The New York Times article [1] specifically studied the biological mechanism of addiction, and found that:
The environment plays a decisive role in addiction. As long as the environment is changed, the problem of addiction can be solved.
one
brain reward circuit
Scientists have discovered that there is a "reward circuit" in the human brain, which has two key parts: one dopamine ; The receptor of [2].
Dopamine is a relatively common concept, and its function is roughly as follows:
When people encounter certain things, dopamine is produced in the brain, which is equivalent to telling the brain: "This event is very important, keep doing it!"
When we face food, sex, money, and drug use, the brain can produce dopamine, so when someone eats food, they can’t stop, some can’t stop seeing beautiful women, and some...
and dopamine receptor_ Strong4strong is relatively unpopular. It is like a sensor that receives dopamine. The more sensors, the more efficient the person feels dopamine, which means that the person is more satisfied. As long as a little dopamine, this person can be very happy, that is, he does not need more dopamine, he is not addicted.
People who have fewer receptors, , have low efficiency in sensing dopamine and are not easily satisfied. In order to make the brain happy, he needs more dopamine to make up for the lack of receptor . Just like eating sweets, the average person is enough for one cone, but she needs two.
cone
01 The more addicted, dopamine receptor becomes less
Researchers have found in experiments that among people addicted to drugs and alcohol, the dopamine receptor will be significantly reduced, and after a long time of abstinence, the The receptor still has not recovered to its previous level.
This shows that taking a lot of drugs or alcohol will make a person's dopamine receptor less, so in order to obtain the same happiness, the brain will order him to consume more drugs or alcohol as compensation, and more Too much alcohol and drugs have reduced dopamine receptors. addiction itself is a vicious circle .
02 Changing the environment can change dopamine receptors
Researchers did an experiment with monkeys and cocaine. In the experiment, a group of monkeys were kept in separate cages. The experimenters fed cocaine to them, and the monkeys became dependent on cocaine. Then they put these monkeys in several large cages to raise them in groups. After a period of time, some became the monkey kings in their respective cages, and most of the rest became the ruled class.
After research, it was found that:
became the monkey king, the dopamine receptor in the brain increased, and then the demand for cocaine decreased, because they got more in the new environment Attention, more grooming, more food.
Grooming is a caring behavior among animals
Instead of being ruled, the dopamine receptor in the brain is reduced,The demand for cocaine began to increase because their living environment was not as good as before.
It can be observed from monkeys that 's positive environment makes their dopamine receptors increase, and reduces their dependence on cocaine . And 's negative environment reduced the number of dopamine receptors , and increased its dependence on cocaine .
03 Reversibility of dopamine receptors
Then, the experimenters brought the monkeys back to the original "single room". Because the monkey king lost its original status, grooming, food and other benefits, they The receptor dopamine began to decrease, and the demand for cocaine began to rise again.
After the ruled monkey returned to his "single room", because there was no pressure to be ruled, the dopamine receptor began to recover, and the demand for cocaine began to decrease.
Dopamine receptors are not only changeable, but also reversible. The key lies in the pressure of the environment.
04 Addiction induced by temptation
This article gives an example of the obesity rate in the United States. In 1990, no one continent had an obesity rate of more than 15%, and in 2015, 44 states had an obesity rate of more than 25 %. This is because high-sugar, high-calorie foods have become cheaper and ubiquitous,It is getting easier and easier to obtain them.
ubiquitous high-calorie foods
is the same trend in China: the incidence of obesity in my country (according to WHO's BMI ≥27.5kg/m^2 standard) increased from 4.2% in 1993 to 15.7% in 2015. Nowadays, every community is full of snack shops, and Meituan can deliver snacks to your door.
Domestic snack shops
As the old saying goes: I often walk by the river, and there are no shoes not wet. To prevent eating more food, the first step is to stay away from these temptations as much as possible.
Summary:
The various data of this experiment show that the decisive factor of addiction-the receptor of dopamine is affected and changed by the environment, which means that has the ability to quit alcohol and even drug addiction. Feasibility in practice and scientific theory.
two
mobile phone addiction status
Adults play mobile games , 13.2% play mobile games for more than two hours a day on weekdays, of which 93% are males. This data has not yet calculated the girls who play social networks and use Douyin. If you count them, I expect the proportion of to exceed 75% .
There are also many extreme examples in the "Report": Shanghai’s father Huang told investigators, “Although the child is in school now, his studies have been messed up. Before, he often took more than 90 points in the test, and now he can test more than 50 points. Now he sleeps in class and has no interest. If we tell him not to play games, he will get angry. Some time ago he even started to do something..."
addicted to mobile phones
Parents have tried to force a ban on mobile phones, but the effect is not satisfactory. For example, the son of Dad Huang above even wants to do it with him.
Three
How to scientifically keep children away from mobile phones?
Based on the results of this research, we can try the following four points:
01 Because addiction itself is a vicious circle, the sooner intervenes, the better .
02 Because a positive environment can increase the dopamine receptor , parents should take the initiative and actively create a positive environment for their children. For example, more family interactions: Dad can talk to children about the school canteen and company canteen, talk about classmates and colleagues around him, and talk about the difference between the movie that is going to be released recently and the movie he watched when he was a child. Let’s talk about your favorite celebrities, how they were educated by their grandparents when they were young.
Don’t talk about homework, grades, and other content that makes children feel stressful.Or climbing a mountain, playing a ball and other outdoor activities on weekends are very good activities.
In short, as long as parents are willing to take the initiative to spend their thoughts, it is certainly not difficult to find common topics and interests. Because According to research, as long as a person is in a happy state, dopamine receptors will increase and addiction will decrease.
03 Excessive stress will also reduce the dopamine receptor . Now the schoolwork itself is very busy. It is common for junior high school children to do their homework at 11 o’clock. I know that many students have to do it a week. 4, 5 or even more cram schools. Continuous learning from Monday to Sunday puts too much pressure on many children, which is one of the reasons why they become addicted to other things.
Now the country has introduced a double reduction policy, which can just alleviate this problem for children. Parents arrange as little or no tuition as possible .
04 Remove all temptations around the child. Don’t have anyone playing games or playing vibrato within the child’s perceivable range . Children’s living areas are mainly school and home. Naturally, there is no temptation in school, mainly brothers and sisters, mom and dad, at home at night, do not use mobile phones when it is not necessary, mobile games and Douyin should be banned. . Cut off the source of temptation, and children's desire to play with mobile phones will naturally decrease.
At the end of 2010, Jobs told the New York Times reporter Nick Bilton that his children had never used an iPad. One of the founders of Twitter, Evan Williams (Evan Williams) bought hundreds of books for his two young sons,But they don't buy them an iPad.
The founders of the world's top smart devices and social networking companies actually prevent their children from touching smart devices. In China, we can guess whether Ma Huateng will let his children play "Glory of the King"?
Summary ：
As long as the above 4 items are done, I believe that your child can gradually stay away from the mobile phone from today.
Educating children is a headache for countless parents. They have fought and failed repeatedly and seem to see no hope of victory.
In fact, education is a complex system engineering. When facing a complex problem, you first need to use a scientific method to disassemble it. When you see the essence of the problem, the only time left to victory is the test of time and patience.
Note:
- 2017-7-2 "What Cookies and Meth Have in Common"
- Academic name: D2 receptors
