Dopamine Receptor Growth
Analogy★★★★When we’re infants, we have a very small dopamine receptor. You could put a baby or an infant on a blanket out in the park and they will stare at a little piece of grass for what seems like a very long time and they’re so mesmerized by it, so exciting. But then you put that baby in front of a cell phone while he’s in the grocery cart at the store because mom wants to distract from that interaction while she’s shopping. And then that kid can’t look at grass anymore. It needs the cell phone to keep it going.
Anguish, Amanda; Binus, Daniel, “You’re Looking at the Problem - How Screens Affect Our Brains” (AudioVerse teaching 25202).
The point
Illustrates how early exposure to stimulating devices like smartphones can change a child's attention span and interest in natural, less stimulating activities.