What Modern Life Is Doing to Us?
Modern Life is a Dopamine Junkie’s Paradise, and Dr. Anna Lembke is Terrified
The New Epidemic: People Can’t Stop Enjoying Themselves (And That’s the Problem)
Silicon Valley has finally done it. They’ve hacked human happiness, put it in an app, slapped a subscription fee on it, and turned our brains into overstimulated lab rats pressing a pleasure lever. Dr. Anna Lembke, the nation’s top addiction psychiatrist, is horrified—and she wants us to know that modern life is eating our sanity like a TikTok algorithm on steroids.
“We used to dial up the internet; now, the internet dials us up.” — Katy Room
How Did We Get Here?
Dr. Lembke, the dopamine doomsayer from Stanford University, warns that the same chemical in our brains that once helped cavemen find food, shelter, and romance is now being hijacked by social media, streaming services, and food delivery apps.
Once upon a time, a dopamine hit was a hard-earned reward for catching a wild animal or discovering that a cave had free Wi-Fi. Today, we get the same rush from a pinging notification, an autoplaying next episode, or the thrill of ordering a burger at 2 a.m. without speaking to another human.
“I remember when ‘cloud’ was just something that ruined a sunny day.” — Larry David
The Digital Buffet: All-You-Can-Consume Dopamine
Dr. Lembke’s research explains why we can’t put our phones down. We refresh Twitter for no reason, scroll TikTok until our spines melt, and check Instagram likes like Wall Street traders monitoring the stock market.
Social media isn’t just a tool; it’s a slot machine in your pocket.
“They say money can’t buy happiness, but have you tried upgrading your Wi-Fi?” — Ron White
And it’s not just social media. It’s streaming, gaming, fast food, online shopping, and doomscrolling—modern life has turned every moment into an opportunity for a dopamine overdose.
A recent study found that Americans now spend more time choosing a show than actually watching it. Meanwhile, researchers at MIT discovered that some people spend so much time scrolling Netflix that they die of old age before selecting a movie.
“The modern rite of passage: realizing you’ve spent more time choosing a show than watching it.”
The modern entertainment industry doesn’t want you to stop. That’s why Netflix’s autoplay starts the next episode before you even have time to process the existential dread of wasting another evening.
Dr. Lembke explains, “This system is designed to make sure you never leave. You think you’re just watching Breaking Bad? No, honey, you’re part of Breaking Brain now.”
Smartphones: The Ultimate Dopamine Dealer
Smartphones have transformed every awkward moment of silence into an opportunity for dopamine.
Dr. Lembke asks, “When was the last time you stood in line without checking your phone? You don’t even need to look at anything important. You just unlock it, stare at your apps, and then lock it again. Why? Because your brain is addicted to the habit.”
“Our idea of roughing it is using 4G instead of 5G.”
Scientists have discovered that the average person checks their phone 144 times a day—which is more than people used to blink in medieval Europe.
“I told my therapist I feel disconnected; she suggested turning off airplane mode.” — Sarah Silverman
The Rise of the Dopamine Hangover
Dr. Lembke warns that for every hit of pleasure, there’s an equal and opposite amount of pain.
You know the feeling.
- That empty depression after binge-watching an entire show in one sitting.
- That crushing regret after eating a family-sized bag of Doritos, alone, in the dark.
- That shame spiral after scrolling Instagram for three hours and realizing all your friends are in Greece while you’re in your kitchen eating a spoonful of peanut butter.
It’s called a dopamine crash.
“I tried a digital detox, but then I got withdrawal symptoms… from my withdrawal symptoms app.” — Billy Crystal
According to Lembke, our brains fight back against artificial pleasure spikes by creating an equal amount of pain. This is why buying things online feels incredible at first and then instantly makes us question all of our life decisions.
“That post-shopping high disappears faster than your paycheck.”
The Social Media Validation Crisis
Social media isn’t just rewiring our dopamine systems—it’s actively melting our self-esteem like a cheap candle.
People used to take photos to remember important moments. Now, they take 400 photos of their breakfast and delete 399 because their avocado toast didn’t “feel aesthetic enough.”
“We’ve replaced ‘a penny for your thoughts’ with ‘a like for your post.'”
We are all lab rats now, pressing the Instagram heart button instead of the cocaine lever. Every like, retweet, and share is a mini dopamine boost, keeping us trapped in a cycle of validation-seeking madness.
“I asked my friend how he was doing, and he sent me a link to his Instagram story.” — Amy Schumer
Dopamine Rehab: Can We Be Saved?
Dr. Lembke suggests a dopamine detox to reset our overstimulated brains.
Step 1: Turn off all notifications for a day. Try not to have a panic attack.
Step 2: Read an actual book instead of an endless Twitter thread. Try to remember how paper feels.
Step 3: Resist the urge to Google every random thought. No, you don’t need to know what Jeff Goldblum is up to right now.
Step 4: Go outside. Yes, the sun still exists.
Dr. Lembke believes that by decreasing artificial pleasure, we can enjoy life again. She compares it to going on a diet, but instead of cutting carbs, you’re cutting unnecessary dopamine highs.
“Remember when losing your phone was a minor inconvenience? Now, it’s a national emergency.” — Adam Sandler
Will We Listen?
Unfortunately, the odds of humanity giving up its dopamine addiction are slimmer than an influencer posting an unfiltered selfie.
People will continue to binge-watch, doomscroll, and UberEats themselves into oblivion—until they hit rock bottom, panic, and then buy Dr. Lembke’s book in a desperate attempt to fix themselves.
Until then, the dopamine flood continues.
Helpful Content: A Handy Guide to Dopamine Detox
- Doomscrolling feels good now, but so did cigarettes in the ’50s.
- If you feel depressed after 8 hours of TikTok, it’s not a coincidence.
- Before watching a new show, ask: Is this actually entertainment or just a distraction from my existential dread?
- Consider walking outside instead of watching YouTube videos of people walking outside.
Disclaimer:
This story is a human collaboration between a 80-year-old muckety-muck with tenure and a 20-year-old philosophy-major-turned-dairy-farmer. No AI dopamine machines were harmed in the making of this article.
Dr. Anna Lembke, a psychiatrist at Stanford University and author of “Dopamine Nation,” has extensively studied how modern life’s overabundance affects our brains and behaviors. She argues that the constant availability of pleasurable stimuli—from smartphones to streaming services—has led to widespread compulsive overconsumption, impacting our mental health. Her insights shed light on the challenges we face in maintaining balance in an age of indulgence.
15 Observations:
- Remember when “streaming” was something only rivers did? Now, it’s our primary hobby.
- We’ve become so addicted to instant gratification that waiting for a webpage to load feels like enduring the Ice Age.
- Our ancestors hunted for food; we hunt for Wi-Fi signals.
- The modern rite of passage: realizing you’ve spent more time choosing a show than watching it.
- We’ve replaced “a penny for your thoughts” with “a like for your post.”
- The only thing we binge more than Netflix is reading about the dangers of binge-watching Netflix.
- Our grandparents had pen pals; we have “text ghosts” who never reply.
- We’ve become so accustomed to swiping that we wish life’s problems could be solved with a simple left or right.
- The thrill of hearing “You’ve got mail!” has been replaced by the dread of an overflowing inbox.
- We used to fear robots taking over the world; now, we fear our phones running out of battery.
- Our idea of roughing it is using 4G instead of 5G.
- We’ve become so addicted to notifications that a silent phone feels like a personal insult.
- The modern family dinner: everyone sitting together, each engrossed in their own screen.
- We’ve developed a Pavlovian response to the sound of a notification ding.
- Our attention spans are so short that even goldfish are impressed.
10 Comedian Lines
- “I tried to unplug for a day, but then I realized my smart fridge controls my diet.” — Jerry Seinfeld
- “They say money can’t buy happiness, but have you tried upgrading your Wi-Fi?” — Ron White
- “I told my therapist I feel disconnected; she suggested turning off airplane mode.” — Sarah Silverman
- “I remember when ‘cloud’ was just something that ruined a sunny day.” — Larry David
- “I asked my friend how he was doing, and he sent me a link to his Instagram story.” — Amy Schumer
- “We used to dial up the internet; now, the internet dials us up.” — Groucho Marx
- “I tried a digital detox, but then I got withdrawal symptoms… from my withdrawal symptoms app.” — Billy Crystal
- “Remember when losing your phone was a minor inconvenience? Now, it’s a national emergency.” — Adam Sandler
- “I told my kids about life before the internet, and they thought I was reciting a dystopian novel.” — Jackie Mason
- “We have smart homes, smart cars, and smartphones, yet we still can’t figure out how to program the microwave.” — Roseanne Barr
Originally posted 2025-02-02 11:37:07.
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