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A review by aebrossbooks
Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence by Anna Lembke
informative
medium-paced
1.5
I never thought I'd be the type of person to rage-read a book, and yet, here I am.
CW/TW: Mention of fatphobia/anti-fatness and racial we well as socioeconomic privilege
"Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence" by Anne Lemke positions itself as a book about balancing pleasure and pain amidst a world forcing pleasure down our throats in a way that would make us numb to the true pain and feeling around us.
What it actually is is a frustrating journey through a mishmash of loose correlation and disjointed anecdotal evidence tinged with the familiar taste of individual responsibility propaganda. It paradoxically insisting both that we all have the power to control ourselves and that social media can be compared to illicit drugs (such as opioids) in the strength of its addictive pull, the latter of which both diminishes the reality of chemical addiction AND obfuscates the causes and possible cures for "addiction" to social media.
Not only this, but the message is also steeped in an amount of anti-fat bias that I found, quite frankly, shocking. There was more than one (i.e. there were many) mentions of how overweight and obese people are "suffering" from something they can "control." On top of that, the author does little to discuss the socioeconomic influences on individuals and their indulgence in dopamine seeking behaviors. There are one or two flippant mentions to, "yes, there could be other factors" but the majority of the book continues on, apparently blissfully oblivious to the different treatment of BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, and/or disabled individuals, content deliver it's bootstraps-scented message.
And DO NOT get me started on the fear mongering and complete disregard and stigmatization of individuals who actually NEED things like antidepressants and the like. It's clear she is not a fan.
Are there good parts of this book? Absolutely. There are many instances where the author highlights important behaviors and treatments that can do some real good. There are even things I plan on keeping a closer eye on in my own life. All of that feels very much stymied by what I can only assume is the author's bias and an attempt to make the book more marketable by not giving the entirety of this important topic.
CW/TW: Mention of fatphobia/anti-fatness and racial we well as socioeconomic privilege
"Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence" by Anne Lemke positions itself as a book about balancing pleasure and pain amidst a world forcing pleasure down our throats in a way that would make us numb to the true pain and feeling around us.
What it actually is is a frustrating journey through a mishmash of loose correlation and disjointed anecdotal evidence tinged with the familiar taste of individual responsibility propaganda. It paradoxically insisting both that we all have the power to control ourselves and that social media can be compared to illicit drugs (such as opioids) in the strength of its addictive pull, the latter of which both diminishes the reality of chemical addiction AND obfuscates the causes and possible cures for "addiction" to social media.
Not only this, but the message is also steeped in an amount of anti-fat bias that I found, quite frankly, shocking. There was more than one (i.e. there were many) mentions of how overweight and obese people are "suffering" from something they can "control." On top of that, the author does little to discuss the socioeconomic influences on individuals and their indulgence in dopamine seeking behaviors. There are one or two flippant mentions to, "yes, there could be other factors" but the majority of the book continues on, apparently blissfully oblivious to the different treatment of BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, and/or disabled individuals, content deliver it's bootstraps-scented message.
And DO NOT get me started on the fear mongering and complete disregard and stigmatization of individuals who actually NEED things like antidepressants and the like. It's clear she is not a fan.
Are there good parts of this book? Absolutely. There are many instances where the author highlights important behaviors and treatments that can do some real good. There are even things I plan on keeping a closer eye on in my own life. All of that feels very much stymied by what I can only assume is the author's bias and an attempt to make the book more marketable by not giving the entirety of this important topic.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction
Moderate: Fatphobia