(Work in Progress)

Funded by National Geographic Society

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What motivates us? What gets us out of bed in the morning? Or maybe - what doesn’t? I started this project when I realized I was losing hours to mindless scrolling everyday - pulled along by a bombardment of media unmotivated to do anything else - yet alone get out of bed. I knew exactly how this was all by design. 

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In tech sales we would joke about being “digital drug dealers”.  You know, we’d give you a little free taste to get you hooked and coming back for more. At Apple, we strategically designed apps to maximize user engagement, retention, and time spent. Tech is the only industry - besides the illegal drug trade - to call their customers “users”. 

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A famous study gave rats with brain implants the ability to self-stimulate dopamine hits by pressing a lever. They ignored food, water, and mates, pressing endlessly until near death. Dopamine isn’t happiness or satisfaction - it is the relentless drive for more.

Our scarcity-wired brains now face a world of overabundance, flooded with unnaturally high instant dopamine from artificial sugar, synthetic drugs, and digital stimulation. We now spend more time interacting with a screen than connecting in person. Studies show teenagers spend over 8 hours on screens today with decreased attention spans and over a quarter of adults globally meeting criteria for technology addiction.

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But what does it even mean to be addicted to technology? To find out, I explored digital detox camps, internet addiction 12-step groups, and medical efforts to define technology addiction. How can we disconnect in today’s ever evolving digital world - or is this simply another step in human evolution? Does the future of human motivation truly lie in digital dopamine?​​​​

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