Article Summary:
The article discusses how the abundance and convenience of modern life is making us less happy. Psychiatrist Dr. Anna Lembke argues that our brains are wired to constantly seek stimulation, and the never-ending stream of content and activities available through technology is fueling addictions.
Lembke has seen a rise in “digital drug” addictions in her practice, where patients become trapped in a “trancelike state” and lose track of time. In the early 2000s, she saw a spike in prescription opioid addiction, followed by issues like internet pornography, video game, and social media addictions in the following years.
The author’s own experience reflects these trends – while they’ve found success in addressing alcoholism and obesity, other compulsive behaviors like online shopping have emerged. Lembke notes this is a common dynamic, as people swap one “drug of choice” for another when access is restricted.
Defining addiction as the continued compulsive use of a substance or behavior despite harm, Lembke explains there is no definitive test – diagnosis relies on patterns of problematic behavior. The abundance of modern life presents an ongoing challenge, as balancing these temptations is a struggle for everyone.
While scientific and cultural shifts offer some hope, the text paints a sobering picture of the rising tide of behavioral addictions fueled by our technology-saturated world. Lembke’s clinical insights underscore how profoundly our brains and behaviors are being reshaped by the constant availability of stimulation.
Article Excerpt:
We live at a time when everything is available at every moment. Just on your phone, you can order lunch, bet on sports, read this story, watch porn, chat with a friend, chat with a stranger, chat with a large language model or buy a car. Dr. Anna Lembke says that all that convenience and abundance is making us less happy, and there is plenty of research to back her up: In the developed world, we are lonelier, more anxious and more depressed than ever.
Lembke is a psychiatrist who works at Stanford University’s Addiction Medicine Dual Diagnosis Clinic, where she sees patients dealing with all sorts of addictions, from opioids and alcohol to what she calls “digital drugs” that, she says, put us in a “trancelike state where we lose track of time.” In her best-selling book, “Dopamine Nation,” about the science behind addiction, Lembke argues that our brains are wired to constantly seek stimulation, and that modern life, with its never-ending stream of content and stuff, makes it nearly impossible to fight that urge.