Don’t Skip Your Music
I got in a car with a friend and he immediately pulled out his phone and connected to the car’s Bluetooth speakers.
“Got any songs you like?” he asked.
“Nah, you choose.”
He immediately started streaming Drake’s “God’s Plan.” 20 seconds in, he switched to “In My Feelings.” After the intro, he suddenly switched to another. Then another. Then another. Then another.
He couldn’t stop. During the entire car ride, we didn’t listen to a single full song. I don’t think we even listened to half a song.
I have the same habit too. When I go on long runs, I keep skipping songs because I want to find the song that gives me the most energy.
There is an issue with this. We’re allowing ourselves to constantly seek a new hit of pleasure by seeking novelty. Our brains have dopamine, a molecule that is released when we anticipate something new to happen. This molecule drives the incentive for humans to do anything. There were experiments where mice would refuse to eat, reproduce, and even take cocaine when dopamine was removed from their brains. We need dopamine to live, but too much is an issue.
Whenever we skip a song, we’re blasting our brains with dopamine.
According to neuroscientists, when we saturate our brains with dopamine, we not only become impatient with our lives but seek more and more stimulant activities. I’ve noticed that I get more irritated on days that skip songs when I run.
I’m not saying that skipping songs here and there will expose you to too much dopamine and damage your brain like drugs do. However, it’s the type of binging pattern that can become a habit and make someone used to getting hits and hits of novelty. But it is the start of overloading your brain with dopamine, which often leads to the craving for stronger stimulants. Beginning with songs, you might find yourself suddenly watching Youtube Shorts for hours on end or desiring to immediately leave a rather “boring” meeting (not to even mention using more potent substances for more dopamine). Also, it makes concentration very difficult. Most tasks require a strong level of focus: meaningful work comes from sitting down and thinking about one thing for a period of time. Being used to constantly seeking the next “fun thing” makes it a great challenge to stick to one thing properly.
