IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 74

Commentary
demands through technologies [12]. Global studies
[13]-[15] reveal intense pressures due to being
merely gainfully employed in the digital age; these
pressures also can result in chronic stress and risks
to well-being. There has been a 30% increase in
those who work from home; postpandemic research
is likely to reveal far more intensifying pressures on
members of society due to increasingly blurred lines
between work and nonwork time. Positively, and in
concert with such countries as France and Germany,
the European Union (EU) is embracing bloc-wide
legislative directives to ensure workers are protected
through the " right-to-disconnect. " However, critics
of addressing such issues through legislature alone
rightfully draw our attention to the deeper requirements
to ensure rights-to-rest; cultures of always-on
must be shifted not only in the workplace, but also at
the societal level, to free us from the covert and overt
social pressures of being tethered unremittingly to
digital leashes [16].
Problematic pleasures and dopamine
Technology increasingly affords us a seemingly
endless supply of options to distract us and to satisfy
our pleasure-seeking selves [17]-[19]. Pleasurable
technological pastimes such as viewing enjoyable,
engaging, and empowering media content can certainly
be means of improving well-being, yet spending
moderate to high amounts of time has been
linked to cognitive decline [20], [21]; self-discipline
matters. Most humans now have the means to explore
a vast array of pleasurable goods, services, people,
and places to gratify their desires and whims. From
the comfort of our couches, we can view images,
send, follow, communicate, surf, learn, watch videos
or movies, compete, meditate, play games, shop,
or gamble. We can indulge ourselves with steady
streams of instant gratification; our ancestors could
not imagine the hedonistic options we are now
afforded. However, with all these delectations at our
fingertips, we can easily find ourselves shifting from
short-term pleasures to long-term pain [7].
Our brains were not created to be perpetually
satiated with ease, comfort, and pleasure. When
our brains are allowed to subsist from pleasure to
pleasure, we produce surge after surge of dopamine.
Although dopamine is a naturally occurring feelgood
chemical (i.e., neurotransmitter) contributing
to feelings of pleasure and satisfaction, we can have
too much of a good thing [7], [22]. Over time, our
74
brains can suffer fatigue, leading to less production
of dopamine. We are also left feeling depressed
and emotionally down when we cease to produce
the rush of these chemicals; this maladaptive state
can drive us to find riskier ways to feel good [6],
[7]. As our consumption of perpetual pleasures persists,
our dopamine transporter levels can go down
over time. With less dopamine, everyday pleasures
cease to be as pleasurable as they once were; we
are less satisfied and need progressively more, or
more intense, activities to stimulate dopamine [23].
Studies [3], [4] contend humans subsequently can
suffer greater fatigue levels, depression, increased
competitiveness and conflict, reduced performance,
and decreased productivity.
Subtle stress and suffering:
Distractions and comparisons
Researchers [24], [25] also alert us to risks to the
brain when we are media multitasking (MMT, e.g.,
text messaging while watching television). High-tech
jugglers have been shown to have lower cognitive
capacity and set themselves up to remember less, as
well as to be far more prone to distractions of irrelevant
information. While our bodies are physically
established in one location, our minds are too often
in another location; perhaps, we are scrolling to traverse
foreign lands, or virtually immersing ourselves
in others' lived experiences while sacrificing our
own. Yet, our minds and bodies were created to be
well-integrated and hang out together far more often
than we allow [8]. Without this robust mind-body
integration, we are likely to miss the irreplaceable
joys of being who we are and where we are, in the
present state.
Technology usage can lead to fear of missing out,
comparisons to others, gossiping, and self-focus [26],
[27]. Research [28] relative to frequent digital technology
use also presents evidence of such potential
harmful effects as impaired brain development, disrupted
sleep, reduced social and emotional intelligence,
and reduced attention. Such technologies as
social media have been associated with evidence of
problematic levels of cortisol (i.e., the fight, flight, or
freeze hormone); research indicates increased levels
of perceived stress, and impaired stress recovery (i.e.,
sustained cortisol levels and/or impaired cortisol
recovery) [26], [29], [30]. Research [31] relative to
online gaming revealed cortisol levels increased significantly.
A unique, yet the wide-ranging definition
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