Walk into any café in Manama, and you will see the same sight: rows of people with their heads bowed, faces illuminated by the pale glow of a smartphone.
I used to think I was different, an independent observer of this modern malaise. But then I caught my own reflection in my dark phone screen and realised I had just spent an hour mindlessly scrolling through short-form videos and adding useless gadgets to an online shopping cart.
We are living through a quiet crisis, right in the palms of our hands. Behavioural addictions – whether to social media, gaming, or the thrill of e-commerce – are reshaping our daily lives.
For a long time, I dismissed my digital habits as harmless ways to unwind. However, neuroscience tells a far more sobering story, as we heard at a recent psychiatric conference in Manama. (It did send a chill down my spine to hear that my everyday behaviour was being discussed at a psychiatric conference!)
Modern brain imaging reveals that behavioural addictions trigger the exact same neural reward pathways as substance abuse. Every time we get a ‘like’, clear a game level, or hit ‘buy now’, our brain releases a surge of dopamine. My brain cannot tell the difference between the chemical high of a physical substance and the digital rush of a notification.
Over time, the ordinary, beautiful rhythms of real life begin to feel painfully boring by comparison. We become trapped in a loop, refreshing feeds just to feel normal. The tech giants and telecom companies know this biology. They engineer their platforms for addiction, using the same psychological mechanisms that make slot machines work.
Yet, when we talk about fixing it, we resort to pure hypocrisy.
I remember a local hospital promoting a ‘Digital Detox’ weekend campaign, but it was aimed strictly at kids. Why only children? Because we adults simply aren’t ready to give up our own FOMO moments. We police the youth while remaining utterly enslaved to our own screens, terrified of missing a single email or trending topic.
To break this cycle, we need to boldly encourage radical, collective disconnection. It is a necessary movement, even if it hurts the bottom lines of major telecom corporations who profit off our continuous, hyper-stimulated data usage.
Acknowledging this shared biological DNA with substance abuse shouldn’t cause despair. It should empower us.
For me, it started with a deliberate choice to reclaim my autonomy: turning off non-essential notifications, banning screens from the dinner table, and forcing myself to sit with my own quiet thoughts.
Technology is a brilliant tool when it serves us, but a devastating master when it dictates our impulses.
It is time for us to look up, break the dopamine loop, and actively choose the richness of the physical world over the endless, empty distractions of the virtual one.
meeraresponse@gmail.com
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