Brain Rot: Internet addiction
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Brain Rot: Internet addiction

29:31 Oct 4, 2025
About this episode
Plenty of people will say they are addicted to the internet. But how well-recognised, scientifically, is an addiction … to your screen?In episode four of Brain Rot, we dig into how behavioural addictions work.And we hear from self-described internet addicts about the treatment programs helping them manage their relationship with technology.This episode originally aired on Brain Rot, a series of the ABC podcast Science Friction. Sana will be back with all-new episodes of All in the Mind in mid-October.Guests:Jillian and KateInternet and Technology Addiction Anonymous membersHilarie CashPsychologist and Co-Founder, reSTARTAnna LembkeProfessor of Psychiatry and Addiction Medicine, Stanford University School of MedicineAnastasia HronisClinical Psychologist; Author, The Dopamine BrainDar MeshiAssociate Professor, Michigan State UniversityCredits:Presenter: Ange LavoipierreProducer: Fiona PepperSenior Producer: James BullenSound Engineer: Tim SymondsThis story was made on the lands of the Gadigal and Menang Noongar peoples.More Information:Changes and correlates of screen time in adults and children during the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review and meta analysis — eClinical Medicine, 2022.Internet-addicted South Korean children sent to digital detox boot camp.The Dopamine Brain — Anastasia Hronis.Everyone is on their phones. But are we actually addicted? The Guardian, 2024.Internet and Technology Addicts Anonymous.Dopamine Nation — Anna Lembke.Inside the rehab saving young men from their internet addiction — The Guardian, 2017Other episodes related to focus and our relationship with smart phones:When doom scrolling leads to actual harmShould you do a 'dopamine detox'?
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