Dopamine is the feel-good chemical in our brains. It’s triggered by happy feelings of any kind.
Apparently there is something called “dopamine scrolling,” in which a person scrolls through social media to get a hit of the happiness chemical. I have been dopamine scrolling a lot lately. S asks me all the time, “Are you scrolling for your brain?” It’s a form of addiction.
But, you ask, What’s wrong with that? Only when it’s taken to extremes, such as gaming.
People who are unemployed or getting psychiatric treatment are probably the sweet spot for dopamine scrolling. Them, or adrenaline junkies. So, I’m all three.
There’s nothing really wrong with that. But it’s an insidious habit, right? Ads are even targeted at dopamine scrollers, such as for ADHD treatment apps. (I tried one. Don’t do it, not worth the money.)
It’s useful a lot of the time, but you run the risk of being labeled an attention whore if you do it too much. Probably I’m a dopamine junkie looking for the next chance to be right.
I’m also a “Questioner,” according to Gretchen Rubin, and I continually ask “why” out loud or in my head. Here’s where the dopamine hit enters, the RESEARCH rabbit hole. Whenever I (or someone) poses a question, I quickly research and get the hit of feel good from being the first to find the answer.
What’s the down side? Being called a know-it-all or pathetic?
YES, I am definitely pathetic right now, but I’m also RIGHT 😇 most of the time.
Lo Scriviti 