The perfect practice for the Age Of Narcissism.
43
It’s call it The Sabbath for a reason
19
Sorry , boomer here. This seems like the silliest contrivance ever . Mindfulness teaches us to be present . This “fast” tells folks to cut off from life and from others in order to get a rush later . Saddest paragraph is the last : ““I hadn’t seen her in six months, and it was extraordinarily exciting, super-stimulating, and I could feel how excited I was,” he said. “So I had to cut it off and I just said, ‘Listen, it’s not you, it’s me, doing this dopamine fast.’”
35
How about put your energy in improving other people's lives. Now there's a novel idea. Go out and help out in the kitchen. It's not all about you.
41
Nothing new here. The ancient Stoics were doing this thousands of years ago.
10
Anything done to such an extreme would be far more productive and lasting when done in moderation. This fad seems like an over reach from well intentioned, but misdirected emerging adults.
No doubt there is a dopamine overload, but cold turkey purging dismisses what dopamine is meant to be for a body which can regulate without such extreme behaviour.
10
This is the exact reason SF has become a joke to many.
I PROMISE the majority of us living in the Bay Area don't run around this oblivious and dismissive of our own privilege.
46
Perfect way to spend the day after Thanksgiving...a dopamine fast, the anti- Black Friday.
9
Maybe the thing these two guys are really addicted to is starting companies and publicizing them.
34
This story is so profoundly unimportant and uninteresting. There is no trusted body of evidence to support the concept of dopamine fasting. Further, meditation is not a new practice, and the fact that a group of privilege tech bros are creating a poor facsimile of it is not newsworthy. The fact that this story was greenlit to begin with is very sad.
If you want to actually run a story about dopamine fasting, run a story about the struggles of new sobriety in addiction recovery.
51
This is really quite a cool concept. In Norman Doidge's book "The Brain That Changes Itself," he contrasts oxytocin with dopamine. Oxytocin is often described as the bonding chemical, and is released especially during pregnancy and soon after between mother and child. Perhaps instead of doing nothing, dopamine fasters can engage in compassionate interaction to increase activity in the oxytocin system.
10
The 10 day Vipassana silent meditation retreat, where each person spends most waking hours practicing nonjudgmental awareness of what their body is feeling, and, in the process, noticing thoughts and urges that “take us over”, is life changing for many who have taken the extended block of time to experience it. For me, I realized that being with myself in that way during a daily meditation, and whenever possible throughout the day, brought me into deeper connection with my self, others, and the world around me, mostly through subtle and slowly unfolding ways of experiencing, which I had learned to discount during my formative years. As I have re-entered this experiential realm, the infinite nature of life and all its gifts has met me, both gratifying and humbling me. Becoming more fully embodied through this process has restored my sense of wholeness and communion with the blessedness of the moment, and there is no turning back.
14
These young San Francisco guys would do better to enjoy and more than that, celebrate their youth and vitality while they can taking in what each day has to offer to the max. For a day may come, marking an old age that brings with it isolation, lack of appetite for food and if unfortunate, physical and mental disability that alienates an individual from social interaction and enjoyment of life. Fasting, not interacting with people and the environment will be imposed and not a choice to be ditched at will. What this article offers is a look at particular individuals who represent a slice of the San Francisco cultural vibe. A city where youth and financial affluence reigns.
12
Interesting that they believe asking for water or bathrooms (never mind the fact that they can "go" before walking and bring their own water) is more stimulating than what they are seeing and experiencing on the walk itself? They have some interesting notions that probably FEEL like they're doing something real, but if actual dopamine could be measured they might be very surprised. And it is very sad to cut off seeing an old friend because of this fast. But hey, perception is everything.
13
Between this and the article the other day about the "middle-level" sushi meals for $175, it seems as though life in NYC and SanFran might as well be on a different planet.
11
@Steve that is expensive compared to many restaurants but for high-end sushi it isn't. In Minneapolis, mid-tier omakase is $95 (Kado no Mise) and the finer-dining version upstairs is $125 w/o drinks or gratuity.
Fine dining even here in the midwest is expensive.
Intermittent fasting is not "not eating for days," it's only eating during a window of certain hours each day, such as from 4PM to 8PM. But that said, we can get addicted to endogenous opioids in our brains. Cannabis triggers the reward chemical at such high levels we can get addicted to it at those levels, which is why cannabis addicts seem so unmotivated and cut off from others. Opioid addiction is opioid addiction whether it is endogenous or exogenous...
4
While I share the sentiments of many of the commenters, that there are age old practices that do this already sans startup, that maybe they could use their time to help others, that most people have the boredom of a less than wonderful job to do keep their "dopamine" down, that this really isn't about dopamine, etc., I am also perturbed (I've long since stopped being shocked or surprised) by how Puritanical many people are about what some call 'spiritual' experience.
No, it isn't "nobler" if your fast is about god, no, it isn't wrong to try to enjoy everyday experience more just for the enjoyment, and no, people aren't bad people if they don't spend their waking hours off the job in humanitarian pursuit.
Monetizing everything under the sun while completely ignoring or dissing all of human history is something this newspaper has been boosterizing ever since they fell over themselves to get an invite to Google's new gourmet cafeterias when Google opened an office in New York. Now, dour 24/7 social justice and Puritanism are in.
Maybe we need a Puritanism fast. Seriously. I say that as a direct descendant of someone who moved out of Salem a year before the witch trials, and someone who has been practicing meditation for over 40 years. Decrying the pursuit of happiness in everyday life isn't sophisticated or 'nobler'. As H.L. Mencken said, "Puritanism: The haunting fear that someone, somewhere may be happy."
15
Sounds like a good way to avoid investors wrath; tune out.
1
There's something perverse and, maybe, contrived going on here. I don't think I need to be more specific than that.
9
I got rid of my TV (well, my TV service provider). I don't have a cellphone, not on Facebook. It seemed to work... except now I'm on the NYT website, the WAPO website, YouTube...
These are exciting times in Washington and the entire country, we're about to impeach the president, the leader of the free world, hopefully BEFORE he does something truly horrendous, as opposed to something merely criminal.
To not be excited means you're not really living and communicating & participating in these times, but merely trying to float above them... and maybe that's okay, but not for me. I went through the Nixon impeachment; I have very vivid memories of those days with my little transistor radio to my head at work, following those hearings.
And here we are again, and I have to play the small role of concerned citizen again, putting the facts together, emailing stories to my friends. Evidently it's what I do, and I think it's what our nation's Founders had in mind when they invented our government: We the people.
"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."
There's important work to be done as a citizen. You can't do this work by fasting and going dark. Anyway, that's my take.
18
I’m trying to imagine how Mr. Sinka’s interaction went with the friend he spurned. “Sorry, friend. I haven’t seen you in six months, but I’m depriving myself of the pleasure of your company in hopes of finding snacks more pleasurable tomorrow.”
How ridiculous. Overstimulation from constant work and screens is not the same as a stimulating conversation with an old friend. Can’t take a weekend off from work, but they’ll refuse to eat or engage in human kindness? Perhaps if these men take a common sense fast, they will find themselves with more of it in a few days.
56
The ultimate story about privilege.
19
Self improvement, a better you, one upping is all ego driven. Bottled and sold.
9
I doubt that spending 10 days in a dark room without movement and without food would a good idea. I would rather suggest walking 15-20 km a day in nature (my own choice would be by a sea), eating less and mostly fruits and vegetables, drinking more and mostly water, spend most of the time by oneself without fully rejecting short encounters, and limit thoughts to the immediate and current experience.
16
I love the young and affluent. The economy is fantastic if you’re in the markets, but CA is burning and the sea is rising. Still, please get spiritual, ride your electric scooters, and give us more tech. Let other generations win wars and go to the moon. We need you in top form to give us more Facebook, so our democracy can remain strong and healthy. Good job.
45
our whole body is full of chemical reactions. if you are doing things in moderation such as being on your phone etc... then a person should be fine. many people are on the phone too much. like texting or tweeting. I am not a bird. I have sent two texts in my life both to my daughter when she visited my sister and I this past summer.
also, I don't believe in facebook. there are faces and there are books. they don't go together.
11
Only in San Francisco!
8
The Buddha figured this out a while ago.... he just wasn’t interested in “monetizing” it, like everyone in San Francisco seems interested in doing about everything......
10
This could be an Onion article.
"As the day wore on at Tennessee Street, Mr. Sinka, now wearing a thick vest, continued to hang out at home doing basically nothing."
45
We'd just take a mental health day from work. Slept late, relaxed, took a walk, .....
17
Is this an episode of Silicon Valley?
21
Actually, there is no need to manufacture robots! These people are it
8
Many of us in San Francisco are normal working people, I swear.
45
Good job. Keep on. Those who are quick to criticize, just try it yourself before you make fun.
4
What if there's no later?
13
And we wonder why the world hates us.
6
Bores being boring is kind of deeply uninteresting.
14
The next Uber? WeWork? The next shame from Silicon Valley
4
Sensory deprivation is a form of torture.
4
So basically they want to go to jail and be in solitary confinement.
10
The real trend here is the number of people who are good at tech who think there is a secret formula to living life, and they want to be the one to find it. Thus the number of ridiculous fads and weird lifestyles created by techies. Oops, it's 1am. Time to eat 6 ounces of Soylent.
24
The real trend is they have an idea and want to make money.
3
I can think of little more to illustrate how lame San Francisco has become. As someone with Young Onset Parkinson's disease I can speak of what a dopamine fast is really like. Truly enlighten yourselves by discovering what dopamine offers your body. It controls movement as well, like digestion, swallowing, and walking, it's not all about pleasure!
307
@Jennifer Sullivan It's also about consolidating memory! You make lots of great points! Dopamine is the "pleasure neurotransmitter" to the general population but a vital physiological mechanism to those who know better.
25
@Jennifer Sullivan . Oh no you have just predicted this will catch on. San Francisco is always laughed at for its lameness.. At first anyway. From the idea that people would actually want to go to Yoga studios (well only in San Francisco) to the concept that people would ever want of feel the need to own, or use a personal computer. I remember back in the day when San Franciscans had to start to separate their trash into three different containers. Compost , landfill , and recyclables. And now batteries, and electronics have to be taken care of differently as they are considered "e-waste" . The lameness will always continue.
21
I get it. Our brains are on overload and our addictions to our screens is making it worse. A few days in nature can help. Finding ways to put our phones down can help too.
But to call this dopamine fasting is really silly.
My mother, who died from Parkinsons, would have gone to great lengths to get her dopamine receptors working again.
189
Want to really feel good and make a difference in your life boys? Here’s a different dopamine fast: go out and help the street people in SF.
34
The Buddha tried sensory deprivation for 6 years and brought himself to the brink of death. That's when he had his first enlightenment and became a feeling, accepting human being.
10
Go out in the woods for a few days and observe, experience
10
I’m, it’s called observing the Sabbath. Old idea.
9
As an SF native, I can say that SF is not the best place to try to avoid dopamine stimulation.
Try Alaska.
4
Every generation of "post"-adolescents (if that) through young adults and professionals needs to "discover" things anew that can justify their professional and personal existence. It's part of the learning process. Come back when you're fifty or sixty and tell me what it was that was really new that you added.
7
Funny that you mention it.. Muslims have been doing it for 1400 years.
6
We do live in an over stimulated world. The TV can be on constantly. And the iphone. Relationships are more about the wrong kind of things - like not being alone. Excersise in nature is of a different order, tho.
1
In my early twenties (1972) I developed an overwhelming desire to "do nothing". With my therapist's approval, I continued to work at my job, but otherwise spent the time lying on the couch watching the light change as the hours passed. I also prepared meals. Mostly, though, I gave my nervous system a complete break. Lovely, and I emerged with a new enthusiasm for life.
10
All things in moderation - including moderation.
A timeout to de-stress is essential, but it need not be quite so restrictive as the dopamine fast.
I find that reflection, contemplation, long walks in the woods, and just sitting in a greenhouse or by a lake is restorative. It is a matter of breaking up stressful days - giving the brain a chance to not be continuously bathed in a cortisol cocktail by one means or another.
It is also good to try to adopt a mindset of discovery - like a child - to see what wondrous thing is going to catch my attention, to appreciate it, and then to let it go without resistance. This helps me to be creative and imaginative, and that makes me able to see patterns that I would be beneath the noise floor of normal daily stress otherwise. In short, it makes me happier through being less stressed, and more productive through being imaginative and creative.
Each - I suppose - must find their own way. My way involves taking breaks to go for walks to playfully discover and reset my stressed brain.
7
Tech bros pursue optimal dopamine balance, no doubt spending small fortunes for consultants and modern shamans in the process, while human misery fills the streets of San Francisco. No care or responsibility for their communities, only the vain pursuit of new forms of hedonism, especially ascetic ones that will display their virtuous pursuit of optimal balance.
This is the great innovation that we’re supposed to expect from unfettered capitalism. I think we’ll all be fine if we agree to lower these bros’ dopamine levels by redistributing most of their income to people who need, you know, food and medicine to enjoy the dopamine rush of being able to survive through the next day.
53
I guess if I was twenty-four, living In what looks like a nice and obscenely expensive place in San Francisco, free to read or nap or sit in a dark room with my eyes closed for ten days, I might consider giving this a shot. But, under present conditions, I’ll take my doses of dopamine whenever they present themselves.
68
Sensory deprivation as a way to stop too much association with ego has been a Hindu/Buddhist practice for at least over 2,500 years.
For those who are complaining, different people need different tools to reset their addictive behaviors. If you fast on being judgmental for a little bit, you might realize that!
An hour of meditation also has similar effects with plenty of time left over for doing other things, mindfully, I might add!
12
There’s nothing new about the concept, everyone who seeks peace and equilibrium through meditation, being in nature or gazing silently at a view of the city at night understands that, for most of us, we cannot be centred if we are always “on.”
11
Day and Night, Winter and Spring, illness and health- Nature/God already designed the life, to make us go through the dualistic patterns, the so-called opposites, to enhance our happiness. If this fasting is done voluntarily, it’s called religious practice and if Life forces it on us, it is called misery. Accepting life as it comes, joyously, knowing the objective of dualistic pattern is for the good. Moderation is ultimate key. But Life would break that rhythm also, to further enhance our experience until death becomes the only fasting that will make life exciting, again.
5
It is the discipline of spiritual practice without the interest in ethics or wisdom. Yes, there is the chance one may stumble upon those accidentally. But there is a better chance that one becomes more self-centered, more grandiose, more unethical and only interested in control, rather than understanding. Dangerous indeed.
29
Talking about product differentiation. To sell this over meditation that has been around for thousands of years, they have to make up a techie name for it.
20
Is this a parody?
81
First world problems.
50
this is perhaps one of the dumbest things i've read all year.
126
To think I wasted a minute reading this ridiculous topic . Life is too short, thank goodness I stopped.
41
shabbat much?
40
@bertie bregman Nah, Yom Kippur. You get to eat on Shabbat! Also, much dopamine is produced at my synagogue.
3
Do not understand.
3
Fasting from work? good God
6
The mothers of these boys may finally sleep well reassured that their boy's kooky lifestyle is remarkable enough for the venerable New York Times to report on
29
Poor, poor self-over-stimulated techies. They work so hard pecking at their keyboards.
14
What a bunch or baloney.
Look up dolce far niente so that maybe you could understand some simple pleasures in life...
13
Is this the Times or am I reading The Onion®?
80
Is this an onion article? Because it certainly feels like one.
22
It should be spelled what a “dopeiam” seriously.
31
Is this the NYTimes or TheOnion? I can’t tell.
10
Dopey!
9
Orthodox Jews have shut 'er down once a week - except for sex which is a blessing.
11
The Jewish sabbath, Ekadashi vrat (11th day after the full moon and the new moon) observed by Hindus (reduce food or a total fast, observe silence etc) are all versions of this type of fasting. Nothing new. Organically arrived at by smart youngsters, Good for them.
8
I love San Francisco and all the quirky people it attracts. Good for them.
3
Well, this article certainly increased my pleasure, as it made me laugh out loud. Do they have any idea how ridiculous they sound, practically caricatures of themselves? "Dopamine fast". Really? How do they explain how they are moving and walking? That requires dopamine and other neurotransmitters.
"Once there was pressure around work, though, it became less fun, and I thought maybe we’ll try fasting work." News flash: work isn't always fun or pressure-free. In fact, it often is neither of those things. Time to become an adult.
38
I think I use to hear it referred to as "deferred gratification". Rome (happiness) wasn't built in a day.
1
The logical next step is to defer life until later, say the afterlife.
Silly and self-absorbed. Life is to be lived as it comes, not postponed.
14
It is an old practice, rooted in so many prior philosophies. Without that acknowledgement, they are not doing the one deprivation most needed in today's world...arrogance deprivation.
12
This is insane. Socialize, smile at your friends, help people, enjoy music. Do all that a lot. It makes a very nice life and it makes you a nice person to be around.
16
What a bunch of woo. What really excites these guys is trying to exert control over themselves and how they interact with the world. Fine but a don't call it a dopamine fast? I bet they're secretly reading these comments on their tablet of choice and getting excited by that too.
11
It's hard to avoid being stateist (i.e., the phrase 'only in California') when reading about a start-up investor in something related to newly labeled "dopamine fasting"...particularly the iterations of their business model.
Isn't this the theory behind the alcohol-less month, or the way early High Times editors recommended abstaining for a few weeks each year?
On the other hand, it brought to mind a short stint several decades ago teaching at an execrable private school. During vacations and breaks I'd give up coffee the last two or three days to create something, anything, good about going back.
@Grennan it's OK. I live around the corner from these guys, have my own startup (as one does) and feel the same.
1
Marvellous formula..monetising dissatisfaction without overheads.
3
A more traditional form of this novelty is to enter a nunnery or monastery.
12
Yes, it's annoying when young people - especially those who are privileged - engage in weird, self-absorbed seeming activities. But these self-absorbed privileged young men are at least doing something unique, experimental and relatively harmless. Good on them for pursuing their wacky ideas of "fun-through-unfun". You go boys!
7
It is rather remarkable that these men would admit so freely to such blatant solipsism. Maybe if they got out more they would realize how off-putting that is.
12
As long as they find a way to monetize it...
I would feel sorry for these boys if they weren’t so precious about doing nothing.
6
Well, goody for these guys! I can’t think of even one person I know who has time for this preposterous “dopamine fasting.” We’re all too busy working two jobs, dealing with sick kids, arguing with health insurance companies about insulin, and all other sorts of reality.
32
Its called Shabbat - or the Sabbath.
9
Their idea is so stimulating I'm going to stop thinking about it.
15
I guess RIT doesn’t require students to study much history. Otherwise, these young men might understand that their fast is long standing a monastic practice in various religions, east and west. And there they are, now in a part of the world flush with yoga studios and meditation centers, yet they claim originality? Guess it’s all in the branding. Ah, late capitalism: you would be amusing if you weren’t destroying the planet.
14
Rock a baby or small child..even a sick friend to sleep while humming or singing. Your breathing synchs together and it's
blissful.
8
Shouldn't this be in The Onion?
God willing these guys will be embarrassed 20 years from now.
21
Unemployed people should really be grateful for all the fasting from work they get to do.
10
Take the obvious, give it a cool name, use it to brand yourself, voila! You are an entrepreneur.
Get real folks. The oceans are rising, forests are burning, the air is filthy, the weather is violent and we’re running out of potable water. It’s not time to chill out, it’s time to get engaged.
16
Hilarious, the comments are even better! Silicon Valley at its best!!
28
Keep banging your head on the wall because it feels really good when you stop. No need to understand the underlying neurochemical substrate.
10
Silicon Valley millennials have discovered what yogis have known for many millenia...meditation. It works!
1
Technology and consumerism have created a society addicted to screens living under the weight of information overload . People are very cut off from each other and are very stressed out by the world at large as they experience it through the internet .
That is the real human crisis being played out everywhere . And the earth is a garbage dump for the military industrial corporate complex who don't know where to dump their garbage except in the oceans . They have created a toxic world and technology has humans living in the internet have created toxic minds .
That is why everyone wants to disconnect and get away from all of it .
The culture is toxic and humanity knows it .
3
"Tennessee Street Man" should be the name of a song. Maybe by Brian Eno?
2
Really -- this is sooo funny that they think this is something new.
4
This is news? Conscious entities have been doing this for a billion years. Just ask Lord Shiva.
2
It's called shabbos in the Jewish world. We include human connection and food.
3
I like walking my dog, when I need to chill out.
3
Better yet: Go on an electrical fast!
Dopamine is a neurotransmitter but it only works in some circuits (indeed, it's not even important in the reward circuitry). Better to just reduce ALL the brain's electrical activity so the neurons can build up their ion potentials. Then you can have some really wicked dreams!
Time to watch Fox!
1
It's called meditation.
2
Ahhh ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!! I don't know if the National Lampoon is still in business, but this could provide enough material for an entire issue. "Sorry, I can't talk to you right now. I'm de-evolving." What a scream! Please, more articles about self-indulgent consciousness movements on the fringes.
13
After reading this only things like “selfish, self-centered, self-indulgent” come to my mind. And we get the “OK, boomer” retort!
10
Just a suggestion.
Try to actually realize the fact that you are not your body. You are a consciousness that inhabits the thing.
Consciousness is never upset, irritated, overwhelmed by any kind of emotion or dense thoughtform. This is who you actually are.
1
Swipe left
6
Is the point of the article that a new catchphrase in the hipland is Dopamine fast?
The lives of these bums failed to illustrate anything those over 20 something didn’t know.
Cheers!
Let me get this straight. Silicon Valley, which brought us to this dopamine emergency, now claims it has a solution? Spare me.
7
For me to get credit for abstaining from sex do I first need a willing partner?
9
For a minute, I thought I was reading The Onion.
4
Not sure why New York Times is giving this any real estate. How about a good article on meditation, the "dopamine fasting" that predates these children by a few thousand years. By writing this, you're just feeding their dopamine surge and giving them free advertising for what they're really about - another business focused on making a lot of money.
8
What else is meditation? But in the hands of techies, I’m certain it will be monetized.
1
So "dopamine fast" is what I did in my college years every month and now it is trendy and a necessary for well heeled people.
Living below poverty line in those years: barely afford bread, eggs, and potatoes; no money or time for anything; borrow text books from college library that is a couple editions behind; behind the rent a couple times; and tough few days to weeks at when money runs out near month end. Then beginning of month, lots of windows shopping and droolings, getting extra stimulations for free with the understanding and fear that my personal "dopamine fast" may start soon. Then I truly appreciated what I have every day and looked forward to every sunrise and sunset.
11
Just goes to show that everything that everything needs to be in balance. There is a Buddhist saying that spells this out, Don't get too excited. And that means either over what we consider good things or bad. And breathe.
1
Now there's a new name for what I've been doing most of my life. It's always been refreshing for me to go into the woods or down to the river and simply sit for a while, staring at Mother Nature and relaxing. The stress of my job, family, money problems and my commute melted away in the serenity of my surroundings.
Now mostly homebound from disabilities, I find peace by getting as comfortable as possible, emptying my mind and focusing on the beautiful memories that I keep in my brain. The bad memories have long been relegated to an imaginary lockbox and only come back if I allow them. Having truly lived, not just existed, there are so many wonderful memories that I can focus on.
Places, people, events - they are all fresh in my mind. An "outdoor rehearsal" by U2 at a local venue. A 3-month stay in Peru as a teen - that alone is the source of hours of reminiscence. My family - parents, siblings, husband, children, grandparents. Years and years of happiness. Growing up may have had some times of misery (I had bipolar disorder and didn't know it until I was 30) but overall, my childhood was almost perfect.
Keep the good memories in the forefront of your mind and make sure the bad ones are deep within you. Find places of natural beauty. Talk with the ones you love. Walk, garden, swim, play - enjoy life to the fullest and treasure those memories. Relax, fast from food, meditate, recover naturally. You don't need "dopamine fasting" to deal with real life.
27
Yes. Let’s choose JOMO over FOMO. I bet it will soon be the newest indicator of “wealth.”
1
Yes, people have been "dopamine fasting" for ages in the form of meditation or some kind of mindful prayer. But the purpose wasn't and shouldn't be to make experience that much sweeter post-fast. That's just enlightened hedonism. Meditation or mindfulness shows how tranquility and happiness can be had regardless of external circumstances.
21
I do 30 minutes of meditation in the morning, attend my meditation center on Sunday and meditate with others. The rest of the week, I focus on staying present in my normal daily activities and serve others whenever I can.
7
I know that people are going to be annoyed by this article, and I too find it annoying the way that San Francisco/Silicon Valley/tech people talk about the things they do - it's like a marketing concept for everything. But, what they are doing is actually pretty simple and something that I do too, in a less extreme version that I've never thought to call "fasting" (also, I don't really fast although I rarely eat anything after dinner, so after about 7-8pm, if that counts). It's something people have done in some version for a long time prior to our very recent "always connected" era. I have long known that I only function well if I occasionally take a day to do more or less nothing - at most I will go for a walk or read a book. It's more difficult now that I'm married and have a kid, but I still do some version of it regularly (luckily my kid often prefers to have less stimulation as well, so we like our quiet days together). We usually eat pretty simply those days too, just because I don't want to bother making anything. I also have a job, though, that I work 7 days a week unless I choose to take a break. I work my own hours, which means that I can always be working. I can understand how in those circumstances it's important to say "enough" and just give yourself permission to not do anything for a day.
14
@reader Yes! I have lived in SF for 10 years now and there aren’t words to express that will allow this post to go up on how truly awful it is to be in culture where people are rewarded with copious amounts of funding for solving the painfully obvious problems caused by tech overuse in the first place. It’s very often the ex-Googler, Facebook employee or someone else previously in the attention seeking economy now trying to help you cleanse your soul or clear your closet for a monthly fee...or as they call it “hustle”
6
Less is more or everything in moderation. These are very old concepts.
5
Eureka! My avoidance of Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram and YouTube and my increased pleasure of enjoying life is really dopamine fasting! Whoo whoo try it! It’s my secret to a blissful life
29
It's amazing how easy it is to strongly dislike people you have never met.
149
Precisely the way that I feel about you, Rob.
1
Likewise, I’m sure.
2
this comment made me break my dopamine fast with a chuckle
13
These comments! Jeez I didn't know so many people hated their lives. Crazy. Congrats to these guys for tapping into their inner selves. Anybody can do it. Even with 3 kids and an entry level job. The world is your oyster, not your enemy.
12
I'm interested in the "start up business". coffee extraction, thc extraction, sleep aids, sleep therapy? I know people throw money at Silicon start ups. But, where is the business model here?? You wanna meditate or dopamine fast cool with me. However, what's the product?
4
I feel like I just lost five minutes of my life reading this.
71
How about pulling some weeds or doing some scutwork at a charity? Plenty of chores out there with a low dopamine payoff that are looking for volunteers.
83
Settle down now, that would feel way too good
5
I think The Buddha might have been the first to report on a dopamine fast. Too bad he didn't have media coverage. But, he seems to have found enlightenment anyway and then immediately had a nice bowl of rice soup someone offered him.
Ummm. rice soup. . . .
4
I just stay in my comfy bed wrapped in my comfy comforters for 18 hours. Then I'm good to go!
9
This is the mentality that creates apps for reducing your screentime. So hard these days to not do something that the concept has to be branded.
5
Awesome. 20-somethings with no background in neuroscience making grand proclamations about neuroscience.
Your know-nothing west coast liberal counterparts to the know-nothing conservative middle Americans.
Wikipedia and the internet are not substitutes for, you know, actual training an scholarship. But then, this is our world unfortunately. A world where anyone can be an expert in anything merely because they say they are.
We really need to stop telling kids they can be/do whatever they want.
24
It seems to me that us Westerners specialize in repackaging Buddhism as something new.
8
Buddhism was itself a repackaging of even more ancient philosophies. There aren’t any original ideas left and that’s perfectly ok.
1
People have been fasting or participating in controlled deprivation since forever. Now it's being monetized. I don't whether to laugh or cry.
I know: I'll have a cheeseburger then take a nap.
9
All these guys just put new names on old concepts and call it "disruption" or "invention."
I'm shocked that one of them didn't reinvent the sensory deprivation tank.
They should rent "Altered States." It'll blow their minds.
7
Dopamine fasting, AKA:" when you have too much money and don't know what to do with it"
40
What a bunch of self-indulgent hooey.
Hey, kids, instead of depriving yourself of eye contact, try *making* eye contact with the legions of homeless in your once-magnificent city. Give someone one of those sweaters you're donning or one of the meals you're skipping.
Or is the dopamine rush that comes from helping someone not consistent with your go-to-market strategy?
68
@Jim H
Both the startup kids and homeless are largely carpetbaggers. The once-magnificent city would not shed tears to see them both depart.
10
So essentially, observing the Sabbath?
25
@SFNewsJunkie Bingo. I was waiting for somebody to say it. A simple day of contemplation, meditation and no fun. Every culture has it.
8
Few have the luxury of wandering around the house all day in an old house coat.
Noncommittal in bottle. What won't they think of next to sell?
Why, it's, it's...geeenious.
Person frustrated with day, life, fanning through their phone realizes, "Doh! I could be doing nothing!"
Old news. Try Buddhism and meditation.
12
"Dopamine fast"? Assuredly neuro-babble. Appending scientific terms to a practice that is millenia old does is misleading and a massive oversimplification. Do these new age gurus even know what dopamine does in the brain? Read about it sometime... it isn't quite as simple as this makes it appear. Stepping back a few hours each day from a trying work regime is just common sense and obviously good for your health. If these SF dwellers are insanely overworked, that's a different problem. Don't try and sell a simple solution as a scientifically tested or approved or even accurate therapy.
10
So painful. So un-inspiring. This is pinnacle wrong-headed adulation of tech noise. All the money, all the power, all the brains and all we get is twitter and this microphrenology from the bay area. The earth around these tech bros is literally burning down- the rest of the world soon to follow- and they can't be bothered to spend time with an old friend. Maybe you guys can do a piece on Elon Musk's thoughts on evolutionary selective pressure in relation to breast size.
15
Is just calling it meditation too much of a rush?
10
This article explains all the zombies crossing the streets without looking. And after the dopamine fast, do they have Soylent for dinner?
5
is this the basic notion of what a sabbath was supposed to be ...
5
Except maybe without a Shabbat goy?
2
Another day, another tech CEBro fad. At least they've stopped drinking untreated water. I hope.
3
Link?
Solitary incarceration in French Guiana: cheaper, faster, more effective.
8
Why are tech bros the way that they are?
3
"They would not be eating. They would not look at any screens. They would not listen to music. They would not exercise. They would not touch other bodies for any reason, especially not for sex. "
Jen's nailed it:
"OK millenials!"
7
Let's not mock, let's pity these poor boys. They can't get dopamine from book? a sunset? a walk in the woods?
6
I'd suggest that a steady practice of mindfulness at all times is good. Not feast or famine of stimulation.
1
I've been reading the commentaries on this article and found myself wishing some of them weren't quite so harsh, confrontational and judgmental. Gently, gently, people. Remember the individuals being profiled here are relatively young -- in their mid twenties, according to what is printed here. It doesn't really matter if what they're doing is taking time off, meditating, doing a dopamine 'fast' or whathaveyou.
They're young. They may or may not be self-absorbed; they may or may not be managing this 'downtime' in a way reflective of the technological matrix in which they swim. They're young. Might we not reasonably give them a bit of space to figure out just what works or doesn't work for them?
To use a phrase that was popular when I was young -- they need to find out where their heads are at. Why not let them be?
32
@Jimbo
Agree with your comment 100%
3
Because they’re putting this pretentiously faux pious behavior on display in a NYT glam piece, which I’m guessing is all part of their business plan.
16
Hmmm. They have discovered the equivalent of taking a quiet walk. Maybe next they will discover reading a book quietly.
My greatest hope is that they will discover that it is possible to sit and watch and entire movie, end to end, without texting, instagramming, facebooking, Slacking, etc.
38
I can understand the need to in tone down the stimulus in this stimulus loaded era where people cannot take their eyes off their phones even in the bathroom.
Going this far, however, especially for the sake of gaining greater enjoyment seems not only shallow, but possibly harmful as well. There is no way to turn off the mind even in complete sensory isolation. Extreme fasting produces hallucinations, not clarity.
Taking life more slowly and savoring each experience big or small as it happens, is a more measured way to achieve the same goal.
12
Can one's life be so devoid of meaning that one needs to find it in "suffering." I will never understand this new age stuff that seems to be pervasive in every generation. In regards to the "dopamine fast" how are they not sure that the fasting itself gives them pleasure? It sure seems to give them a sense of superiority...
7
Who knew all this time I had been dopamine fasting; I just thought I was depressed.
82
@ Stan Continople
Exactly! If dopamine fasting means not taking my SSRIs, even eye contact and a smile wouldn’t be enough to prevent me from fasting to death.
5
These guys should come work in the hospital with me! I’m a resident, and whenever my pager or phone goes off in the ICU (approx once every two minutes for 28 hours) I pretty much get the opposite of a dopamine hit! It’s this sense of either a) doom because a patient isn’t doing well or b) gloom because there’s more pointless administrative paperwork to do. I guess those of us with real jobs really have it great! I’m going to tell my wife about this when I get home tired and ragged as usual - I’m sure she’ll be relieved to hear I’m actually so enlightened as these techies!
14
Well they could just take Thorazine.
But about this distraction and discombobulation problem:
A lot of people I know in tech have mild Attention Deficit Disorder where absolutely everything is interesting. That’s good in the sense of noticing problems and solutions that no one else does , it’s terrible for concentrating and getting things done because there is always a new problem to be solved.
The treatment for ADD tends to be something that raises the level of dopamine, to combat distraction because people with ADD and ADHD tend to have low dopamine levels.
BTW I found that the best management technique was to pair someone seemed to have ADD and someone who seemed to tend towards OCD on a project.
6
Personally I love reading the Times and have paid for a subscription. Now I wonder if the author would say that is too much enjoyment.
6
Join a monastery! They invented this lifestyle
35
Very goofy. Yes, do the 10-day Vipassana silent retreat. Then you will realize how silly these baby steps are.
10
You can never escape nothing, it is in you and without you. Without nothing, universe would no exist.
7
Thank you, New York Times, for failing once again to resist the impulse to run yet another vaguely smirking non-story about stereotypical "nutty San Francisco" or, for that matter, "Nutty, failing California." Honestly, who pitches these story ideas to you? Donald Trump?
12
Failing California! Hah!
I guess California’s GDP will never exceed that of the US. Can you tell me why?
OK Millennials.
119
@Jen ...this is the best comment I've seen in a long time. Thank you!!!!
5
Does this have to be done in triplicate? It's creepier that way and slightly more ludicrous. And are we using the "royal" or the "editorial" we? Those of us who should be on a self-absorbtion fast?
4
Here's a thought: just be alive. How do these people get anything accomplished navel-gazing all the time?
10
Kids these days, amirite? Now get off my lawn!
2
This is part of why SF is dead.
8
Why dont you-all just meditate?
9
@Mike Venuti, what they do put realize is that it’s possible to meditate while accomplishing something. It called moving meditation. You can clean your home, do your laundry, work in the garden (or a public garden), Marie Kondo your sock and tee shirt drawers, volunteer in a food kitchen (as in, in the kitchen, so you can be as silent as possible), or perform any silent, productive task, and still be in a deeply meditative space. What these guys are doing is pecking at the edges of something they don’t understand.
10
I frequently advise this for my often anxious clients. I call it focused activity, to help quiet racing thoughts and hearts, I have used it for myself to get through my grieving in the past year. I am pretty sure my mother did this to create a quiet space from us five kids, singing as she did the dishes.
2
Why do 20 and 30 somethings feel like they have discovered something new when in reality this has been a spiritual practice for thousands of years???? Hello ...have you not heard of monks, nuns, Buddhist monks, ect..... its called asceticism....
39
Why do three year olds think perk-a-boo is such a fun and clever game? Don’t they realize it’s old hat and boring?
1
Ohhhhh brother!! I need to cleanse my mind from reading this stuff. Ohhhhmmmm
15
This must be an early treatment of that long-lost scene cut from The Big Lebowski.
“Yeah, well, you know, that’s just, like, your opinion, man.”
11
OMG go for a walk in the woods, close your eyes and listen
13
Thought I was reading The Onion.
48
Ok, Millennial!
14
As it is taught in the technique of Vipassana meditation, more than controlling our exposure to the stimuli that feed our aversions (dopamine drop) and cravings (dopamine surge), it is developing the ability to remain equanimous when presented with these stimuli that provides ultimate liberation from human suffering.
7
Um, monks have been doing this for centuries. Visit a monastery. The world has become increasingly interactive and distracting. What they describe not doing can be found in the writings of St. Benedict. Nothing new here.
13
Moderation in everything. Even moderation.
8
How about a 'privilege fast'?
oh wait that is impossible...
24
This article reads like a satire of the show "Silicon Valley." Wait a minute--that program IS a satire of Silicon Valley. Is is possible to do a satire of a satire?
9
In the Midwest we call it "January"
122
Sounds like a technocratic rebranding of chastity.
1
sounds like a Sabbath.
10
Also known as being boring.
2
This article should serve as a heads up to anyone who is approached by a reporter, and allows ego to push them into agreeing to be profiled. You don’t control what makes it onto the page, and if the reporter happens to find you just a bit silly, that will come across in the final piece. Beware.
6
One of the most ridiculous things I’ve read in a while.
7
Maybe they can eat portioned chewable nutrition from Soylent, too.
There are many traditions of silence, rest, etc. throughout history and the cultures of the world. Why not learn from one of them instead of creating a stunt project out of it? Not enough attention?
4
Another example of people with a little too much time and too much money.
Maybe the time would better spent helping to feed the homeless, delivering meals to elderly shut-ins, volunteer to clean up parks or the beach, volunteer as mentors, etc. You might be stimulated but in a positive way.
This seems to be an utter waste of time and the ultimate in navel gazing.
18
I’ve heard of this. They used to call it solitary confinement.
5
This would be literally impossible in NYC. There is nothing I see in my daily life that is not mind blowing.
1
This is hilarious. They discovered what millions of people around the world who live without access to technology, are food insecure or lack access fresh water, experience daily.
35
Is this like wearing a robe of horse hair under a tree, and is there any evidence that dopamine is bad if it's not caused by drug abuse?
1
You can't claim you're leaning in 110% if you take a day off, or if you slow down to smell the roses. But you get to keep your self-image as a 21st-century leading-edge entrepreneur/creator/disruptor if you do dopamine fasting, which of course is only done to help you lean in just a little bit harder.
6
Perhaps they could trade places with an inmate in solitary who is starved for dopamine. There’s the real deal.
5
This might be the most “first world problems” article I have ever read. These people are parodies of themselves. The narcissistic excesses of Silicon Valley are ridiculous. I would like to see some of this dopamine-powered “brilliance” turned on to help solve the expensive, intractable problems of our day (California wildfires, climate change, poverty, hunger, homelessness) rather than get another useless app that clutters my phone and harvests my data for profit.
61
@Caligirl Amen sister!
1
These guys sound awfully excited about this.
I think that's a dopamine-related event.
Color me disinterested.
3
Why not just buy a sensory deprivation tank. It would be much more efficient.
4
I've seen this so many times in my life. I have a cousin, a chiropractor, a great healer, who has done this in many ways and I don't disagree; perhaps it has helped him at times, but he has also had so many disappointments as well. He lost both his wife and child tragically to diabetes, and now is losing his own sight. To the outsider, he never seems settled or content, but manages to keep a smile on his face regardless, but I don't think he is really ever truly happy. Sometimes I just wish he would simply just get drunk or high, laugh out loud, dance, and sing, yell out loud, and use that excess stimulus we all need to expel from time to time.
Rememmber that marvellous song that the no less marvellous Eartha Kitt sang called Monotonous ?
It says it all. Too much is just, well, too much. It becomes boring. We become blasé.
From time to time I try to abstain from something I really enjoy. Getting some back is so fantastic ! I suspect that my favourite philosopher would not agree with me, but sorry, Mae West, too much of a good thing is usually tedious.
3
Haha I love it. This is brilliant! Oof too much excitement already
5
It gets harder and harder to create the latest 'cool' thing, especially if you want to stand out from the herd of other hipsters.
5
The idea that one can avoid dopamine neurotransmitter activity by any voluntary activity is the apex of pseudoscientific nonsense. Its role in motor control - you know like breathing and muscle tone - goes away in death. And if one believes dopamine Is involved in reinforcement, then when these chuckleheads achieve karmic enlightenment, what neurotransmitter do you think is spiking?
32
It's called shabbos.
Jews have been doing this for over 2,000 years.
Every Friday I turn off my phone, cut myself off from the net, and chill. On Saturday at nightfall I reconnect.
I find that I have missed absolutely nothing except the crazy making world that I cut myself off from.
Check it out.
You don't have to be Jewish to like it.
101
Dudes, you don't need to cut yourself off from life's pleasures. You just need to learn to get outside and away from urban settings with some regularity. It will do wonders to ground you, balance you out, and give your life better perspective. But whatever. Their definitely are stranger and more self destructive hobbies out there. You do you.
16
The comments to this article reveal a heavy dose of anger / hostility / hatred towards these men for what appears to be little more than practicing one day of secular Sabbath per week.
If they were instead Muslims practicing Salat, I suspect the tone would be downright celebratory.
To be young, white, male, and hetero these days is to commit Original Sin - especially if you're in an entrepreneurial role. And heaven forbid you should attempt to live a healthy, balanced life.
7
@Diogenes
That's not what they're doing. They're making a goofy, fake-philosophical, attention seeking statement.
8
@Di
Not sure how you read all that negative stuff into this article.
Two young people get profiled because they choose to unplug for a day to focus on their inner life and that makes them fake and goofy? Hate to see what people would say if they took the whole weekend.
Maybe we’d all benefit from a little more introspection and awareness of the costs of overstimulation.
How funny and how pathetic. And how San Francisco. (I've lived here for 41 years). So a group of tech-addled bros think the cure for a self-absorbed life creating apps that nobody really needs is to occasionally switch to a self absorbed life doing their version of 'nothing.' I especially had to laugh at the first paragraph where the measure of their 'success' is that "Women wanted to talk to them." I work with a lot of incredible young women in this town and trust me, these dudes are usually not the types they want to talk to. Unless they are being polite.
14
“I have to fight the waves of delicious foods.”
Doesn't everybody?
Also: doesn't anybody else find it ironic that they are depriving themselves of stimuli all the while trying to get people into "sleep tech".
6
With all the negative commentary here, it seems most people are greatly in need of a more balanced, semi-calm life. It's really up to each one of us to choose it and put it into practice, and that's simply what these young men are doing.
My guess is, after some hours of quiet reflection and silence, the incensed readers wouldn't be so reactionary to a simple NYT's article.
8
New name, old practice, aka emotional sobriety.
106
@PatitaC "Emotional sobriety"? Never heard of it.
And, in my opinion, is foolish. Emotions are integral and essential to being human.
As is dopamine.
3
@PatitaC
Yeah, seriously, article is so precious.
Here's a dopamine-addiction that's highly destructive across the board, which in eschewing would make the the consumers more tuned into real-life pleasure and reduce a massive amount of suffering in this world as well: porn.
Give that up, techbrodudes.
14
These techies seem to be developing what occupational therapists might call "sensory modulation," learning to manage their levels of stimulation to optimize their own performance. Parents do this when they do calming rituals with their children before bedtime. Of course as a boomer I know my generation invented this stuff, as we did everything!
20
@correlation/causation concerns
OK, Boomer-thank you for this and all the other things you did-like the civil rights movement, greater equality for women, amazing health & science advances, etc! (Time to turn that phrase into something else.)
13
@Colleen
You really missed the humor in correlation/causation concerns' comment.
4
Take a walk without your phone once a day. No need to give it a fancy name.
69
So many things that come out of San Francisco are positioned as enlightened and beneficial, but ultimately they're only developed to make money off of us.
33
Oh, my gosh, thank you for this! I haven’t laughed this much for days. All those perpetually chilled, wide-eyed, vest wearing young people mooning around Mission Bay, feeling angsty, and then worrying that they are feeling too much. Bless their little hearts.
“The number of things to not do is potentially endless.”
Lucky them.
What you have described here — solitude, quiet, lack of stimulation from other people and city pleasures and alcohol or drugs or amazing dining — is pretty much my daily life, here in the woods. The enormous difference is that my quiet life is full of physical work. Grueling, mind nourishing work. Even while (food) fasting. That’s where these kids have missed the point. You can turn inward and still your mind, yet remain a functioning and effective human. I advise these boys to let go of their egos, and see what they find.
248
I suggest they partake of their fasts at a retreat...for example they should try the state's wonderful meditative institute at pelican bay.
6
I hope this appears in the print edition, to help post-tech archaeologists piece together why civilization collapsed.
267
As an archaeologist myself, you just gave me a good chuckle.
21
Took me a while to understand that this was not, in fact, satire. I generally feel that intergenerational wars of ridicule are misguided, but man, if making fun of entitled, obliviously privileged, out-of-touch yuppies was ever appropriate, this would be it right here...
229
Otherwise known as meditation.
17
Grown ups don't do that.
3
Wasn't this called Stoicism before we found something we could call Dopamine?? :-)
9
How about scrubbing the floor of a homeless shelter on hands and knees?
118
@kathleen Gallagher amen!
6
Way too gratifying
8
As a person with young onset Parkinson's Disease, whose brain no longer produces *enough* dopamine, I find the notion of a 'dopamine fast' amusing.
65
I’m sure these guys won’t mind us regular folk helping the fast by taking that biggest of dopamine fixes, money!!
Let’s tax them!!
13
Not sure how they decided they had too much dopamine in their systems--much more likely that their pursuit of pleasure itself inhibited their dopamine receptors. Their solution, which borders on meditation, in fact feeds their dopamine receptors. Nothing new here.
4
a sad day when you think that reading a book adds to the greyness (or dopamineless-ness) of your life
101
"We're so bored we're actually reading."
10
All I could think about when reading this article was:
1. people are so weird...
2. this is what happens when you grow up privileged and win the birth place lottery: born in the USA.
Can't these 20-somethings worry about something and someone other than themselves? There's plenty of misery in the world to bring down your dopamine - that is if you care to get out of your privileged bubble.
91
Didn't this used to be called the sabbath? or Sunday?
29
Speaking with direct personal experience, the best way to avoid ANY exciting stimulus whatsoever is to stay in the barn milking cows. Keep milking for as many hours per day and as many days as possible.
So ...
Been there, done that.
Not that great.
375
@Tom Clifford . . . yeah. . .I remember as a child of about 9 being told to "go weed the carrots." That was a row about 90 feet long. The sun bore down on me, th bugs crawled up my pant's legs and the carrots were infected with crab grass. . . no exciting stimulus there. . . luckily I was only 9 years old and had no idea I was "dopamine fasting."
39
@Tom Clifford - 'the best way to avoid ANY exciting stimulus whatsoever is to stay in the barn milking cows'
guess you've done too much of that
if I recall, a kick back from an unsettled cow could add a moment's exciting stimulus - and you'd hope to avoid contact with the stimulating aroma of what else comes out the back end while you're there ...
13
Buddhist monks around the world have been doing dopamine fasts for hundreds of years and as have other religions that are based on the spiritual and emotional well being of their adherants. If rebranding helps then it should be encouraged.
173
@Dr Cherie
Wow, millenials in San Francisco seem to have discovered meditation. It's only been around for a thousand years. Who knew?
56
Right. Thousands of years, actually.
23
Brilliantly put.
12
This sounds like Netflix and chill, but without Netflix.
Maybe they’re just depressed?
5
Sounds like a classic case of old spiritual practices being revamped into something trendy and marketable. Yoga is the best alternate example of this.
11
I had to laugh out loud. I've been doing this for decades. It's called a simple life. Ok, I have to leave now - getting over-stimulated.
61
Well, I suppose it is safer than wing-suit jumping, to achieve the same eventual dopamine rush. I leave them to it. As Jane Austen said, "cannot you invent a few hardships for yourself, and be satisfied?"
24
This article is something that should be covered by The Onion. Best advice I ever got was learn to be alone and you will never be lonely. Like many others here, I live a stressful work life and counter that with mindfulness training A morning walking meditation with my dog gets my dopamine in fine shape.
19
It's intriguing to me that reading books is allowed on a dopamine fast, as if reading is not stimulating. (Check out the other NY Times articles on the emerging research showing the big difference reading makes in children's brains.) I work for a library. There are plenty of my patrons who do this type of "dopamine fast" frequently--take a walk, read all day, enjoy their solitude (minus the not eating).
It seems like we keep rebranding and repackaging ideas or routines people have done for eternity, except pushing them to the extreme (for ultimate social media cred. After the fast is over, of course.)
32
Experiencing displeasure, discomfort, ennui, uncertainty, fear, worry, anger, sadness, and other "negative" feelings are equally important as experiencing "positive" feelings. Feeling those things is part of life. We have to accept the "negative" as much as we accept the "positive" to live fully. There's no "life hack" to get around that.
15
I'm waiting for the day when a couple of 20-somethings from my city breathlessly announce the launch of a new circular device that promises to disrupt transportation forever (aka, the wheel).
71
@Matthew M Absolutely! It seems to me that these boys never heard about what has been thought for decades at the Beginner's Mind Temple at Page Street!
3
My only question is how such an overabundance of hubris from imagining you've discovered a new and enlightened way of being affects dopamine levels? I suggest a new experiment where this can be controlled properly, say by taking away their home, job, status, money, food, and support systems.
I cannot wait to share this with my father, a lifelong Buddhist.
157
Hysterical
4
Just try meditation. No need to deprive of stimulation. Change how you relate to it. Buddha tried dopamine fasting but eventually decided if carried to logical conclusion it only leads to death. Instead he found benefits from changing how you relate to stimulation (internal/external) does the job i.e observing mind/body reaction to stimulation can reduce reactivity, eventually making it easier to make wholesome choices. No need to deprive, just learn how not to cling to whats not in your control.
94
@rg This is the only response that shows an understanding of what's really going on here. Meditation actually increases dopamine and what they're doing comes close. It's the grasping on to sense pleasures, wanting things to be different than they are, that decreases dopamine, not the sense pleasures themselves.
4
Kind of silly and extreme. About 30 yrs ago I was mildly depressed. The only music that didn’t exacerbate the depression was jazz. And bossa nova on weekends. So nice.
8
Hi - I live in San Francisco. I knew even before reading the article that my city would be mentioned. The picture of a young man was expected, the cable sweater a predictable icing on the proverbial cake. What a cliche of an article.
You could likely find people in Chicago or Twin Cities who are beginning to cotton on the idea that being stimulated every day (including click bait articles like this one) is not good. And there are a lot of people who try to withdraw from this lifestyle.
The idea is sound - its representation in this article is designed to appeal to certain sentiments that are immediately obvious in the commenters resenting priviledge, elitism and youth -as a knee jery reaction.
Please focus on what is important and write about that. Or write about this important topic in a constructive way. Why the effort to stir us up unnecessarily and divide us up too?
19
@gw
Good questions, and I'm guessing the answers are all about dopamine and dollars, and the hard connection between the 2 that modern capitalism thinks it needs to survive. And that makes me think of Gillian Welch's exquisitely ironic millennial anthem Everything Is Free (Now), which in turn puts a smile on my face. "If there's something that you wanna hear, you can sing it yourself..."
2
@gw
Of all things to be outraged about, you choose
this? Come on, let's lighten up. SF is a glorious city, one with significant housing and homeless problems, but also rich in culture and funny stereotypes. Read the article in The Atlantic about the housing insecure, mentally ill person who is resorted to stealing packages off of porches, to survive. In SF, a city with glaring wealth yet few resource for the needy. THOSE differences are ones we should be outraged about.
9
Thanks for another finger-on-the-pulse-of San Francisco story, Nellie Bowles! I empathize with these guys. A youth of zero social media, low-grade boredom, and miserable American cuisine made me a lifelong reader, writer, walker, and dreamer — and a surfer of dopamine waves when they come.
9
Is this a satire? What they did was take a day off. Full stop. If the article is a spoof of trend and self-help articles, I love it.
129
"I avoid eye contact because I know it excites me."
Wow, that really makes me want to take life advice from this guy...
130
Folks: given the oft-forgotten truth that your life could end without notice at any minute, do you really think a day of unliving is such a great idea? Life is action, not inaction.
19
It amazes how practices that have existed for centuries get recycled and dressed in catchy, vague newspeak, and then are presented as 'Amazing Discoveries'
Not sure what kind of education or self-awareness is required to launch a 'startup", but, maybe, the young gentlemen can brush up little on Eastern Philosophy or Christian self-flagellation.
If that is too much work, they could go and hang out at an Amish town.
18
Sounds just like the 10 day silent Vipassana retreats I go to every few months.
19
Less is more. We all knew that.
5
Got a great book to recommend to all Buddhists and non-Buddhists: Open To Desire. By Mark Epstein, M.D. (psychiatrist
and Buddhist practitioner ). Talk about skillful means!!
8
Sounds like they are addicted to no dopamine.
20
Just another self involved activity-see how good I am at doing nothing! Monks are probably the first people to "do nothing", but for different reasons. Isn't it what you do that matters-not the effect you get? I bet serving the homeless at a food kitchen or teaching English to immigrants would spark your brain's dopamine-and for all the right reasons.
11
They better not get a dog or their dopamine levels will go through the roof.
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@Jim Allen
Maybe a snake would be better?
3
Excuse me? I look forward to the song of a bird, the beauty of the fleeting sunset and take tremendous refeshment in seeing nature and appreciating all my senses.
I read the article. Then again.
I'm not sure how depriving yourself of what moments of pleasure that being alive offers us as humans contributes to making us better.
Avoid orgies of food, weekends of ongoing live concerts, booze, drugs and of course empty sex acts, but to avoid ordinary pleasures that, when appreciated, become extraordinary seems like spitting in Mother Nature's face, and we all know it isn't nice to fool Mother Nature.
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Thank you. If you can’t give and receive the pleasure in the moment of seeing a friend, what on earth are you saving all that dopamine up for?
3
This is the techie influx into San Francisco writ small. Extraordinarily well-off straight white men who have moved here with some "disruptive" idea that will "change the world" and spend all their time navel-gazing and anti-socially avoiding the world and their responsibility in it.
If you're going to do this, please move elsewhere. Housing costs are through the roof (not that you care), and a lot of my friends have moved away. Give this city back to the locals, the immigrants, the LGBTQ+ community, the artists, the dreamers, the weirdos.
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@Dottie --- They're also running a full time business which they cannot leave alone for a full weekend. They are "successful" in the traditional sense, rotate their work schedules, and are just trying to create some peace of mind along the way... Nothing wrong with that.
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@Dee
Their self absorption as homelessness and economic insecurity in this city has skyrocketed is sickening. There's nothing wrong with working and having a business, but a glowing profile of rich guys relaxing by doing nothing in a town where people working their fingers to the bone and barely able to afford rent is sickening.
They can run their business elsewhere.
12
HAHAHA! Dopamine fasting = reading a book and relaxing and being by yourself (no social media)? Hysterical. Basically, these people are doing what EVERYONE did until about 15 years ago. Perhaps while they are reading and relaxing and not looking at screens, they can read a little history. Any history prior to the Internet. Millennials might think us Boomers are selfish, but we aren't ignorant. Go for a walk. Read a book. Be by yourself, because, you know, these are way new things that have never before been considered. Sorry, my sides hurt from laughing.
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@Jim -- Thank you. I agree completely. This isn't selfishness, this is what used to be normal.
17
Are these guys repackaging delayed gratification?
10
Isn't this call penances since we have ever existed?
5
Another self-indulgent fad by people with more privilege than wisdom.
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Who are these people and what have they done to San Francisco?
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Whatever, millennials. Serenity Now, Insanity Later.
28
Nothing wrong with calling it a dopamine fast, if that makes it more enticing or acceptable. But we're really talking about a very old concept, encompassed in a great many activities: weekends, relaxing vacations, "taking a break," "taking a time-out," counting to ten, picturing your happy place, mindfulness and the many other forms of meditation, the "centering" practices of various martial arts, taking a walk to clear your head, the sabbath (and sabbaticals), pranayama in yoga, progressive relaxation, retreat weekends, turning off the video game....
It's curious that obvious truths about ourselves attain newfound legitimacy when couched in neurobiological terms. But if "dopamine fasting" helps you slow down, and reframing psychotherapy as "verbal neuromodulation" allows you to benefit from it, and if socializing is more exciting as "mirror neuron stimulation," well, have at it.
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@Steven Reidbord MD
Exactly. Humans have a desire for novelty, or at least the appearance of it. This is similar to companies periodically changing the packaging (but not the content) of their products for marketing purposes.
19
Ironically, that novelty-seeking contributes to ... wait for it ... surging dopamine levels!
16
@Michael Bayard - 'Switch your channel to a Trump rally'
I don't want my head to explode !
'Dopamine fast' - which journalist or entrepreneur invented this new term ?
It used to be called meditation - but that's so last week ...
6
Sounds like an excellent alternative for wealthy recent college grads who love the idea of joining cult, but don't want the commitment.
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Nothing new, this is askesis. Foucault goes over these practices in his Hermeneutics of The Self lectures. Nietzsche is very critical of this soft of ascetism by the way, and so am I.
Labeling the chemical involved is both reductive and materialistic since the psychology of askesis is a broad experience that encompasses many "technologies of self." Limiting ones thinking to the chemical dopamine misses the contra-psychological pleasure in denial that probably releases dopamine anyway. There are many S and M practices related to askesis that are clearly just ways of heightening a delayed pleasure reaction. (too be clear I'm not into that, but it's part of the Foucault lore)
One of my good friends, a Tibetan monk now getting his PhD at CAL, spent three years in a cave, solo, doing rituals. Think these guys have the handle on dopamine fasting? Imagine 3 years non-stop in a cave, doing ceremonies with a human skull, and meditating. He's a bit touchy around the topic of denial.
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@Smokepainter*, I love the last sentence.
I’ve never had a high opinion of the monkish practices of all day mediation, retreating to a cave for years, or (in Christian faiths) living in a cloistered community and praying all day. What does it accomplish? I think it stokes the cycle of self obsession, even though practitioners will claim the opposite. I admire those who express and celebrate their spiritual beliefs through working for others. But that’s just my take on the world.
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@Smokepainter* soft = sort
2
It is the very height of privilege to be able to spend days doing absolutely nothing in hopes of improving happiness levels.
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@She-persisted pretty sure they're mostly hoping to improve their bank accounts.
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@Picky Peet Huh? The article describes the two men regularly spending a day doing nothing. The fact they are "too busy" with their ambiguous sleep app thing (when such "busyness" would be laughable by the way to, say, a surgeon or, for that matter, a parent of young children) to do it for a weekend does not invalidate She-persisted's point. They are indeed spending days, albeit not consecutive days, doing sweet fluffy all.
14
@She-persisted -- It sounds to me like they schedule "being on the clock" amongst the three of them, since their start-up is successful enough to not be able to leave it for an entire weekend. They each take shifts and rotate having a day of peace and calm. They aren't lazy, just trying to find balance.
1
Buddhism has advocated for some form of “dopamine fasting” for nearly two millennia, as it’s tenants posit that craving and desiring are the root cause of suffering in human life.
There are roughly 500 million Buddhists in the world and this article misses this major point.
What I see here is yet another technocratic attempt to coop mindfulness and eastern philosophy without a real understanding of its traditions.
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So agree, @Noah. I'd be more interested in hearing about their experiences after a truly ascetic 10-day Zen Buddhist meditation retreat. When suffering in its many forms is inescapable for most beginners.
14
I am shocked at the audacity of these three men - there is so much suffering & inequality in San Francisco right now, and instead of spending their time working to fight it, they choose to do "nothing" in this really pompous & arrogant way. As a 20-something who takes medication to regulate my own neurotransmitters, I can't help but feel contempt for these three who, like dragons in a dungeon, are more or less hiding away to protect their treasured dopamine, which is being created through experiences and consumption of goods that are only made possible by their rare and lucky position as tech workers.
How disrespectful it is to tell a good friend, in the middle of a conversation, that one simply cannot engage with them. I can only imagine what the friend must have felt like when she was dismissed with the cold, clinical language of neurotransmitters.
If I shared this story with a single mother of three children, how do you think she would react? What about the undocumented 17 year old who works until 2 in the morning and then goes to school the next day at 7:30? Do you recommend for them that they try "dopamine fasting"?
I also categorically reject the comparisons to religion - the only religion that I can see here is techno-evangelism, which is a farce.
Honestly quite surprised the Times didn't take the time to examine this more critically.
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@Bobby I think you've really hit on the thing bothering me, too. The attitude that we are, at bottom, machines that run on chemicals that we can master and micro-manage to produce a more satisfying mental experience of life is... so soulless. And so self-absorbed it's sort of nauseating. There's no idea here of a responsibility to reorient oneself to a community or to anything larger than oneself. Just to maximize our "performance" or "efficiency".
I truly feel as though the way we've centered our lives around technology has had the double effect of disintegrating human community and of convincing ourselves that we, too, are just machines operating independently of one another. It's disordered thinking.
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@Bobby You take medication to regulate your transmitters, they avoid stimulation for theirs. Where's the difference?
14
@Bobby This is not a fair assessment. Sure, they have luxury of not attending to children or their immigration status, but that has nothing to do with their dopamine fasting. I don't see anything that suggests they are telling everybody to do it.
Sounds like you resent anybody who doesn't spend their time helping the poor.
Also, you have been tricked by the idea of doing "nothing'. They are doing their work, like anybody else.
20
The “disrupters” of Silicon Valley never met a pseudo-science they didn’t love and wouldn’t sell to the rest of us.
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@Jonathan singletary -- Meditation and calm reflection have been proven scientifically effective. That's why is being practiced and taught in some schools now, also with a high rate of effectiveness.
"I'm sorry, honey, I'd love to change the baby's diapers, really! But you know how much I enjoy such moments of connection with my kid, and my lifestyle coach has put me on a dopamine fast. It's better for us all in the long run."
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@Anna S. Clearly the rush and stimulation of my olfactory senses with a messy super ripe diaper would stimulate me too much.
Thanks for asking, though, and she will understand in her twenties that I didn't ignore her, but she put up with the mess gladly in order I reach the next level of consciousness.
28
funny, 'twas a time, and not so very ong ago, when the culture was familiar with the value of "retreats"... in the west, r.c. monks and nuns were known for the contemplative life and their convents provided the space and time for those who wanted to see a refuge from the buzz without and within. no need for a start ups w hyped up claims for dopamine fasts
24
Lots of people have an effective way of avoiding pleasure: They work 8-hour shifts at boring, low-paying jobs. If they find out they still have too much pleasure in their lives they take a second job.
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@Al thank you so much for your post! This was exactly what I was thinking while reading this article. So funny I split my side laughing. And about laugher, personally I find THAT to be the key.
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@Al Thank you, Al. That made me feel better after reading that article about the self-absorbed ultra-privileged.
16
I find it fascinating that what would be considered clinically eating disordered disordered behavior in women (not eating for days to produce emotional numbness) is praised in men as achieving a higher state of being.
The tech industry generally places a strong emphasis on spiritual enlightenment via the persecution or alteration of the physical body (source: I have been a techie for years), generally with little or no scientifically supported evidence.
Fasting to alter your state of mind is not new, but it certainly seems to be when some posh young white guys are doing it.
262
Sometimes, living gets in the way of life...
or is it the other way around ?
7
Twenty minutes of meditation a day does the same thing and you can still say hello to your friends.
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@Jim Allen Yes, and feed your kids, too! Maybe even pay attention to loved ones.
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@S. Ray -- These guys are 24. They aren't married and they don't have kids. They can create the life they want with intention. Good for them.
12
@Dee Buy, what some of us are trying to tell them, and you, and other readers, is that it is not good for them.
2
Great article: it matches up with ideas I've been exploring for months, now. NO TV! Yoga classes at least 5 times a week. I am a dancer, and had planned to go to Zumba class today, but will hit yoga instead. Dopamine fasts (other than no food) are a great idea.
5
Good for them! A great way to reset the system, and it costs nothing. I hope they keep it up- and that it leads to awareness of the suffering of others so they can begin to lighten the suffering of someone else.
36
cut out dopamine and count on parkinson's disease.
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@Gina B my first reaction also.
9
@Gina B Not exactly how it works...
1
Thanks so much for letting me know what is happening on the other side of town here. I had no idea this was a new thing. I am 62 and completely uninvolved in the tech community.
For people who are obsessed with tech gadgets and the tech community, I can see why they might need to do this. I do know some young people who actually try to avoid sleeping, and use stimulants of all kinds to stay awake so they can keep going with their tech devices.
I think it's a new medical problem and I don't know if "dopamine fasting" is really going to help. I think they're just sleep deprived...
12
Mirroring a comment below about Shabbat, the description here reminded me of monastic life in Catholic traditions. The idea of removing oneself from the material world in order to "reset" is ancient. Everything old is new.
Of course, a key difference is that the modern version is doing it with a selfish goal in mind: I want to feel more material pleasure later. The ancient versions had in mind a nobler goal of reconnecting with one's spiritual life, or God, or however you term it. Frankly, I think the reframing says a lot about modern life, none of it particularly good.
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@JRK Very much in the cloistered, monastic tradition.
5
I can see the connection to the Amish.
It also reminds me a bit of ancient Stoicism. That the way to avoid suffering in life is to suppress all feeling, all passion.
As Marcus Aurelius put it: “Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself, in your way of thinking.”
I don’t mean to be glib, but San Francisco would not be my first choice of cities to avoid external stimulation, were I to undertake that life-route....
16
Saturday dopamine fast = Shabbat
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@Mike LaFontaine The word sibatt in classical Arabic means "hypbernation." I suspect the Hebrew origin of shabbat is very similar.
Leylet Sabbat is in North African colloquial Arabic means the Saturday night celebration following the Western Asian version of "Dopamine fast."
There is a pretty dancy tune for that: https://youtu.be/2dlSjBTZTBQ
2
@Mike LaFontaine, I was just thinking that I just did a "dopamine fast" on Yom Kippur :)
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@Mike LaFontaine: Shabbat is about joy and enjoying friends and family. It's the opposite of this dopamine fasting.
1