In this episode, we’re exploring the science behind compulsive social media usage. In a world that’s dominated by technology and focused on providing short-term pleasure and entertainment, it’s important to understand how some software developers are intentionally using our ancient, biological reward pathways to keep us scrolling. 

In the social media world, we’re a product to be sold, and unknowingly, we’re putting ourselves up for auction.

Today, we’re diving into what dopamine is, how it works, and why we need it.  We’ll then take a look at social media and how some app developers use their understanding of reward prediction errors and variable reward schedules to manipulate our behavior. 

Then, we’ll investigate ikigai–Japan’s beautiful philosophy to help foster long-term purpose and happiness. 

Sources:

“American Happiness Hits Record Low”:

https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/02/politics/unhappiness-americans-gallup-analysis/index.html

“Controlling Your Dopamine for Motivation…”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmOF0crdyRU

“Dopamine Reward Prediction Encoding”: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4826767/

“Dopamine, Smartphones, and You”: https://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2018/dopamine-smartphones-battle-time/

“Jocko Podcast (333nd Episode): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5ApNHAPJVU

“Moai”: https://www.bluezones.com/2018/08/moai-this-tradition-is-why-okinawan-people-live-longer-better/

“The Philosophy of Ikigai”: 

https://positivepsychology.com/ikigai/

The Social Dilemma. Directed by Jeff Orlowski, Exposure Labs, 2020. Netflix, netflix.com/title/81254224. 

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