Dopamine; the Drug We Now Crave Without Realizing It

When it gets to the point where the blue light from our devices cause companies to make a pill to “counteract” it, we have to find a balance. It's kind of hard not to notice the pervasiveness of how we as people in most social settings can be oblivious to the person we came with, or the now cliche, talking to a friend while they are looking at their phone. And sometimes we just continue talking as if it is normal. It is quite possibly the strangest phenomenon in communication since the advent of communication itself.

A former vice-president for user growth at Facebook named Chamath Palihapitiya said it best, “It is literally at the point now where we are creating tools that are ripping apart the social fabric of how society works”. He explains that it is not only psychological, but physical, in that “the short-term, dopamine-driven feedback loops that we have created are destroying how society works. No civil discourse, no cooperation, misinformation, mistruth, and it’s not just an American problem; it’s not about Russian ads. This is a global problem. It is eroding the core foundations of how people behave by and between each other.” See the full interview Here on YouTube.

Don't get me wrong, I've definitely been guilty of this and I found it frustrating how it became uncontrollably habitual. It basically reduced my will to use any other app that wasn't social media related. I really had to take a step back and try to get a "50,000 foot" view by taking a break from it all. And then I thankfully found Steemit 😁!

The approach towards this topic cannot come from the typical pompous attitude that usually lacks any attempt towards exploring possible solutions. No, I hope to examine tangible reasoning on how this trend became so pervasive and possibly, or even better, how it can be reversed - one conversation at a time.

The key is really the conversation. Think about it, without real conversations, nothing would ever get done. Civilizations are built on conversations that lead to some sort of call to action. Conversely, without the conversation we could be looking at a step in the exact opposite direction which is a slow breakdown of civilization. So this topic is definitely worth looking into, and like Chamath said “important that we internalize this now, so there will be a viable future”.

The three key “takeaway” points that will help to achieve this overall goal of balance are:

1. Non-verbal communication
2. Multitasking and Brain Plasticity
3. The Lack of Reading and Empathy

Non-Verbal Communication

It's a common fact that nearly 80-90% of our communication is conveyed through non-verbal gestures. The tone in our voices regarding what we say, or "how we say it" with our body language & touch, along with eye contact; speak louder than any other form of communication. Another case in point, is when we use text as our primary platform it ensures that we are missing at least 90% of the real message. This is extremely paramount because it is safe to assume that most of our communication today (in general) is online, or in some form of text. So how much of the message are we really missing when we rely mainly on one source? By all means I am not claiming to be a behavioral scientist here, but honestly, do you really have to be one in order to put these types of connections together. It is no longer a subject of simple "memes" now because there is tangible scientific research that reveals how the misuse of social media can slowly decrease our communicative skills.

The Cognitive Science community began research specifically regarding the attention span and its connection to Multitasking and Brain Plasticity. This is an example from their research: "Cognitive scientists have discovered that our brains adapt to the tasks we regularly perform during our waking hours, an effect known as brain plasticity (Carr, 2010). In simple terms, we “train our brains” to be able to do certain things, through how we live our daily lives. People who spend much of their time, day after day, shifting attention rapidly between multiple forms of technology train their brains to only be able to focus attention in brief bursts. The consequence is that they lose ability to focus attention for long periods of time on just one task (Jackson, 2008). Not surprisingly, habitual multitaskers have grave difficulty listening, as listening requires extended attention (Carr, 2010)”, (McCornack, p.151).

With that being the case, it could seem like a grim future for competent communication. Yet, there is still hope, and it comes from the one requirement that even scientists point out as being critically vital, and that is Listening. It seems simple but active listening is a complex art, and a dying art, as multitasking increases. This wide-spread change has been gradual, but nevertheless it is a consistent change within the social dynamic of how we currently communicate.

Knowing that this change is so painfully obvious, and important (to some), it begs the question "What could be the key to tangibly addressing the loss of casual and meaningful conversations?". And how do we do it without coming off as the "know-it-all" or the pretentious type parent to even our friends, or loved ones. It turns out that the key is almost as obvious as the lock, but only when we fully learn how to train ourselves to be patient when listening, while showing empathy however possible. Yet, the lack of empathy comes from a lack of reading.

That’s a pretty strong statement, but again, there is scientific research that shows just what part of the brain deteriorates when a person stops reading, and how. We are not talking about reading quick "Facebook posts", but actual literary content that takes at least 20-30 minutes to consume. This is how instant gratification ties into the overall topic of regressive communication by means of incessant multitasking.

Online and offline communication work interchangeably as our skills progress or regress. Depending on how we "train our brains" to listen will determine how much (or how little) we are equipped to show empathy. Indeed there are rules to training the brain, yet that shouldn't be viewed as a negative, because there are also rules for not training your brain as well. Like the old saying goes “whether you think you Can, or you think you Can’t; you’re right”. It comes down to which ones will we follow as a consistent habit to gain the best end result.

Since we now know that social media giants like Facebook, Snapchat, and Twitter all focus on how to psychologically manipulate their consumers to give them that dopamine hit that keeps us coming back for that “Like” or notification; how do we overcome that type of an addiction? It is up to us as individuals to make a conscious effort to counteract it by respectfully putting the phone down when a real conversation is taking place. Also, during these conversations, we subconsciously train ourselves to be active listeners with a mind towards empathy while making sure we are not multitasking. Unless of-course we are at work 😉

Please be sure to Comment below, Upvote, and Resteemit so we can keep up the spread of positive knowledge within the Steemit Community!

Ryan @BitzOfCoins

References:
McCornack, Steven. Reflect and Relate: An Introduction to Interpersonal Communication. Bedford/St.Martins., 2012