Given the addictive potential of the machines and complaints about rigging, regulation is a step in the right direction and must protect children
3-MIN READ3-MIN ListenAlice WuAlice Wu is a political consultant and a former associate director of the Asia Pacific Media Network at UCLA. Published: 9:30am, 11 May 2026You can’t buy happiness, they say. But we “buy” dopamine fixes all the time. Just whip out the smartphone and we easily go down that rabbit hole of endless doom scrolling, falling into the addictive trap of instant gratification, chasing likes, shares, comments and followers as rewards.Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that plays a key role in our experience of pleasure, focus, reward and motivation. It propels us to put in effort, devote time and feel good about our achievements.
Before the internet, the primary way we got our dopamine fixes was through hobbies, such as exercising, reading, writing or other offline creative tasks – activities that needed sustained effort and delayed gratification. Sure, people in those “prehistoric” times probably reached for their favourite snacks for instant fixes, too. But the problem with doom scrolling is that it’s passive consumption. While minimal effort is required, it misses opportunities for deeper conversation and social engagement.
We can become addicted to activities that get dopamine flowing. While very few would call a triathlete who just can’t stop training an addict, there are quite a few obsessive pursuits that are typically shunned, especially if they’re clearly unhealthy.
