Constant entertainment has led us to believe in it as the parameter for value- the exact sentiment that has let social media succeed as much as it has. We consume and consume– tiktoks, shorts, reels– the list goes on. We consume and it forces us into a sense of passivity, of compliance, of greed. We harbor a greed for pleasure, for instant gratification, and the accessibility of it all ruins us. However, this craving we encounter has biological roots. Genetic studies have linked problems with controlling impulses with multiple genes and structures, including faulty DRD4 receptors and the neurotransmitter transporter DA. But how does it work, and what does this all mean for us?

The more we consume, the more our greed grows, the more we chase that “dopamine” as it now has become known- one of the brains many messengers, involved in neural pleasure centers, associated with good mood and euphoria. We chase the feeling we attach to the content more than the content itself. We chase the feeling of coming across a tiktok you enjoy after watching countless tiktoks you forget about the next minute, as that is our little reward. We did the work by scrolling, and are now rewarded with enjoyment. Our behaviour shapes us as humans - our views and actions determine our morality, personality, but also the very structure of our brain. In a concept known as ‘neuroplasticity’, the brain modifies itself in order to respond to the constant stimuli of the outside world with synapses formed in a permanent learning process, even after our brains developed fully- leading us to remember low quality and short form content as a friend, an ally flushing our brain with pleasure. We trade our attention for mental tranquilization, and in attempting to take away the pain, we only end up creating more. We lose meaning, we lose drive, and we lose our ability to criticize. Don't think about it, shut it out, open tiktok, switch to shorts, watch videos about people you don’t truly care about in the slightest, just don't let the silence set in, don’t let yourself think. Don't let yourself feel the guilt. Don’t. Don’t. Don’t. As Ronald Ngetich wrote, “[...]physiological evidence indicated alterations in brain areas and networks implicated in learning and memory proceeds into behavioural addictions”.

These neuroplastic modifications are meaningful. When your brain is flushed with dopamine, in order to avoid a sensory overload, over time, your brain will start to undergo a process called down regulation; more dopamine secreted leads to less dopamine receptors to send dopamine evenly through the brain, leading to the need for a sustained amount of dopamine, showing how short form content can fry our neurological structure. But is all consumption then negative? After all, books and movies are also a part of the media you consume. So that’s a question only you can answer for yourself. What provides meaning to you? What helps you find fulfillment? What helps you stimulate your intelligence rather than suppress it? And most importantly, what energizes you? And whether the answer to this is books or films, it is important to remove the negativity of guilt and shame from these as long as they offer more than just cheap forgettable entertainment. And as Hosea Ballou has said, “Moderation is the key to lasting enjoyment.”

But how do you then create lasting meaning and drive? How do you find joy in life outside of consuming? How do you instill passion within yourself? You do that all by turning the tables, by creating instead of consuming. You lend parts of yourself to the world to make space within yourself, the space that had been taken over by the negativity. Creating does not just entail creating art for the world to bear witness to, but it also entails your late night ramblings in your journal. It entails holding meaningful conversations with your friends, it entails making yourself your favorite meal. Creating entails all you want it to entail, all you think brings you out of lethargy and compliance into taking control of your own destiny, not letting yourself be stifled by the greed of the attention economy. And, to end on a positive note, the brain's constant fluidity can lead to healing from an addiction to these types of media. Mostly during periods of withdrawal characterized by severe boredom, the brain will undergo upregulation. The brain will form more receptors for dopamine in response to less dopaminergic activity, which in turn, can heal an attention span. Truly, moderation is the key to pleasure and balance.