Dopamine Debt Score
Q1I watch short-form videos for 30+ minutes without noticing
Q2I check my phone even when there's no notification
Q3I feel uneasy without my phone nearby during meals or conversations
Q4I'm on my phone right up until I fall asleep
Q5Regular-speed video feels too slow — I speed up or skip ahead
Q6I always open my phone during any wait (traffic light, checkout, elevator)
Q7I open another tab or app in the middle of working
Q8Quiet time or boredom feels uncomfortable
Q9I jump between pieces of content without finishing any of them
Q10I keep checking for reactions (likes, replies) on social media
Q11I've tried to cut down my phone use and failed
Q12I find myself following high-stimulation content (controversy, gossip, extreme news)
Q13Imagining a day without my phone makes me anxious
Low Debt
Your stimulation intake
looks healthy right now
There's little sign of borrowing intensity to get through the day. Your dopamine receptors still respond to small rewards, which means this margin — this room to feel satisfied by ordinary things — is intact. Protecting it is what keeps focus possible.
Read first Totonou: The Japanese Word for What Your Brain Has Been Missing → Read next Hare and Ke: The 2,000-Year Japanese Blueprint for Dopamine Reset →Accumulating
You're starting to borrow
stimulation, a little at a time
Dependence on strong stimulation hasn't hardened into a habit yet, but the reflex to reach for your phone to fill boredom or silence is starting to show. This is the cheapest point to intervene.
Read first Why You Can't Put Down Your Phone → Read next Why You Can't Focus Anymore →Overdrawn
Your reward system now
expects high stimulation
Multiple patterns are present, consistent with your brain's reward prediction shifting toward high-intensity input. Quiet time and ordinary, unstimulating tasks start to feel more uncomfortable than they actually are. A deliberate period of lower stimulation is what resets the baseline.
Read first Why You Can't Put Down Your Phone → Read next Hare and Ke: The 2,000-Year Japanese Blueprint for Dopamine Reset → Also read Why You Can't Focus Anymore →Critical
Borrowing has
become the default
Nearly every item applies — this is a critical level of stimulation dependence. This isn't a medical diagnosis, but a structured digital detox is worth starting: notifications off, screen time made visible, and quiet time deliberately protected.
Read first Hare and Ke: The 2,000-Year Japanese Blueprint for Dopamine Reset → Read next Why You Can't Put Down Your Phone →Measurement history
Other measurement: check your Fatigue Coefficient → / Sound Lab →
This check is an editorial behavioral instrument written by the Dopamine Lab TV team, informed by public research including the Smartphone Addiction Scale — Short Version (SAS-SV, Kwon et al., 2013). It is not a validated clinical scale, and not a medical diagnosis. Source: SAS-SV validation study