared is the basis of today’s post. I’m in 100% agreement with J.D. that this is a topic we all need to know about. If you agree with us after reading today’s post, do us a favor and share this with a few friends you care about. We all need to be aware of the danger out there.
Beware…The Dopamine Cartel.
Dopamine is intended for good, but what happens when it gets manipulated for less honorable purposes? Beware...that's exactly what The Dopamine Cartel is doing. Share on X
Beware The Dopamine Cartel
I read a lot, but it’s rare for me to be truly, deeply, impacted by something I read.
I experienced that level of impact when I read The State of the Union by Ted Gioia at The Honest Broker. The title was misleading to me, but I was thankful I took the time to read it. I wasn’t surprised when I saw J.D. picked it and shared it on his compilation site Apex Money (if you’re not already signed up for their free daily email, do so now – it’s one of my daily “must reads”).
If you only have time to read one article this morning, stop reading my post now and read The State of the Union instead. Yes, it’s that good. I’ve pulled the key highlights from that article as the basis of today’s post.
How Addiction Is Killing Our Culture
Gioia’s premise is that our historical cultural focus on art and entertainment is being consumed by distraction (endless scrolling) and addiction (dopamine hits). Gioia lays out a strong argument that these fundamentals are changing at the fastest pace in history. He goes so far as to say “The entertainment industry is Dead,” and we’re witnessing “the birth of a post-entertainment culture” that “won’t help society at all.”
The effectiveness of distraction, according to Gioia, lies in “the key is that each stimulus only lasts a few seconds, and must be repeated.”
That’s by design.
Enter The Dopamine Cartel
The Distraction Industry is big business, as evidenced by the explosion of TikTok videos and Facebook’s strategic move to Reels. The trend is also evident with Instagram, YouTube shorts, and the expansion of video snippets on Twitter/X. It’s a profitable business and more than just a trend. In Gioia’s words, “This is more than just the hot trend of 2024. It can last forever—because it’s based on body chemistry, not fashion or aesthetics.”
The resulting dopamine hit makes us feel good, so we want to repeat the stimulus. The Dopamine Cartel has discovered the powerfully addictive ability of dopamine, and our culture is being negatively impacted as a result. Distraction has evolved into an intentional quest for neurochemical-based addiction, which Gioia summarizes well when he says:
They want to create a world of junkies—because they will be the dealers.
Addiction is the goal.
They don’t say it openly, but they don’t need to. Just look at what they do.
Everything is designed to lock users into an addictive cycle.
The executives of the tech giants know the facts. They know this addiction is harmful (as proven by countless studies showing the increased levels of depression, anxiety and suicide), but they do it anyway. “They don’t want to lose market share to the other dopamine cartel members.” Even worse, they’ve recognized that children are more easily addicted, so they’ve intentionally targeted them in their never-ending quest for market growth.
The End of Culture
“This is a new culture,” states Gioia, and “its most striking feature is the absence of Culture (capital “C”) or even mindless entertainment – both get replaced by compulsive activity.”
The most powerful graphic in the post caused me to pause when I first saw it. I suspect you’ll have a similar reaction when you realize how wide the impact of the dopamine culture has become:
The Ugly Reality of Dopamine
Gioia makes the case that we’re all test subjects in one of the largest experiments ever conducted on mankind. This race toward dominance by the dopamine cartel has had negative impacts on all of us that are just now being studied by science.
“Here’s where the science gets really ugly. The more addicts rely on these stimuli, the less pleasure they receive. At a certain point, this cycle creates anhedonia—the complete absence of enjoyment in an experience supposedly pursued for pleasure.”
Gioia points to research by Len Lantz, MD, outlined in his article The Most Important New Findings In Depression. It reveals new findings in research of depression and anhedonia, summarized well in this quote from the article:
…there is a specific, abnormal brain activation pattern that is present in people who have anhedonia, which is a key feature of major depression, and absent in those who do not. It is often the case that when patients come to me with major depression, they say, “I shouldn’t be depressed. I have a good life. If my friends or coworkers knew I was depressed, they wouldn’t understand or they would be mad at me. They think I have it made. So, why don’t I feel that way?”
Lantz defines Anhedonia as “the state of being in which a person has lost joy in life or is no longer experiencing pleasure. If you had a boil down major depression to a single symptom, it would be anhedonia.”
Lantz explains the neurochemical changes in the brain of a person with anhedonia. In short, “their brain is stuck in a negative signaling rut” which makes it impossible to overcome through willpower alone.
As I said, science is just starting to understand the negative impacts inflicted by the Dopamine Cartel, and those impacts are concerning.
The Decline of Happiness
A study published in 2023 found a correlation between loneliness and the amount of time a person spends on social media. Given that a recent study found that the average American spends 6 1/2 hours online, is it any wonder that happiness levels are declining while depression rates increase?
As the chart above shows, in 2024 the U.S. tumbled 8 spots (to #23) in the latest study from the World Happiness Report. Further, the report pointed to “Americans under 30 feeling worse about their lives” as the primary cause for the drop. Interestingly, older Americans are happier than younger ones (the reverse is true for most regions).
Given that American teens spend an average of 4.8 hours/day on social media, and knowing that research has found “a statistically significant…correlation between depressive symptoms and time spent on Social Media Sites”, it’s a reasonable conclusion that social media (and the Dopamine Cartel) have played a role in the decline of happiness in the U.S. Whether it’s correlation or causation is tough to say, but the data is what it is.
At the same time, depression rates in the USA are hitting new highs, as shown in the following chart from a recent Gallup poll.
How To Defeat The Dopamine Cartel
In reality, The Dopamine Cartel will be difficult to defeat on a societal level. On an individual level, however, there is hope. In The Science Behind Social Media Addiction and How to Break Free, numerous doctors support the existence of the neurological impacts summarized above. The article then provides three specific “Strategies to Break The Habit,” summarized below:
- Self-Binding: Creating “barriers between ourselves and social media to be mindful of the desire to consume before actually consuming.” One example is The Brick, another would be to physically put your phone in a different room to force yourself to walk to it before scrolling.
- Time-Binding: Setting time limits on your use of social media, or scheduling certain times of the day where you’ll allow yourself to go online. Dr. Lembke, author of Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence, recommends considering a month-long detox to restore natural dopamine states.
- Categorically Binding: Limiting what categories you’ll allow yourself to spend time on, or selecting a few social media accounts to delete. It also includes establishing certain rooms in your home as social media-free zones.
Other recommendations from the article include:
- Implementing a 10-minute rule, where you’ll set a timer for 10 minutes when you feel the urge to check your Twitter account and only check it when the timer goes off.
- Disabling notifications to reduce the constant stream of triggers.
- Use Freedom to create automated schedules when you’re blocked from social media channels of your choice.
In a recent Harvard article, “I Ran 4 Experiments to Break My Social Media Addiction. Here’s What Worked,” the author outlines 4 experiments and their results. Her summary from the experiment is relevant:
Today, I use Freedom to block social websites and news in the mornings nearly every day. I deleted Facebook and email from my phone, I will manually re-install them from 4pm to 5pm and then delete them again (yes, daily). I take regular 24-hour breaks. And I track my usage with RescueTime, which sends me an alert when I’ve hit 45 minutes of total “distracting” time.
Two Personal Examples Of Fighting The Cartel
My wife and I recently took a Disney Cruise with our daughter and granddaughter. We decided to keep our phones off for the entire trip (yes, we could have purchased wi-fi access). We decided to eliminate the risk of distraction, allowing us to be fully present during this special time in our 5-year-old granddaughter’s life. We didn’t even take a photo, relying instead on our daughter to be the photographer and share the pics with us after the trip (she didn’t join us in the experiment). It was a refreshing break, and we were both pleased that we took that approach. Search out a time to intentionally disconnect. It’s a useful experiment.
For a second example, I reached out to J$ from Budgets Are Sexy after I saw his Tweet below:
I asked J if he’d be willing to share what he’s learned from his challenge, and he responded with the following:
Well, after 20 days of this challenge so far I’d like to report that I’m still alive 
I have no idea what’s going on with the world these days, but hey – I’m actually LIVING IN IT! And I gotta admit, whipping it out every 13 seconds to satisfy some random question that pops up in my head has not been missed at all… I’m allowed to use my laptop so I just tell myself that I’ll look it up later, but surprise surprise – I never remember to.
- Wear a watch! Half the reason we pick up our phones is to check the time, and before we know it we’re sucked in again..
- Practice using your phone only when you’re alone. Whenever another human or friend/family comes around, hide it and devote your full attention to them! They might not reciprocate, but I guarantee they’ll notice it. When you do need to check your phone, just excuse yourself to the bathroom!
In closing, Ted Gioia wrote a follow-up to the original article to address the numerous requests for more specific guidance. In “13 Observations on Ritual,” he provides additional thoughts on using rituals to break the addiction. Since I’ve spent the majority of this article on his first post, I’ll summarize “Ritual” by stating his words that “…rituals provide an antidote to the more toxic aspects of tech-dominated society.” If you’re struggling with social media addiction, the article is worth your time.
Conclusion
I’m a retirement blogger, so why did I just dedicate an entire post to The Dopamine Cartel?
Bottom Line: Retirement can be the best time of your life, but the risk of dopamine addiction is a real threat that we all need to be aware of. After working for decades to achieve and enjoy your freedom, do you want to risk it all by letting The Dopamine Cartel fuel your addiction to a tool that negatively impacts your ability to enjoy life?
The facts are still rolling in, but there’s enough evidence now to know the real and present dangers associated with dopamine addiction.
I feel strongly enough about this topic to dedicate a post to the risks and share some ideas on what you can do about it.
I trust, after reading these words, you agree.
Your Turn: Do you know anyone who you suspect suffers from anhedonia? (I do). Do you know anyone who could benefit from reading these words (if so, please share this post with them). Finally, do you use any tricks to reduce the “urge to scroll?” Let’s chat…
Nice article. I’ve been off Facebook for years. I do have instagram but find it boring so I don’t look at it maybe every other day. I think I’ll delete it today! Never had Tik tok. We stopped all tv news and opinion shows in 2016. I still subscribe to two newspapers and I’ve been trying a new rule to only see the headlines. I try not to read the article. I haven’t missed much here either.
Based on this article I think I’ll try and leave my phone behind more. I hate those red dots and constantly try to get rid of those. It’s annoying and I need to work on that.
You didn’t mention this, but I silenced all notifications a long time ago and that’s really good. You know they are there and you dont need a beep or chime to stress you out.
Have a good one! 👍😁❤️
Jack, sounds like you’re in good shape. I wonder how many people still read “traditional” newspapers…I know the number is dwindling, and suspect their a direct correlation to the rise of the Dopamine Culture. And, for the record, I actually did mentioned silencing notifications (I know, there were a LOT of words in today’s post, I’ll forgive you for missing that sentence – wink).
Thanks, Fritz. You are always looking out for us retired (20 months now) folks. I’ll aim to implement your 2nd suggestion. “Practice using your phone only when you’re alone. Whenever another human or friend/family comes around, hide it and devote your full attention to them! ” Honestly, I do look at news updates too often and compare what multiple news sources say on a regular basis, especially about politics! Using the extra time for other more productive or spiritually enriching activities would be good.
Only using our phones when we’re alone resonated with me, too. Using someone walking into the room as a ‘trigger’ to put your phone down has been effective for me in the past week or two (I started implementing that tip as I was writing the post).
Yet another timely and relevant article Fritz. Thank you for crafting. Your article comes at the time of the arrest of the Kingpin of the Sinaloa drug cartel, El Mayo, in the US who was hoodwinked to travel to El Paso only to be arrested on drug trafficking charges. For the Dopamine Cartel, this would be similarly easy to pull off. Just send the Feds to the annual Davos conference in Switzerland and arrest them there.
I enjoy my retirement dopamine fixes spoiling grandchildren, reading a good book, traveling and touring grade schoolers at the history as a volunteer. No technology involved.
Great read Fritz, very insightful and, IMHO, spot on. Definitely worth sharing and further thought.
Thanks for the kind words, Bud. The real credit goes to Ted for the original post. The great content originated from his brain, not mine…
Great article, Fritz, thanks for sharing.
(I’ve said it before) but your website is so full of ads and pop ups, it’s almost impossible
To focus on your (great) content. This was especially frustrating today, considering the subject matter of the post. That said, I realize that your content is free, so I’m still going to keep reading it – until the pop ups and ads become too intrusive too read the and understand the information.
-More importantly: thank you for this and all the other interesting. Posts you share with us (at no cost!)
That reply reminds me of the old performance review “sandwich”…..good/bad/good…..
Apologies for the ads, Alex. For 6 years I wrote “ad free,” but the back office costs of running this blog have increased as it’s grown. My email provider alone charges $240/month (scaled pricing based on # of subscribers), and I reached the point where the costs of this hobby just became too significant to continue to offer it without ads. I hate them as much as you do. A friend of mine uses an ad blocker, may be worth installing….
Fritz, I do know my next step is to fwd your article on to some folks. I truly believe that phones/social media are addicting and we really need to limit our use of such. I actually enjoy cruises and long jet rides to decompress from their use! I also think that many of us could live better without FB and TikTok. I don’t use the latter myself. If not for family photos, I would delete FB. I try hard not to log on to it very often.
It is hard to cut down on their use….addiction is definitely a factor! I always tell people I loved visiting with folks more before everyone had a smart phone. Listening/attention is at an all time low! You know?
God bless all your readers, Steve
“Listening/attention is at an all time low! You know?”
No doubt, Steve. I’m always sad when I look around restaurants and see everyone looking at their phones instead of TALKING to each other. Thanks for sharing the article to folks who need to see it…much appreciated.
Alarming trends indeed. I think we’ve all felt this tendency and the need to assess time spent on social media vs alternatives. Like all major technology advances in history there are always negative elements. About 50K people (+/-) have been killed in automobile accidents annually over last 5 decades in US alone, yet (unless you were a buggy whip maker) we are much better off. I read the WSJ every morning for 30 yrs while working, now I get to choose what “channels” of info I pay attention too which is much more efficient. Same with other political leaning newspapers. We have more, and I think better choices now. I use Youtube and Instagram to support my hobbies – auto restoration, woodworking, welding, equestrian, home construction, DIY from a practical standpoint. So much information unavailable to me otherwise. There are so many options, if I add a channel, I have to take one away. I use Facebook for Marketplace, again to support hobbies and to buy things like shelving for the shop, sod, etc, and a few equestrian and travel groups. I have not fallen into the friends and communications trap. If I want to communicate with someone, I’ll give them a call. Time is the greatest gift in retirement IMO, just have to be smart as to how we allocate it.
“I think we’ve all felt this tendency and the need to assess time spent on social media vs alternatives.”
I certainly hope so, Allen, though I fear many are less self aware than they need to be. That said, I agree with you that the growth of these platforms has been an amazing tool for those seeking to expand a hobby of interest. Pros and cons, just like with the automobile example you provided. I love your “add one, subtract one” way of thinking…
Difficult to impossible to read your article though all the ads.
I finally gave up.
I believe I got the point and sadly agree.
See my response above to Allen. I hate them as much as you do, but reached the point where absorbing the back office costs of this “hobby” became too prohibitive to continue ad free (I did it for 6 years, do I get any Brownie Points for that?). Sorry you couldn’t get through it, that sickens my heart…
This is an excellent post Fritz. Well do e on synthesising a topic that we are all just coming to understand. Important for retirement but even more important for raising kids in a world where technology is taking over everyones life. It is like fire. A thing of good but fatal if it controls you rather than the other way around. I’m currently reading through Jonathan Haidt’s books and would encourage anyone interested in this topic to consider them.
I love the fire analogy. Thanks for adding value to the discussion…will have to add Haidt to my “to read” list, thanks for the recommendation.
Thank you for a very insightful post! I started tapering back my use of social media last month when I could tell I was mindlessly scrolling for WAY TOO long. I almost deleted all the apps but chose to limit my time first and it’s working well. Quick question: in the graphic for World Happiness, do you have any insights into why Finland and Denmark have stayed the same? Do they not use social media?… just curious, Thanks!!!
Good for you for recognizing a growing problem and addressing it head on.
As for your question about Finland/Denmark, I had the same question myself. I was actually thinking about that this morning on my walk (I do some of my best thinking while walking the dogs). I don’t have the answer to that, but think it’d be an excellent research topic now that scientists are starting to pay attention to this problem. I suspect there is something we could learn from the Scandinavians…
Hey Fritz, great article and very timely. I have noticed this trend developing for the past several years, just anecdotally with friends and family that I spend time with. It’s a scary trend in our society.
I have never had any social media accounts, and most of the time I don’t carry my phone with me during the day because I’m to busy doing stuff. I guess I have escaped the phone addiction craze inadvertently, I just never found it all that interesting. I do enjoy reading books, actual real books with pages that I know someone put a tremendous amount of effort into writing ( like your’s).
But I do think it is very sad that so many people are lost looking at their phones as the moments of their lives just march by and they are completely unaware of what is happening around them. Great post, but sadly it’s a problem that I don’t see abating in the future.
THANK YOU!!!!!
The more I learn about you 31, the more commonalities I see. I, too, tend to not carry my phone when I’m “doing stuff”, and I very much prefer “real” books to the digital alternative. Unfortunately, we’re in the minority, and I agree with you that this problem will likely be with us for the rest of our lives (and, our children’s lives). Hopefully, the increasing awareness of the problem will make a dent, but I don’t think we’ll ever defeat it entirely.
Very good information, and all valid points in my opinion.
The one thing I would take exception to is the framing of a “them” that are out to get us in an addictive conspiracy theory.
Like in most situations, I think you can find the motivation by following the money. The quick hit markets are created BY the demand. The quick hit markets do not create the demand. Marketers see that short attention things sell better, so they create more of them.
It may seem like a minor difference a first, but we do not need any more paranoia or us vs. them thinking in the world today. We are all full up, thank you.
Marketers aren’t out to get you. They are out to get your money. That is inherently what they do.
Fair point, Bryan. Markets are efficient, and the marketers are creating things that they know sell because their customers want it. That said, I do think there is some element of malevolent intent in their direct targeting of kids. Perhaps not enough to call it a conspiracy theory (which I didn’t do, but I can see how it was inferred). Point taken, thanks for bringing some balance into the discussion.
NVDA stock added value equivalent to the entire worth of BoA yesterday, what a dopamine hit! Our retirement accounts depend a lot on the cartel doing well… One thing I’ve noticed is that every generation has looked at the younger generation and said “we’re doomed,” but we’re still here. I have hope, and some amount of confidence, that people will figure things out.
As I said, there’s a lot of money being made. Worth considering the impact of those profits on civilization, though? Drug cartels make a ton of money, but I’d never invest in them due to the overwhelming negative impact of how they generate their profit. It’s not as extreme with the social media companies, but still worth spending some “brain time” on the issue, IMHO. Some folks avoid “sin stocks” for exactly that reason, perhaps we’ll see a future trend of tech stocks being viewed in a more negative light as more people become aware of the negative impact of their products. Time will tell, and something each person has to decide for themselves. Thanks for weighing in.
NVDA is down – so much for the dopamine hit… A related item – Mike Rowe podcast: The Way I Heard It #369. A conversation with Frank H McCourt, Jr. about the internet and big tech, personal data and what to do about it and his new book Our Biggest Fight.
There has been a movement in Silicon Valley for years to move to “ethical design.” The founders of the movement have asked the folks who develop apps and websites and games to make a pledge to NOT exploit their fellow humans by preying on their dopamine response. Here is an article from about 8 years ago talking about ethics and ethical design. https://medium.com/swlh/dieter-rams-ten-principles-for-good-design-the-1st-amendment-4e73111a18e4
Hi Fritz, I loved your publication today on “The Dopamine Cartel”, very interesting! I always thought the modern media was derived to indoctrinate with confirmation bias. I now assume that confirmation bias is the catalyst for The Dopamine Cartel.
“…derived to indoctrinate with confirmation bias.”
Powerful sentence, David. Thanks for adding some good “brain food” into the discussion. No doubt, the increased use of AI will certainly increase the problems of confirmation bias and folks living deeper and deeper in “The Bubble” of their choosing (or is it, really, “their” choosing? Hmmm).
Perhaps the dopamine fix lead me to click through to the source material, but note the original author titles his piece “The State of the Culture,” not “The State of the Union” as portrayed here. Perhaps he later changed his title?
Regarding the ads on this page, yes they can be irritating, but this is the price of “free” content – our ad-eyeballs. Ads can be much more irritating, such as when they partially block the content and/or require “X’ing” out of them.
J’adoube, this site does use pop-ups to block content, requiring the manual closing of those popup. Oh well.
Interesting, BlueOak. He must have changed it recently, I like the newer title better! Thanks for understanding the logic behind the (irritating) ads, they are the sole reason my content continues to be free (excluding the “cost” of irritation for the reader).
Great article, will forward to my kids…after I emerge from a National Forest 5-day backpacking trip (out of cell range!)
Um…so why are you reading my article in the woods? Haha. I’ll assume you haven’t left yet. Have a great backpacking trip – sounds wonderful!
Great post, Fritz. I guess I’m one of the few on the planet that never got hooked by social media (so I guess I don’t know what I am missing). I ‘retired’ five years ago by selling my inspection business (we did 2,500 per year with 20 employees) but I still manage a busy real estate business so I can’t (yet) put my phone down for a week or even a day. However, I don’t scroll, and grab what I need (weather, Braves score, world headlines) and leave. Ads (especially pop ups that block what I am trying to read) encourage the reduction in screen time. I prefer to get my dopamine rush from pickleball, kayaking, and mountain biking. I also still enjoy picking up the phone and calling friends and family! While texting seems to be a necessity I certainly do not prefer it over old fashion hearing someone’s voice. While the Cartel tries to shove their message down my throat, it only serves to make me throw it back up.
Thank you for sharing this important information. I’d like to share a recent podcast episode I listened to recently regarding happiness and anhedonia. The Mel Robbin’s Podcast – Episode 143 – “Want to Be Happier Right Now? Don’t Make This Mistake (New Surprising Science). It’s a discussion with Dr. Judith Joseph, MD who conducts clinical research trials at her Manhattan Behavioral Medicine institute. They discuss the concept of anhedonia at length and cover the use of social media in her findings. Worth a listen to piggyback off your info here.
If you want to continue down this rabbit hole, I HIGHLY recommend this book by MIT professor Cal Newton; Digital Minimalism. It’s a deeper dive into the science behind this “stuff” and how dangerous it can be in the hands of the unaware. Fascinating stuff.
https://www.amazon.com/Digital-Minimalism-Choosing-Focused-Noisy/dp/0525542876/ref=sr_1_2?crid=31BQ8B5AXPGZY&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.1xee33TcrZRqbh_DIPVDs0U-9DfWkVkQ2Sr79nvfbbGixZONOEtAeUb8SlxaTnzQbkFsv8kMJJydQc_BZaClYx5-Q6Bvikv2wgBgPP_06JQqB-K5fla-i558YKZDYG8z–6gFVKYDgI_hqzWxt9p1u_UibgB_4UPu8sQbudhzzf_E9fMYjEln_qXn-WOgRq1Z0RKEA7P9VWt5yXaTNiyDA_c5qr05KG_-VJ_L4nW7-g.bunR0SFsrbeW663owcxGMvfifI_KtMgYcVJliFqIAlQ&dib_tag=se&keywords=digital+minimalism+cal+newport&qid=1722532369&sprefix=digital+min%2Caps%2C95&sr=8-2
Thanks for sharing, Fritz. I appreciate your advice on limiting social media use, but I find it difficult to maintain. Instead, I recommend considering a complete discontinuation of social media. I felt uncomfortable discussing ways to reduce digital distractions while still using these platforms, so I eventually decided to stop using them altogether. I can’t tell you how much my life is improved! If enough people opt out entirely–instead of limiting use–it could lead to a significant change. What are your thoughts?
I second Newport’s Digital Minimalism.
Thanks Fritz,
Retired literature and history teacher in “last and loneliest” [Twain] Aotearoa-NewZealand. Taught journalism,
have papers in neurology, recovered gambling addict, so have discovered much of this with friends and family over the years. It’s all true, Fritz but have not seen it graphed or put so succinctly. We are all in a good community with your help and as we Irish say “God bless all here”.
Arohanui and cheers from Roy Murphy
Until a month ago, I was suffering from anhedonia. Solved it by tossing up my daily routine and putting lots of tasks on my schedule. Have been on a major roll ever since. Yay for me!
I really enjoyed this post. It was not what I was expecting from a retirement blog.
I think this problem is really easy to spot in others but it is such a subtle thing in ourselves. I know I am always telling my wife she spends too much time on her phone, but she feels she is never on it. There were a couple of games I downloaded to play while I was waiting for things but noticed a change in my attitude after playing them for a couple of days so I just deleted them and my attitude went back to normal. Technology like most things can be a great tool, but a terrible master. Unfortunately I don’t think many people realize they have become slaves to their phones.
Thanks for all the interesting posts.
Great article and unfortunately spot on in today’s culture. I recommend watching a documentary titled “The Social Dilemma” to further understand how our modern social media madness is ultimately addicting our society to its means. I hope government can step up with more restrictive legislation when it comes to children and teens, who in their formative years, are so vulnerable.
Fritz, another great article. Thanks for the highlights and definitely plan to read the original article. Already shared yours with a few close friends and family. Think Google is trying to sabotage your writing. The ads were nonstop and covering content. Was a constant non ending fight that “distracted” lol from the article. Loved everything but the ads. Looking forward to the next post.
Thanks for putting my long-standing concerns on this topic into a great article.
Those of us that remember what society was like before the arrival of Big Tech’s social media blitz (perhaps over age 40) will likely find it easier to minimize and/or shut it out completely, but those that were born into this new world will likely not be able to resist for long the need to get their social media fix.
Meanwhile our society cannot address real issues like this social media addiction to find palatable solutions because we are too busy fiddling with sideshows and distractions. As attributed to Mark Twain, “History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes. I fear that, collectively, we are Nero of ancient Rome.
I posted at 12:29 on 8/1, but I’ve had an incredible awakening since, which involves a minor point in the text referenced by Fritz, suggesting we wear a watch! The observation made by the author is that many of us tap our phone to check the time, then see messages and issues that ‘must’ be attended to. A watch totally solves that problem (unless it’s a smart watch). I dug my old $30 Timex out with the missing pin on the band, took it to my local shop that replaced it for free. One less reason to look at my phone.
Yes, I felt all the symptoms of social media addiction like anhedonia since 2009. To solve the problem, I kept deleting my FB account for a month or more many times. Presently, I am enjoying total detox from 2022 onwards, after giving the best part of more than a decade to endless scrolling of FB newsfeed. Luckily, I was into reading posts only and not into watching videos, reels, etc. Now I understand that Newspaper, Financial websites and books are much better alternatives. Tried to stop watching TV cold turkey, but not succeeded yet. Wish me luck in that endeavor, since I am going to retire shortly.