How Excessive Screen Time and Sugary Temptations Impact Children’s Long-Term Pleasure Perceptions

During the time when my daughter was a young child, I used to joke with my husband about my phone being a “drug” for her. Merely showing it to her would result in a tantrum, much like the way she reacted to cupcakes and ice cream at birthday parties. As she grew older, her craving for cartoons on my computer became evident.

Every night, when it was time to turn off the screen and prepare for bed, I would be bombarded with a relentless stream of “But Mamas.” “But Mama, just five more minutes. But Mama, after this one show… but Mama… but Mama… but Mama.”

Given the intense reactions my daughter had towards screens and sweets, I assumed that she truly loved them. I believed that these activities brought her immense joy and pleasure. Consequently, I felt guilty about depriving her of these pleasures. (To be honest, I feel the same way about my own “addictions,” like checking social media and email more than a hundred times a day. I engage in these behaviors because they give me pleasure, don’t they?)

But what if my assumptions were incorrect? What if my daughter’s reactions were not indicative of loving these activities or foods? What if, over time, she might even develop a dislike for them despite her pleas to continue?

In recent years, neuroscientists have made strides in understanding what occurs in the brains of children (and adults) while they stream cartoons, play video games, scroll through social media, and consume sugary foods. This understanding provides valuable insights into how parents can better manage and limit these activities. Personally, I refer to this strategy as “anti-dopamine parenting” because it involves countering the effects of a tiny, potent molecule that plays a crucial role in nearly all our actions.

It turns out that smartphones and sugary foods share a common characteristic with drugs: they trigger surges of dopamine, a neurotransmitter deep inside the brain. While drugs cause more significant spikes in dopamine than activities like social media or eating an ice cream cone, these smaller spikes still have a profound influence on our behavior, especially over the long term. They shape our habits, our diets, our mental well-being, and how we spend our leisure time. Additionally, they can create conflicts between parents and children.

Dopamine is part of an ancient neural pathway essential for our survival, explains neuroscientist Anne-Noël Samaha from the University of Montreal. “These mechanisms evolved in our brain to draw us to things that are essential to our survival. So water, safety, social interactions, sex, food.”

For decades, it was believed that dopamine increased pleasure and that higher dopamine levels were associated with the sensation of “liking” and savoring pleasure. Pop psychology even dubbed dopamine the “molecule of happiness.” However, recent research has challenged this notion, suggesting that dopamine primarily generates a different feeling: desire. “Dopamine makes you want things,” says Samaha. A surge of dopamine in the brain compels you to seek out something or continue doing what you’re already doing. It’s all about motivation.

Furthermore, dopamine alerts your brain to pay close attention to whatever triggers the surge. It signifies that there’s something important to be learned from the situation. Whether you actually like the activity that elicits the dopamine surge is relatively irrelevant to dopamine itself.

Studies have shown that people can end up not enjoying activities that induce significant dopamine surges over time. “If you talk to people who spend a lot of time shopping online or going through social media, they don’t necessarily feel good after doing it,” says Samaha. “In fact, there’s a lot of evidence that it’s quite the opposite — that you end up feeling worse after than before.”

“What does this mean for your kids.