In this episode, we dive into the addictive nature of gaming and social media with our guest Ilya Bezdelev, co-founder of Metacast and author of The Pragmatic Podcaster.

We explore our personal struggles with digital addictions, doom scrolling, constant notifications, and mobile games designed with casino-like psychological hooks. These platforms are intentionally engineered to maximize engagement at any cost, so we talk about the impact on our productivity and mental health, and share practical strategies we've used to break free from these cycles. We also talk about the search for more intentional tech use and how finding meaningful accomplishment can replace these addictive dopamine hits.

Links:

• Metacast
• The Pragmatic Podcaster
• Redit r/metacastapp