The dopamine hype is real.

Everyone's talking about dopamine like it's a villain: "Social media hijacks your dopamine!" "That's why you're addicted!" "Reset your dopamine!"

The problem is, almost all of this is neuromyth. The science is way more interesting.

What dopamine actually does:

Dopamine doesn't make you feel good. It makes you want things. It's about motivation and anticipation, not pleasure.

This matters because it means social media isn't hijacking your pleasure system—it's hijacking your motivation system. The difference is huge.

Here's the system that's actually broken:

Apps are designed to create a prediction error loop. They deliver inconsistent rewards, which keeps your dopamine system firing. This trains your brain to check the app again and again.

Slot machines work the same way. So does email. So does the news.

You're not weak for getting caught. Your brain is literally doing what it's designed to do when faced with these systems.

What you can actually do about it:

• Stop blaming yourself for dopamine—it's not a moral failure
• Redesign your environment so the unpredictable rewards disappear
• Notice which apps have random schedules of reinforcement (those are the trap)
• Use your understanding of dopamine to design systems that work with your brain, not against it

Dopamine isn't the villain. The system that exploits how your dopamine system works is. Once you see that system, you can change it.