if it wasn't for this channel, I wouldn't have started bodybuilding months ago

I remember feeling sorry for my father in his later years as I watched him sit on his sofa and aimlessly cycle through the channels on his TV without really watching anything. Then I realized that that's what everyone in my generation, and the one that has followed it, is doing with the internet. Except that on TV, even the best cable package only gives you a few hundred channels, while the internet is literally limitless.

dopamine brought me here.

I'm addicted to KZfaq

These videos are literally changing my life

you are my new School of hope

Did anyone else get completely freaked out at 12:20? Several minutes later and I'm still startled

You set a high standard for education on youtube... im optimistic about our our children's success with such accessible and valuable information at hand. Thanks WIL

11:01 "light goes on, push lever: maybe get reward, you get a much higher dopamine rise", that sounds exactly like betting addiction.

Stop reading, scroll back up,pay attention to the video. And when it finishes turn your device off

I should study for my exam in biological psychology, but instead I'm watching KZfaq-videos and feeding my internet addiction. But at the same time I'm studying for my exam, because how addiction works is an essential part of the exam and you're explaining it to me in the best way possible. So thank you for being my dealer and professor at the same time, I guess. But seriously, great work! I'll let the smartphone rest now and get to work, for real. Prefrontral Cortex, do your thing.

i like watching 20 minute science videos on the internet, i never use use social media. but i love the feeling of learning something. I have senioritis right now and spend more time researching hobby topics as opposed to my science/mathless school studies. I used to have my self wired to do work no matter what but my ability to perform such functions feels very reduced.

I realized I was stuck in this very strong dopamine addiction of the internet, over time I kept consciously cutting out apps. My youtube recommended is now so focused on helpful informative videos. It's like I'm addicted to learning very useful things constantly. It's fantastic.

Ironically I discovered this video while scrolling down on the KZfaq's feed

I think what makes internet addiction much more sinister than drug addictions is that almost all members of certain industrialized societies frequently use the internet, and are being harmed by it to a greater or lesser degree. What this means is that the entire group can change. They all get slightly less enjoyment out of life and out of interactions with each other. They may achieve less as a group, or be more accepting of lazyness and hedonism. Values might even change to normalize something inherently destructive. These interactions between addicted grouo members are reciprocated to create a sort of feedback loop. When someone (like us watching this vid) decides they dont want to partake in this damaging behaviour, it is incredibly difficult to escape or to get help, since the pathological has become the normal. And as the vid stated, the internet definitely has its perks, but the line between the beneficial and the harmful is so blurred. Also, so much of our social engagement is based on internet media that removing ourselves from it would be equivalent to social suicide. What's worse, being in a tribe that stabs themselves in the eyes, or being banished from the tribe altogether? If anyone has something to add or if you disagree, please answer this comment! Also you might like to check out the organisation humane tech.

I've been thinking about getting rid of my cell phone for this reason. I find if I don't have a portable device, it's much less addictive when it's not constantly in your reach, and I mean you get addicted to things because they're good but sometimes there's such a thing as too much of a good thing. there's much more fulfilling things to do then checking your phone and it seems to be a distraction that keeps you from getting what will really be fulfilling. friends, relationships, hobbies, family ect. I don't think anyone who scrolls through their phone for hours a day is actually happy

That @12:23 glitch was scary

I needed to hear this. It helped cement my target of having control of my actions and behavior to push my mind and body to the point of awareness and discipline. To steer myself in a fulfilling purposeful way and stop caving to the addictive tendencies i've always battled. Knowledge is what will guide me to break past my own internal barriers. thank you

Probably one of the most entertaining, and educational channels on the Tube. Thanks for all that you do ;) What channels do you watch?

Now I understand why the pipe-smoking Zen master threw his pipe away as soon as he really started to enjoy the tobacco habit. Never understood that one before! My favorite dopamine story: my cousin, who was addicted to cocaine, moved in with me to escape the police. He got off dope and threw his gun in the ocean. He went from selling cocaine to working in Burger King, witch he hated. He would complain that he missed the coke, and hated his job. So one day, to please him, I took him to Burger King on his day off and drove around the back, and gave him a smoke grenade I was saving, and told him to chuck it up on the roof. He did, and we drove off a short distance and parked to watch the mayhem. A huge volume of smoke enveloped the roof, and got sucked inside too by the ventilation system. Then the smoke fell over the sides like a waterfall, covering the whole building. People ran outside, panicking. We were both delighted: dopamine high! So I said, "That's as good as a good line of coke, isn't it?" And he was like, "Yeah!" and the only problem was, that we couldn't do it every day. He's in jail now...

I get a dopamine surge everytime I get a notification of a new video from this channel, keep your work fam 💓

Every one of your videos are inspiring me to become a better person. I find it really hard to increase my confidence and willpower, but every video you make makes me feel like it's a worthy goal. Keep up the good work.

As someone who has tried cocaine quite a number of times, I can definitely relate to how dopamine is described here. Not in the sense that I crave the drug afterwards, but in the sense that while I'm on the drug and lots of dopamine is released, I just feel extremely motivated to do whatever I'm engaged in, which will usually be something social. If I'm in a conversation, the conversation will seem much more interesting and worthwhile to do than otherwise, and so I just feel very engaged in everything I do.

I totally understand the points in this video, especially about drug addiction having a couple members within my own family with a habit. You'll also notice in them a higher level of irritability which denotes an overall lack of patience with anything proven to be difficult. I use to have and in ways perhaps still have a internet addiction. There are times I catch myself on my phone too much when I should be attending to something more important. I'm glad for this video because it educates me on understanding the intericates of that problem and how in the long term I can strength my character. However, I have this nasty habit of picking my chin hair. A new habit which has formed whenever I put all other distractions to the side which proves to me the brain will try all means of finding pleasure in the most unfavorable habits.

Would "rehabbing" your internet addiction make your dopamine receptors "come back" ?

As a teacher, I have a sneaking suspicion that prolonged exposure to the internet addiction dopamine loop may have something to do with more students being diagnosed with ADD. I had the internet when I was a child but not with the level of ease that social media platforms and time waster sites have established now. It would make a lot of sense if spending multiple hours a day being presented with novel material leads to becoming more easily bored when having to sit still and do meaningful work in the classroom.

Anybody else scrolling the comments on this video while watching this video even tho they're actually fascinated by the video, and then feeling super shitty about their own willpower and distractability

Can you make a video to show how you use, daily, all the knowledge that you manage to acquire? Sometimes we stumble upon a powerful article or video, it helps us during the time we are struggling with the problem, then when we are feeling good we let go of the good habits - and you forget which tool helped you get better in the first place.

Yeah it literally feels sometimes that there are SEVERAL me's inside my brain, all arguing to get me do some things. It's like, the brain is several person together, who each have to convince others that what they suggest should be done..

Just seeing a video from What i`ve learned in my notifications causes me to feel more responsible and productive, they should do a study on that!

I learned more about my opiate addiction from this than I did my internet addiction, further empowering me to continue my detox. Thanks! The novelty bit is also interesting. As a former "psychonaut" who read a lot of Terrence McKenna, I decided quite young to place a high value on novelty and pursue it as much as possible. It can lend well to hedonism, that's for sure. I also fasted for a week for the first time in over a decade after watching your fasting videos not long ago. Love your channel!

I'm addicted to internet basically. KZfaq, Netflix,Social Media. On days when I'm bz I might not even touch my phone that much. But on days when I'm not, I get hooked. And end up getting a headache. It even helps with my procrastination. I wish to use it more mindfully for the betterment of me.

This was really informative, but I do think you missed one important point which is: Narcissism, especially on social media. It doesn't really involve receiving new information, more like checking on the same post/picture again and again, seeing the number of likes go up and up. The like-economy is real, there are many sites which offer hundreds of fake social media likes for a fee.

Incredible video. Hats off to you. Keep them coming. My cue to check the internet at this point only activates when you upload. So informative and simple to understand. Thank you

I'm a recovering addict..this info is not only spot on it's profound.. in rehab we learned about dopamine and I'll tell you it was pushed as a pleasure chemical or reward chemical as opposed to a wanting chemical and the explanation here makes perfect sense in all it's Criterium fantastic now I've got to go save my daughter who stays in her room all the time on the internet and seems bored with anything else

I went down the right rabbit hole.

I gave up Facebook for a month. Ended up getting a new job, relearned Guitar and figuring out how to ride my short board. Thanks for the info!

This was very insightful and helpful for my research paper. Thank you.

This is the best channel on KZfaq. Im not wasting my life watching these videos.

Really love this channel. It's simultaneously educational, entertaining, and easy to mentally digest. Aside from the supplemental juxtaposition of modern visuals, I also love the way you often wrap up your piece by referring to whatever anecdote with which you began. Now, anytime I pull out that glass and plastic crack rock of a light box living in my purse, I'm gonna be thinking of that phrase, "metal rod through the head".

8:15 this ia freaky. I don't get as much pleaaure from internet binging yet I still crave it and I could apend a whole day trying to make it give mw pleasure. I don't really like bread and nutella anymore yet I crave it and it would be strong enough that I just eat a bread slice with nutella and then go "Ugh. Wasn't even that tasty at all." and despite knowing that, crave it again amd cave in again.

This is very interesting.... This means if the reward ssytem is good enough, we can addict ourselves to studying?

It's been awesome watching your confidence as a narrator and your editing style develop over your videos! Thanks for making awesome content.

I've been loving the videos man. Pretty awesome seeing you include Dr. Berridge's work. I happened to have worked in his lab during my undergrad studies, diving into these exact topics. Immensely intelligent and nice guy to work with.

12:20 audio scrambled. Just a heads-up :)

YOU ARE CHANGING MY LIFE.

I was here when he was at below 10k subs and a happy he has grown I learnt the most important things from him

I keep trying to get my friends to watch these videos and when I explain to them what they are about they get aggravated and immediately try to change the subject. A few weeks ago I quit using a smart phone and have drastically reduced my screen time where as before I essentially went entire days looking at screens. Wake up and then check phone. Weather, texts, emails, cat videos, twitter. Open up youtube on the taptop or TV in the living room and follow some yoga videos or just relax with music videos or podcasts while I do my regular routine. The 45 minute drive to school or work typically includes listening to a podcast and I hate to admit it, checking emails and texting people. Get to school, play on the laptop, browse on the smartphone or continue the podcasts until class starts. During class I constantly had this feeling of HAVING to check my phone even though I know its rude and CAN wait until a break or after class. Get to work after class. Hope on the computer at work, kill about 15 minutes reading some blogs then start working. I work as an electrical tech for a company the programs Automation and Robotics. Throughout my work day CONSTANT checking of the phone. Phantom rings and SHITLOADS of time wasted texting and just dicking around on the internet while I should have been working. Became very hard to focus at work and my performance began to slip. Almost lost Volvo, the FUCKING VOLVO CORPORATION, as a client, that brings BIG money to our small business, because of some shoddy work I did most likely as a result of me being distracted at work. In fact I know it is. I'll admit I fucked up and didn't do as well as I wanted because I was on my phone and wanting to get home to watch Westworld rather than excel at what makes me money. I was fucking weak. Leave work, same shit on the drive home as it is on the drive there. ANyway, get home. Make food while a podcast or music plays. Watch TV while I eat. Think about doing homework or study. Brains fights... Fights.... Loses to the TV and three episodes of westworld in and its bedtime... STill havent studied or done homework. FUCK. Say I'll do it tomorrow. Never do it. Failed school and almost got fired. That was my typical day. I don't blame smart phones or the tech around me that pulls my attention away from them because I know it's my lack of will and effort that put me in the position but I can't help but KNOW i was addicted to the screens. But having this knowledge gave me the push I needed to make changes. I'm two weeks without a smart phone and I've NEVER! Not in 5 years of having the damn thing felt this connected with my own mind body and soul. And when I tell people this they brush it off and tell me Im stupid for believing smartphones had such dominion over my success and attention. I create more. I pay attention to work. My boss has noticed a difference. I havn't told him of my tech fast but he has still observed an increase in my effort and has commended me for it. I'm learning a new instrument at a rate which I never did before and I just feel so much happier now that I don't have some device vying for my attention every second of every day. Could I have kept the smartphone and just limited my time with it? Of course! But I wanted to see what life was like without the damn thing since I haven't gone more than a few days without it in 5 years. I like the me without the screens. Thank you for these videos.

Can you make a video about ADHD and ADD? Including the new research about ADHD/ADD brain scans?

My attention span is so shot from using the internet that I couldn't even get thought this video. SMH.

Great video as always. I like that you choose important topics that are not usually talked about and you cover them in a detailed yet easy to understand manner based on scientific research.

this is literally one of the best videos of this kind I have ever watched.

12:20 - 12:23 Was that intentional or am I just hearing things(?

Irony: the use of youtube to find a cure for using youtube. Or is that just recursion? (Thank you for making a well-posed and researched argument for re-evaluating this noxious habit :-)

expecting this video really dropped my productivity levels. It finally drops👌👌👌

Thank you, explained in a very clear and useful manner. No distractions like pointless music either, which seems to be the norm in many other useless videos. Yours on the other hand go straight to the point. Remarkable achievement. I hope your channel grows more and more. Thumb up. 😁👍

A formula to summerize this video: ACTION = NOVELTY × MOTIVATION - EFFORT.

I love you. You're the channel I wish I was.

Thanks for these videos. For someone who is coming off a bad patch of life, this is like a road map. And I appreciate that it's not the standard motivational crap, where everything is "Awesome!" Keep it up.

I really enjoy your content. I have felt I’ve gained so much knowledge by watching your videos. You’ve given me so many books and research papers to read. I just wanted to say thank you for taking time and work out of you life to create these.

And you've taught me so much about myself. Thank you.

Im procrastinating on my 12k word dissertation by watching this

Never miss a video on this channel. Btw, it's amazing how almost any concept can be explained using a Simpsons analogy!

people able to watch his full videos are already motivated.

you put some damn fine novelty in these vids

I wouldn't say social media is addictive because of new information, I think it's more to do with forgetting that you and your "problems" exist (boredom, work, sadness, anger etc.)

Honestly I felt the knowledge of the human body that I have gained from watching all your videos is far more then all the school years I have learned, thank you for all your works 😃also I am addicted to your videos now

This video was enough to make me spend the last 4 hours reading about how to configure my phone to minimize time-suck, and implementing it. AMAZING.

I have anxiety. Every time I feel distress, I go to KZfaq, 9gag or play a game. Say, I decided to cut those "fixes". How do I get rid of the anxiety/distress attack then?

Right after watching this video I'm scrolling through the comments which is exactly the type of thing he said triggers dopamine activity 😂

I keep coming back to this video. It's is so vitally important to responsibly surf the internet.

Hey you your goals r greater than instant gratification....go follow your heart control your mind ...I will see you when you have achieved your goal don't scroll down don't use any apps ....

i think its pretty incredible that humans are self writing computers.

This video gave me instant gratification 🤣

Of all my subscriptions, this channel is one hell of a hidden gem. You are doing society a favor sir.

Wow! You have just made me realise how much I am addicted and why I have lost my will power to study! I'm starting a bach in physics in about a month and I know I have to regain that will power. Seriously, starting now, I will starve myself from facebook, youtube and games and only come back to this comment section in a month to tell how I changed and feel. So wish me luck because that won't be easy at all!

This should be the last video I ever click on for novelty value.

this should be on TV

This is the most important video on the internet, hands down !!! Thank you for the lucid explanation.

It is a great gift to remember the world before internet, I am old enough to remember and People were totally different. Not that they were great but much more independent and self aware.

I was gona go run a 10k, but then I ran into this guys channel...

Is it possible to "train" the Heart Rate Variability (HRV) ? I mean, could we use our addictions (food, internet, porn, coffee, cigarettes...) as a way to improve our HRV and, as a consequence, improve our ability to be in control of our own lives (= giving more power to our prefrontal cortex). The training should look like this : for exemple, if I love cookies, I'm used to open a box and eat them all in one stand (compulsive behaviour). If I deliberately open the box, eat only 1 cookie and then stop for the next few hours, will it increase my HRV in the long run ?

Dude that’s so true, when I was in middle school before having social media I could read a whole 300 page book in one day with no interruptions and now I still read but even on sundays where I’m at home the whole day, I can’t read a book more than 30 mins before I want to check what’s on KZfaq or see if someone interesting posted on Instagram.

Oh my goodness! This really helps me explain my addictive patterns! Recently I quit sugar for a week and then had a big dessert. After the big dessert I did nothing but stay up way late watching youtube videos. After that spike in dopamine my body wasn't just prone to being addicted to sugar but all dopamine sources! Thanks for your work what i've learned!

Just wondering but what is your take on nootropics?

24 people refuse to admit they are procrastinating

Tis by far the most eloquent approach I've seen to this critical subject. Should be taught at school ASAP

Dude i'm simply in love with your channel from 3 videos!!

No wonder slot machines have ruined more lives than drugs. That dopamine spike before the pull of the lever!!

If I weren't (at least somewhat) addicted to the internet I never would have seen this video.

Our digital society seems to be a gift disguised as a curse but still wrapped up to be a gift. Let me explain... The Internet can definitely promote immediate gratification, lack of concentration, no focus, lazyness, zero willpower etc. Everyone can agree. BUT it can also be the greatest tool at our disposal for conditioning those same traits. If you can't control your behavior then you'll surely give in. On the other hand, enforce more self-discipline and you'll be more conditioned to be uninfluenced by these distractions. A gift seeming to be a curse turning out to still be a gift.

You me out a lot through this video, understanding how i waste my time not being productive has been incredibly helpful. Thank you for making such high quality videos.

Remember when our phones were actually...well...phones?

Explains my entire relationship with adderall.

Man, this channel only gets better. Thanks so much for what you do man!

Excellent video. I know it takes a lot to pull scientific sources together, so I really appreciate you basing your video of actual scientific research.

What about drug addicts who were amazing musicians

7:07 I saw pubic hair.

I'm getting so many paper ideas from this video. Thank you!

Not done watching the video, but the show you pulled the heroin addict clips from was awesome. Also I really enjoy your channel, and the information gained, thank you for putting out content.