Quick pleasure has a price: Psychiatrist explains what we lose without noticing

Psychiatrist and psychodynamic psychotherapist Aušra Senkuvienė explains that the issue with readily available digital pleasure isn't solely about screens themselves, but how easily they satisfy fundamental human desires for enjoyment, connection, and temporary escape from negative feelings. This readily available gratification, often associated with dopamine, can lead to a loss of essential life skills if not managed consciously.

The brain's reward system, driven by dopamine, is highly responsive to the instant rewards offered by digital content. Dopamine, often mislabeled as the "pleasure hormone," plays a more complex role in motivation, curiosity, and anticipating rewards. Fast-changing content, unexpected stimuli, and constant updates easily capture our attention because they promise potential benefits, aligning with our brain's drive to seek rewarding experiences.

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They very easily satisfy what a person has always sought – pleasure, connection, and the opportunity to escape from unpleasant feelings, even if only for a short time.

However, Senkuvienė argues that a purely biological explanation is insufficient. She draws on psychoanalytic theory, referencing Sigmund Freud's concept of "drives", unconscious desires and impulses seeking fulfillment. These drives include the life instinct, which fuels the desire for new experiences, connection, and pleasure, and a more complex 'aggressive' drive that, rather than just being destructive, can be linked to setting boundaries, defending values, and self-preservation.

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Speaking about desires and their place in our lives, it is interesting to recall the pioneer of psychoanalysis Sigmund Freud. More than a hundred years ago, he pondered the forces acting on the human psyche and noticed that certain desires and impulses exist in the subconscious, seeking to be realized.

People naturally seek ways to satisfy these innate desires. The digital world has become a primary arena for this, offering immediate emotional experiences, excitement, and diverse encounters that often require more time, effort, and patience in real life. This ease of access can lead individuals to overlook the potential downsides, such as diminished attention spans and a reduced capacity to tolerate discomfort or delayed gratification.

Senkuvienė suggests that the constant pursuit of quick digital pleasure might be preventing individuals from engaging with deeper, more meaningful experiences that require sustained effort and emotional resilience. The ability to simply "be" with experiences that don't offer immediate rewards, a skill needed even to finish reading this article, is what may be lost in the relentless quest for instant digital satisfaction.

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This aggressive energy can be related to the ability to set boundaries, defend one's values, pursue goals, or take care of oneself, so it can be an important psychological resource, not just a destructive force.