You are already in bed when you pick up your phone to reply to a message. Then you open a social media app. You watch a video, move on to the next and find a post that catches your interest. When you look at the time again, more time has passed than you realised.
Perhaps you are already tired. Perhaps you are not even particularly enjoying what you see. Even so, it is hard to put your phone down.
The next day, there is a report to start, a household task you have put off or a book you would like to read. And the question arises: “Why can I spend so much time on this and feel so little motivation to do everything else?”
The answer involves our habits, the nature of the activities and how we are feeling at that moment. Dopamine is part of this conversation, but on its own it explains less than many posts suggest.
What are we looking for when we pick up our phones?
We are not always looking for the same thing. We may want to chat, keep up with someone we care about, learn or simply enjoy ourselves. Social media can have that place in our lives too.
At other times, we are looking for a break. We are bored, anxious about a task or too tired to decide what to do next. Checking our phones takes little effort and quickly offers something new.
Compare that action with starting a presentation for work. The presentation may be important, but it requires concentration, choices and a willingness to deal with uncertainty. The outcome is still some way off. On your phone, a single swipe is enough to find something different.
That can make the choice easier in that moment. By itself, it does not mean you have lost your ability to concentrate or that you lack discipline.
It is worth asking: “What was happening before I picked up my phone?” The answer may help more than simply counting the minutes of use.
And where does dopamine come in?
Dopamine is a substance that enables communication between nerve cells. It is involved in processes related to motivation, learning and seeking rewards.
It is often presented as responsible for pleasure. However, wanting to seek something and liking what we find are different experiences.
We can feel the urge to keep searching without getting much satisfaction from each new piece of content. You may recognise that experience: you keep scrolling, but could no longer say what you are hoping to find.
This distinction helps explain why talking about “dopamine addiction” is an oversimplification. The expression does not correspond to a clinical diagnosis. Nor can we conclude, from the time spent on an app, that there is an addiction or a change in how dopamine works.
There can be patterns of use that are difficult to control and have real consequences. To understand them, it is important to consider the impact on sleep, relationships, work and the activities a person needs or enjoys.
Regaining some room to choose
Perhaps the first change does not need to be deleting every app. You can start with one specific situation you would like to change.
If you tend to stay on your phone after going to bed, try choosing where you will leave it before entering the bedroom. If notifications interrupt your work, decide which ones really need to stay on. If you open an app whenever a task becomes uncomfortable, try to identify a first step small enough to get started.
For example, instead of “I have to finish the report”, you could decide: “I am going to open the document and write down the three points I need to cover.”
It also helps to think about what you want to do with the time you regain. That might be sleeping, talking, cooking at a relaxed pace or simply resting. You do not need to turn every minute away from a screen into an exercise in productivity.
And when you spend longer than you intended on social media again, try to notice what happened. Were you tired? Avoiding a worry? In need of company? The aim is to find a helpful response, rather than add another reason to criticise yourself.
You do not need to wait until the situation becomes unbearable to seek support. If you feel that this habit is difficult to manage or is interfering with your everyday life, psychological support at Psicologias da Sofia can help you understand what keeps it going and work on changes suited to your life.
The next time you pick up your phone “just to check something”, perhaps you can pause briefly and ask: “What do I need right now?”
References
Berridge, K. C., & Robinson, T. E. (2016). Liking, wanting, and the incentive-sensitization theory of addiction. American Psychologist, 71(8), 670–679. Read the study
Robinson, T. E., & Berridge, K. C. (2025). The Incentive-Sensitization Theory of Addiction 30 Years On. Annual Review of Psychology, 76, 29–58. Read the study
