Dopamine detox: Why and how you should cut down on your social media use

I have a confession to make: I may have a slight addiction to TikTok. I won’t even tell you how many hours I’ve spent scrolling through my feed…mostly because I couldn’t even count the hours if I tried. And the amount of hours is slightly embarrassing to admit. Please, don’t judge me.

There’s this trend going around that you may have heard of called a “dopamine detox.” It’s got a nice ring to it, and seems like the perfect solution to social media addiction…right? I was intrigued, so I did more digging.

So…what exactly is dopamine?

Great question! Dopamine is a type of neurotransmitter. A neurotransmitter is a chemical in the brain that helps your brain cells communicate with other brain cells and with the rest of your body. Dopamine is involved with a ton of functions in the body, including movement, attention, and pleasure.

So, that joy you get when you’re laughing at a meme or looking at beautiful videos online…that is due in part to a flood of dopamine in your brain. And dopamine also motivates you to go back to the thing that led to pleasure the first time. So this is why you find yourself repeatedly going back to the same activities, foods, and experiences that led to a rush of dopamine in the first place. And this, my friends, is why TikTok is so addicting.

Uh…what’s the problem?

Now, there’s nothing wrong with being happy! I love entertainment of all types, including social media. The problem doesn’t lie in the joy…the problem lies in the addiction. Studies suggest that at least 40% of young adults from 18-22 are addicted to social media, followed by 37% of 23-38 year olds. That’s roughly 2 out of every 5 people! Social media lights up the same parts of the brain that light up when taking addictive substances such as cocaine. Social media addiction can also lead to:

• ignoring personal/professional responsibilities
• low self-esteem
• poor mental health
• body dysmorphia
• intense life dissatisfaction
• shorter attention span (especially with short-form content platforms)

So what’s a dopamine detox?

The trend features people avoiding all things that are pleasurable for a while in the hopes of reducing their dopamine levels. The thought is that lowering dopamine will make less-stimulating things more interesting and pleasurable. It doesn’t really work like that. The name is definitely misleading…you can’t actually “detox” from dopamine. It’s not going anywhere, even if you reduce the amount of stimulation you experience.

However, there is definitely a huge benefit to reducing the amount of time spent on social media, or any other unhealthy addiction you have! You’ll reduce your dependence on it and can focus on connecting with yourself and the people around you, which is always a good thing.

How do I start?

When it comes to building healthy habits, slow and steady wins the race. Here are some suggestions for cutting back on social media.

• If you find yourself scrolling endlessly at night, try putting your device down 1-2 hours before bed. Try reading or journaling instead.
• Try to use your free time pursuing other hobbies rather than social media. For example, after work/class, try going for a walk and do your best to avoid scrolling while walking. Try listening to music, a podcast, or simply taking in your surroundings!
• Put hard limits on your screen time per day. Many social media apps have settings where you can limit the amount of time you are able to use the app each day. You can start by reducing it by 1 hour per day, and slowly continue to decrease as time goes on.
• Go cold turkey for a day. Delete all your social media apps and see how it feels. After 1 day, you can increase it to 2 days, 3 days, 1 week, 1 month…maybe even 1 year!

Let me know in the comments below what you think. Happy detoxing!