Kids these days spend too much time on their phones. At face value, this statement is that of a fifty-year-old wearing rose-tinted spectacles, a relic of a bygone era reaching for nostalgia to process the vast technological change of the past twenty years. Dig deeper, however, and this becomes increasingly a statement of fact and a call for us to wake up before it’s too late.
The Illusion of Free Choice
We each have the same 24 hours every day. If you earmark eight to ten for sleep and around eight for school or work, that leaves you with six to eight hours left to play with. Logic dictates that you have a free choice of what to do. However, for many young people, including myself, this is increasingly becoming an illusion.
A House of Commons committee report found that nearly 25 per cent of children and young people use their smartphones in a way that is consistent with a ‘behavioural addiction.’ I know that on days when I don’t have to get up early for anything, I now find myself naturally gravitating to X or Instagram Reels, almost zombie-like, losing track of time while lying in bed, essentially doing nothing.
It’s not just the lack of productivity that is damaging young people. Social media has been described as the ‘modern-day hypodermic needle,’ a drug that provides surges of dopamine to our brain and allows us to feel pleasure. When the dopamine hit ends, however, our brains decrease dopamine transmission below our natural baseline rate, potentially leading to chronic dopamine deficiency that will hamper our ability to experience pleasure and motivate ourselves. When mixed with other dopamine sources, this rollercoaster quickly becomes far more dangerous than initially thought. The quest for a dopamine high becomes insidious, a default rather than a decision. Even while writing this article, for example, I have found myself constantly checking my phone for any messages or notifications that might give me a quick boost, only to be disappointed when none appear.
Smart Dopamine Boosts
Dopamine is certainly not all bad. In fact, healthy levels of dopamine can provide a lot of motivation, allowing us to push through difficulties for the reward at the end. Last month, for example, I decided to participate in Movember for the second year in a row to raise money and awareness for men’s health, a cause that has become particularly close to my heart recently. But instead of running 60km over the course of the month (one kilometre for each man lost to suicide every hour), I thought I would challenge myself and run 120km instead. Having not run since last June, I was fully aware that I would be pushing my body hard. The dopamine after completing each 10k has been vital to me, and I patiently persevered, eventually smashing my target.
What my experience has taught me is that, rather than relying on harmful sources of dopamine, we need to encourage young people to take part in things that boost it safely, together with another hormone called serotonin, which is an additional natural mood stabiliser that helps limit the destructive cycle of higher highs and lower lows. These mood boosters are ridiculously easy to find, but sometimes summoning the motivation to help the body produce them can be the biggest hurdle.
Something as simple as stepping outside can lift your mood. So, why not make an effort to go for a walk every day? Laughing is another activity that can instantly lift you up. Try watching one of your favourite comedies for an hour or two and feel the tension melt. Exercise, as mentioned earlier, is one of the best ways to feel good about yourself, so ditch the excuses and find something you enjoy doing.
As a generation, we need to change how we go about life if we want to be happy and fulfilled in the long term. That means spending less time on social media and more time in the real world, starting now.
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