Dopamine in a Digital Era.
A multimedia journalistic piece centered around the differences and effects of long form, effortful activity vs short form, low effort activity such as doomscrolling. This piece was produced as my journalism capstone. The primary forms of media contain a short video and two podcast episodes. This piece will educate and raise awareness about what living an active lifestyle vs one filled with doomscrolling time can do to your happiness and mental health.
A large topic that this project emphasizes is the importance of human connection in today's world.
Documentary Film
Profile Film
Podcast #1: What is Dopamine?
Podcast #2: The Translation.
Podcast Transcripts:
Graphs & Sources:
Zablotsky, B., Arockiaraj, B., Haile, G., & Ng, A. E.
“Daily Screen Time Among Teenagers: United States, July 2021–December 2023.”
National Center for Health Statistics, Data Brief No. 513.
Hyattsville, MD: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2024.
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db513.htm
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
Key Substance Use and Mental Health Indicators in the United States: Results from the 2024 National Survey on Drug Use and Health.
HHS Publication No. PEP25-07-007, NSDUH Series H-60.
Rockville, MD: Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality, 2025.
https://www.samhsa.gov/data/data-we-collect/nsduh-national-survey-drug-use-and-health/national-releases/2024
Anxiety rates (1990–2023)
Our World in Data. “Anxiety Disorders.”
https://ourworldindata.org/mental-health#anxiety-disorders
Depression Rates (1990-2023)
Our World in Data. “Depressive Disorders.”
https://ourworldindata.org/mental-health#depressive-disorders
Pew Research Center.
Gottfried, Jeffrey, and Eugenie Park.
“Americans’ Social Media Use 2025.”
November 20, 2025.
https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2025/11/20/americans-social-media-use-2025/pi_2025-11-20_social-media-use_0-02/
Boer, M., Stevens, G. W. J. M., Finkenauer, C., & van den Eijnden, R. J. J. M.
“Social Media Use Intensity, Social Media Use Problems, and Mental Health Among Adolescents.”
Computers in Human Behavior, 2021.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0747563220303927
Deyo, A., Wallace, J., & Kidwell, K. M.
“Screen Time and Mental Health in College Students: Time in Nature as a Protective Factor.”
Journal of American College Health, vol. 72, no. 8, Nov. 2024, pp. 3025–3032.
https://doi.org/10.1080/07448481.2022.2151843
Anna Lembke.
Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence.
New York: Dutton (Penguin Random House), 2021.
Macit, H. B., Macit, G., & Güngör, O.
“A Research on Social Media Addiction and Dopamine Driven Feedback.”
Journal of Mehmet Akif Ersoy University Economics and Administrative Sciences Faculty, vol. 5, no. 3, 2018, pp. 882–897.
https://doi.org/10.30798/makuiibf.435845
Magnetaba.
“Average Screen Time Statistics.”
February 28, 2025.
https://www.magnetaba.com/blog/average-screen-time-statistics