Biggest Dopamine Hijackers

Comment with one of your worst dopamine hijackers; something which takes over and hogs your dopamine system, and on New Years Day I'll go through the comments and rank the top ten on how many upvotes they get and edit this post with the results as well as make a new post. Maybe even make a New Years Resolution based on it!

If there are any duplicates only the one with the most upvotes will be counted. Any comments/replies which are chat or reactions will obviously be disregarded from the final count.

Results:

  1. Scrolling
  2. Someone is wrong on the Internet
  3. Phone notifications
  4. Video games
  5. Maladaptive daydreaming
  6. Unfinished projects that should be quick to finish
  7. Sleep-deprivation-induced mania
  8. Alcohol
  9. Reading internet to drown out own thoughts
  10. Expensive hobbies
81 points · 37 comments · view on lemmy.world

37 Comments

kelpie_returns@lemmy.world · 40 pts · 273d
[ removed ]
riskable@programming.dev · 33 pts · 273d (7 replies)

Someone is wrong on the Internet.

oeuf@slrpnk.net · 7 pts · 273d

Never thought of this but it so is!

SalamenceFury@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 273d

ESPECIALLY if they're wrong about something I am obsessed with.

AddLemmus@lemmy.ml · 6 pts · 272d (3 replies)

I finally became more aware of this and realise mid-response that this is nonsense. But by then I'm invested.

My solution: A file "nobody-cares.txt" where I can paste it, which feels easier than just closing the tab.

Therapist says this is a fine first idea, but by doing so, I still attribute value to this nonsense. So next step is to just discard everything I had typed. Actually feels good sometimes.

jdr@lemmy.ml · 3 pts · 272d

Post the file

huppakee@piefed.social · 2 pts · 272d

Deciding not to do something mid-way through can really be a relieve, but i also have to make an active decision to disregard it. Usually the thought that pushes me from 'i really have to do this' to 'i don't have to do this really' is along the lines of 'i deserve my time of energy for something better then this'. As you say, the words only seem valuable because i attributed value to it in the first place.

ScoffingLizard@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 2 pts · 271d

I am doing this immediately. Thanks for sharing.

pugnaciousfarter@literature.cafe · 4 pts · 267d

Being banned from reddit was one of the best things to ever happen to me. So, I second.

moondoggie@lemmy.world · 29 pts · 273d

Phone notifications.

I pick up my phone to look up that guy who was in the thing with the blonde dude, turn the phone on, and there’s a notification. “Better check it now since I might forget it after I look this up.”

Forty-three minutes later, I finally put the phone down.

A few minutes later I remember I was going to look up that guy who was in the thing with the blonde dude. “Fucking hell.” I turn the phone on, and there’s a notification. “Better check it now since I might forget it after I look this up.”

Eighty-two minutes later, I finally put the phone down.

A few minutes later I remember I was going to look up that guy who was in the thing with the blonde dude. “Fucking hell.” I turn the phone on, and there’s a notification. “Better check it now since I might forget it after I look this up.”

superduperpirate@lemmy.world · 28 pts · 273d (3 replies)

Video games

massive_bereavement@fedia.io · 23 pts · 273d (2 replies)

My experience from my side of the fence (I'm dual class), is that some games will charge me and entertain me to a degree and in 30 to 60 mins I'll be done and ready to do something else.

However the Rimworlds, Minecrafts, Factorios of this world will chain me and when I realize it six hours have passed by.

QuantumStorm@lemmy.world · 11 pts · 273d (1 reply)

Stellaris is like this for me.

massive_bereavement@fedia.io · 8 pts · 273d

Oh yes, and Civilization.

AnarchoEngineer@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 17 pts · 273d (1 reply)

Maladaptive Daydreaming. It’s very hard to stop once a dramatic or interesting storyline/plot has started to form.

For anyone else who might have these, adderall seems to help. Idk why, but I seem much less likely to have them or compulsively keep them going when I’ve taken my meds

pm_me_your_puppies@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 6 pts · 272d

It's wild that there's so much more research and knowledge about the things my ADHD brain experienced growing up. I'm in my 30s now and don't daydream quite as much, but when I was a kid I would daydream for hours. Car rides I'd pretend I was a skater kid jumping over all the obstacles. I'd lie awake for hours at night daydreaming about my crush, going on dates, etc.

Of course I didn't know it was ADHD then, but man I sure feel validated.

GlenRambo@jlai.lu · 17 pts · 273d (3 replies)

on New Years Day I'll go through the comments

and rank the top ten on how many upvotes they get

and edit this post with the results

as well as make a new post.

Maybe even make a New Years Resolution based on it!

Sure bud. Just like how I'll save this post and definitely remember to go back and look at it.

To answer the question, and sure it counts, but on Vvaynce it's cleaning. I feel like I understand the meth heads now. Except why do they never end up with a clean place.

oeuf@slrpnk.net · 19 pts · 273d (2 replies)

Sure bud. Just like how I’ll save this post and definitely remember to go back and look at it.

The great thing about over-promising here is that nobody will remember to hold me accountable for it.

SirSamuel@lemmy.world · 10 pts · 273d (1 reply)

pugnaciousfarter@literature.cafe · 1 pts · 267d

What's a jib?

SpikesOtherDog@ani.social · 14 pts · 273d

It's any unfinished project that I can probably finish in about 20 minutes. Just 20 more minutes. Don't worry, I'm almost done.

sharkfucker420@lemmy.ml · 13 pts · 273d

This is a weird one maybe but not sleeping. There is a sort of mania that comes from sleep deprevation which can be so satisfying but this isn't exactly hijacking my dopamine system in the way I think you mean. More close to what you were wanting is short form content like tiktok. I just don't use them anymore because of it.

jdr@lemmy.ml · 13 pts · 272d

Reading internet to drown out own thoughts

oeuf@slrpnk.net · 12 pts · 273d

Alcohol

AreaKode@lemmy.world · 10 pts · 273d (1 reply)

Expensive hobbies.

18107@aussie.zone · 6 pts · 273d

Plural. Because a singular hobby only works for a short time.

SirSamuel@lemmy.world · 9 pts · 273d (3 replies)

World building for the game I run.

Instead of, you know, actually preparing enemy NPC stat blocks, or maps, or writing dialogue, or making sure combat will be balanced and not a TPK.

World building is fun

NelDel@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 4 pts · 273d (2 replies)

Omg same!! I used to call it D&D brain, literally sends me into a timewarp for hours at a time

SirSamuel@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 273d (1 reply)

One of my messages to the group was essentially: "I set aside time today to write dialogue and plot points. Here is a detailed map of the city I made instead"

NelDel@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 3 pts · 272d

"Hey y'all I didn't prep combat but here's a 4,000 word document about a city in a continent you're never going to visit."

SalamenceFury@lemmy.world · 8 pts · 273d

Someone being completely wrong about something I'm autistic about.

sad_detective_man@sopuli.xyz · 8 pts · 273d

Going through pages and pages of nexusmods creating a build of a game I don't even think I like anymore but never seem to run out of work I can do on it

ScoffingLizard@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 8 pts · 271d

My phone. Please send help.

Rhynoplaz@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 273d

Discovering a good show with MANY seasons.

thedeadwalking4242@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 272d

Thinking about thinking idk sounds weird but I'm obsessed with managing my own thoughts

pugnaciousfarter@literature.cafe · 2 pts · 267d

Hey @oeuf@slrpnk.net , it's new years. Now get to it.

If you do it, I'll do it for my recent post as well.

https://literature.cafe/post/27067980

kelpie_returns@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 266d (1 reply)
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oeuf@slrpnk.net · 1 pts · 265d

Wooop! I guess your prize is knowing that your honesty helped everyone to recognise something about their lives that they are not crazy and alone struggling with. It certainly gives me encouragement to stop scrolling so much :)

sem@piefed.blahaj.zone · 1 pts · 267d

Most of mine are taken but I will say https://marple.itch.io/orb-of-creation

Also on steam.