Content Library Podcasts Episode 1059

Scrolling Ourselves Sick: The Hidden Cost of Constant Connection

Episode 1059 1 hr 5 min

Overview

Social media platforms are designed to hijack our brain’s reward system, keeping us hooked through endless dopamine hits. This constant stimulation fragments our attention, reshapes our behavior, and can lead to burnout, anxiety, and even addiction—especially in developing brains. The more we scroll, the more we crave quick hits of novelty, making it harder to tolerate boredom or engage in deeper, more meaningful tasks. And while adults may struggle, kids are even more vulnerable, facing emotional dysregulation and long-term brain changes. The good news? Awareness is the first step toward reclaiming agency and creating healthier boundaries in a world built for distraction.

Jonathan Haidt is a social psychologist, bestselling author, and professor at NYU’s Stern School of Business. His research focuses on the moral foundations of culture and politics, exploring why good people are divided by religion, ideology, and values. He is the author of The Happiness Hypothesis, The Righteous Mind, and The Coddling of the American Mind (co-authored with Greg Lukianoff), and has given four widely viewed TED talks. Haidt is also a co-founder of Heterodox Academy, the Constructive Dialogue Institute, and Ethical Systems—organizations that promote viewpoint diversity, constructive disagreement, and ethical leadership. Since 2018, he has turned his attention to the mental health crisis among teens and the role of social media in political polarization. His latest book, The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness, was published in 2024. In 2019, he was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Cal Newport is an associate professor of computer science at Georgetown University. In addition to researching cutting-edge technology, he also writes about the impact of these innovations on our culture. Newport is the author of six books, including Slow Productivity, Digital Minimalism, and Deep Work. His work has been featured in many publications, including the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the Economist, and he has been writing essays for his personal website (CalNewport.com) for over a decade. He has never had a social media account.Tobias Rose-Stockwell is a writer, designer, and media researcher whose work has been featured in major outlets such as The Atlantic, WIRED, NPR, the BBC, CNN, and many others. His research has been cited in the adoption of key interventions to reduce toxicity and polarization within leading tech platforms. He previously led humanitarian projects in Southeast Asia focused on civil war reconstruction efforts, work for which he was honored with an award from the 14th Dalai Lama. He lives in New York with his cat Waffles.

Full-length episodes can be found here:

How to Protect Your Child’s Mental Health from the Dangers of Social Media

How Social Media May Be Ruining Your Life

How Social Media And AI Impacts Our Mental Health: Reclaiming Our Minds And Hearts And Healing A Divided World

Sponsors

This episode is brought to you by and BIOptimizers. The Dr. Hyman Show works with a select group of sponsors to allow for ongoing production and allow it to be zero-cost to anyone who wishes to listen to and watch the podcast.

Host & Guests

Transcript

Automatically generated. Please forgive any typos or errors in the following transcript. It was generated by a third party and has not been subsequently reviewed by our team.


Cal Newport
So the more you use social media, the less you do actual real interaction and the worse and worse, ironically, your loneliness actually gets. To be on these phones all the time, that is the cognitive equivalent of junk food. These intense addictive forms of distraction have a long term effect on your cognitive health.

Dr. Mark Hyman
Before we jump into today's episode, I want to share a few ways you can go deeper on your health journey. While I wish I could work with everyone one on one, there just isn't enough time in the day. So I built several tools to help you take control of your health. If you're looking for guidance, education, and community, check out my private membership, the HymanHive, for live q and..

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Ep. 1059 - Scrolling Ourselves Sick: The Hidden Cost of Constant Connection