Quick dopamine and attention

Jonathan HaidtAmerican social psychologist, professor at NYU Stern School of Business, and author of The Anxious Generation

• Haidt advises turning off almost all notifications and treating attention as sacred and precious.

  “Treat your attention as though it is sacred and precious. And if you can get larger pieces of it, your life will change”

  The Mel Robbins Podcast: NYU Professor: Do This for 2 Weeks to Get Your Focus, Motivation, & Life Back (Sep 14, 2026) · Listen from 56:01

• Haidt recounts an NYU student who spent ten hours a day on video games and social media and whose life transformed after changing his digital habits.

  “One young man, he was spending 10 hours a day on video games and social media, 10 hours a day as a college student”

  The Mel Robbins Podcast: NYU Professor: Do This for 2 Weeks to Get Your Focus, Motivation, & Life Back (Sep 14, 2026) · Listen from 35:58

• Haidt says a child's extreme upset when a device is taken away signals dopamine adaptation, and that the brain takes a couple of weeks to restore itself.

  “If when you take something away, the kid is very upset, that's a definite sign of dopamine adaptation”

  The Mel Robbins Podcast: NYU Professor: Do This for 2 Weeks to Get Your Focus, Motivation, & Life Back (Sep 14, 2026) · Listen from 26:29

• Haidt tells listeners that following his digital habit program will make them smarter, emotionally stronger, and more sociable, and thus more successful in love and work.

  “if you make these changes to your habits, by the end of the course, you will become smarter, stronger emotionally, and more sociable”

  The Mel Robbins Podcast: NYU Professor: Do This for 2 Weeks to Get Your Focus, Motivation, & Life Back (Sep 14, 2026) · Listen from 6:23