Ms. Khan’s class is reading an article from a Harvard science magazine about the effects of dopamine on the human brain. 

Ms. Khan explains that, “Dopamine is a chemical made in the brain that motivates human behavior. Our brains release dopamine when we eat something tasty, when we exercise, or when we have a good social interaction.” 

“So, dopamine makes us want to hang out with our friends more so our brains will release dopamine?” Kayla asks.

“Actually, dopamine can be released with all kinds of social activities,” Ms. Khan explains, “even phone interactions with people.” 

“Makes sense to me,” responds Amir, “I feel good when I post a picture or comment and read people’s responses. Must be the dopamine!” 

“In fact, phone apps are devised specifically to take advantage of dopamine to keep you coming back,” Ms. Khan continues. “Smartphone activities provide rapid bursts of dopamine to the brain. This makes people feel happy for a short time, but then it goes away. This trains the person to keep coming back to their phone over and over again, to get more quick bursts of dopamine.” 

“In that case, dopamine actually inhibits social interactions,” Kayla says, “because my dad can’t talk to me for two minutes without checking his phone!” 

Ms. Khan showed an illustration of the smartphone loop on the board for her students.

How could the dopamine rewards from using smartphones make it harder for people to do a task that requires focus for a significant period of time? 

Does the information on dopamine support phone bans in schools or contradict bans? Why? 

Discussion Question:

Some students are asking, if smartphones are so bad, why do adults retain their own phones all day? What kind of solution would you devise if it were up to you?