Dopamine detox is getting popular as many people are addicted to stimulating content

A ‘Dopamine detox’ pop-up store near Hongik Univ. Station in Seoul offers a ‘dopamine addiction test’. By Lee Ye-seul

"You have to leave your phone for a while to enter."

That is what staff told me when I walked into a pop-up store near Exit 9 of Hongik University Station in Seoul at around 6 p.m. on April 26. There were two conditions for entering the store: you had to take a "dopamine addiction test" and do not carry your cell phone with you into the store.

I handed over my phone to the staff and took the dopamine addiction test paper. The questionnaire consisted of 10 questions, including "I drink more than two cups of coffee a day," "I often use a cell phone during meals or downtime," and "It is impossible to live without a cell phone for a day." Each question is worth 10 points, which scores your dopamine addiction. In order to get your phone back, you need to deduct your points by carrying out "dopamine detox missions," such as Sudoku (numerical puzzle game), Find the hidden picture game, meditation, and reading, to make them zero.

About 20 customers who visited the store sat together in groups and focused on dopamine detox. A man in his 20s chatted with his friends while solving Sudoku, saying, "I think I have a bad concentration," and "Do you want to make a bet on who is going to solve it first?” A high school student wearing gym clothes sat in a cross-legged position, closed his eyes, and meditated while listening to music. Park (30), an office worker, said, "While I was here, I found myself reaching into my pockets for my cell phone. I became interested in dopamine detox because of my growing fatigue with stimulating content."

Recently, stimulating content that triggers dopamine has become popular, and the new word "dopaming" has been coined. It is a combination of dopamine, a hormone released by the body when we feel joy or pleasure, and "farming," which means to collect, and refers to the “phenomenon of pursuing only dopamine.”

While interest in dopamine has been amplified enough to be close to addiction, dopamine detox is also attracting attention as fatigue increases. The “Screen Time Challenge” is a representative example. People limit themselves to watching short-form content (short videos of one minute or less) or limit the use of cell phones.

Choi Na-young (26), who is seeking a job, began using an application that forces her to turn off her phone after a certain amount of time earlier this year. She started using it as part of the Screen Time Challenge to use a cell phone for less than three hours a day.

"I used to spend up to 11 hours a day on my phone while watching short-form videos without knowing the time went by," Choi said, adding, "I came to realize how serious the addiction was after I found myself procrastinating my work or looking at my phone with a bad posture for a long time, and even feeling pain in my body."

Kim Hee-jung (43), who works as a translator, picks up a book after work instead of her phone. "I watched short-form videos without realizing that time went by when I got off work under the excuse that I read a lot for my job, but after watching them, I felt empty," Kim said.

Kim recently joined a book club and reads about five books a month.

Marketing examples making use of dopamine detox have also emerged. A book cafe in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, banned the use of cell phones and laptops in the store, claiming to offer "healing through digital detox.” Experts analyzed, "Self-control is also becoming an item that can be purchased." Lee Eun-hee, a consumer studies professor at Inha University, said, "In an era where people cannot voluntarily disconnect from social networking services (SNS), helping people curb their cravings is also becoming a subject of marketing. When something becomes popular, it is natural to realize the side effects and look for other alternatives."

Lim Myeong-ho, a psychology professor at Dankook University, said, "In fact, not only feeling pleasure in a short period of time while watching short-form content, but also a sense of accomplishment from challenges is biologically related to the release of dopamine. It seems that consumers who are tired of stimulating content are looking for healthier ways to satisfy their dopamine needs."

※This article has undergone review by a professional translator after being translated by an AI translation tool.