Field Notes

Should We All Be Doing Dopamine Detoxes? (I Have Concerns)


Listen Later

This week I’ve saved a worrying number of reels about dopamine detoxes.

So naturally, I decided to make it everyone else’s problem too.


From raw-dogging flights (no phone, no music, no water, no joy) to promises that cutting out dopamine will magically fix motivation, laziness, and modern life in general — dopamine has officially entered its villain era.


In this episode, I’m not trying anything yet. I’m circling the idea, poking it, and asking some basic questions first, like:


  • What actually is dopamine and why has it suddenly become the enemy?
  • Are dopamine detoxes sensible… or just dry January for your phone?
  • Is scrolling ruining our brains, or are we just terrible at stopping?
  • Why can I listen to podcasts endlessly but can’t watch a full TV episode without grabbing my phone?
  • And at what point does “self-control” turn into sitting on a plane staring at the flight map like a Victorian orphan?


I also dig into:


  • Healthy vs unhelpful dopamine (effort vs passive flooding)
  • Why modern life makes everything feel simultaneously overstimulating and boring
  • How screen culture is quietly reshaping films, TV, and attention spans
  • And whether completely removing stimulation actually helps… or just makes life grim


By the end, I set up this week’s experiment:


  • One day of doing nothing (true detox, unfortunately)
  • One day replacing scrolling with reading
  • One day watching a full film without touching my phone (pray for me)


This is Field Notes — where I test modern self-improvement ideas in real life, outside of perfect conditions, and report back honestly on what actually happens.


🎧 Friday: I’ll be back with a Field Report on whether any of this helped, or whether I just became deeply annoying to live with.


If you enjoy the show, please leave a review or subscribe.


Find me on instagram: @rosehoneymorgan


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Field NotesBy Rose Honey Morgan