Digitally Hooked

Today, mental illnesses are becoming the main threat to health. A huge amount of work, nonstop stress, and a digital lifestyle with constant communication and a stream of images create extremely unpleasant conditions for the brain. We spend a lot of time scrolling through the Instagram and Facebook feed, news, films, and computer games—yet the human brain evolved in such a way that it wasn’t ready for this volume of information. That means we become even more vulnerable to anxiety and depression. But that doesn’t mean we’re powerless. The more we learn how the brain works, the sooner we understand that there are many ways to reduce the load on it, and that many of our irrational habits actually have very clear and logical explanations from the standpoint of science.

In this book, the well-known Swedish psychiatrist Anders Hansen explains what traits helped our ancestors survive in a dangerous ancient world, but now get in the way of living calmly in modern society; why smartphones have become our main source of dopamine; and what happens if you cut off this stream. © Storyside