Protecting my attention at the dopamine carnival

AI, Coding, and Cognitive Load

• Some commenters report clear wins from AI tools (surfacing dead documentation, enabling tasks they couldn’t do before, “infinite” time savings for code snippets and logos).
• Others describe losing days to bad AI guidance, reviewing dangerously wrong code, and chasing fixes that would’ve been faster to do manually.
• A recurring “best practice” pattern: use AI for first drafts/ideas, then take over; avoid endless back-and-forth trying to get AI to perfectly fix small issues.
• Concern that offloading too many “hard nuts” to AI may atrophy problem-solving skills, akin to overusing calculators or forklifts.

Skepticism about the Article’s Cited Studies

• Multiple people challenge the headline stats (brain connectivity −50%, 8x worse recall, “reverse 10 years of decline in 2 weeks,” 19% slower with AI).
• Critiques: small samples, narrow tasks, not peer-reviewed, misframed metrics (less brain activity may mean efficiency, not “damage”).
• Some see the dopamine framing as pop-neuroscience or even “security theater”–style rhetoric for tech.

Phones, Apps, and Addiction Management

• Strong split: some liken app timers to an alcoholic’s “just one drink” rationalization and advocate deleting addictive apps outright (especially TikTok).
• Others argue phones/apps are now socially mandatory (kids’ activities on WhatsApp, events on Facebook, photos on IG), so the question is how to dip in without getting sucked into infinite scroll.
• Tactics mentioned: grey-scale displays, browser extensions to strip YouTube’s “enshittified” features, using websites instead of apps, or uninstalling to test whether a service is truly missed.

MFA, Security, and Cognitive Distraction

• Frustration that many crucial services (banks, some employers) require phone-based MFA, forcing the phone into the workspace and undermining attention.
• Alternatives discussed: FIDO/U2F tokens, smartcards, desktop/authenticator apps, password-manager-based TOTP; but some banks only allow their own proprietary app.
• Recognition that phone MFA is partly about security, partly about driving app usage and gaining a “foothold” on users’ devices.

“Brain-Growth” vs Junk Content

• Question raised: if time on the “dopamine carnival” is spent on science, blogs, or lectures, is it still harmful?
• Common view: short-form and skim-based consumption mostly yields shallow, quickly forgotten knowledge unless followed by application, reflection, or deeper study.
• Others note that even “mindless” content can spark creative ideas; often it’s enough to know concepts exist and can be revisited when needed.

Attention, Planning, and Everyday Design

• Strong resonance with the idea of designing one’s day instead of relying on raw willpower.
• An ADHD perspective: pre-planning micro-steps (e.g., self-checkout flow) dramatically improves performance; hypothesis that social media overuse may impose ADHD-like attentional costs on neurotypical people.
• Some report that laptops, not phones, are their real attention sink.

Perceived Cognitive Decline and Generational Notes

• Several report noticing more “goofy,” spaced-out behavior and ultra-short attention in everyday interactions.
• Examples: party guests zoning out mid-magic-trick, the meme-ified “Gen Z stare,” and FOMO-driven demands to “do it again” after missing something.
• Economic stress and social media are cited as likely contributors; AI is seen as a secondary factor.

Ads, Engagement, and Enshittification

• Some users genuinely like Instagram’s hyper-targeted ads and even invest in Meta because of their own high click-through rate.
• Others warn that many such products are optimized for clicks and conversion funnels, not quality—“QVC for millennials” with frequent scams or disappointments.

Tools, Gadgets, and Minimalism

• Mention of pricey “elegant” Faraday/lock boxes vs cheap Faraday bags or simply airplane mode; debate over whether expensive time-lock boxes are worth it.
• A minority advocates going all the way to dumbphones (calls/SMS only), GPS and camera as separate devices, as the only truly clean break.