The pursuit of pleasure, an intrinsic aspect of human existence, has evolved dramatically with technological progress. Hedonic behavior has manifested itself in various forms throughout history, from the opulent feasts of ancient Rome to the nocturnal revelry of the 1920s. However, the digital age has radically reshaped this impulse. Today, with the contributions of AI, especially social media platforms have not only revolutionized hedonism, but also created a digital world full of ethical dilemmas. In order to fully comprehend this transformation, it is necessary to review how historical processes, biological imperatives and technological innovations have come together to shape modern hedonism.
Hedonic behavior is rooted in biology. The human brain’s transient reward system, governed by dopamine, plays a crucial role in reinforcing pleasurable activities. When we eat, socialize or engage in art, dopamine floods the mesolimbic pathway and creates a sense of satisfaction that encourages repetition of that behavior.
This mechanism has clearly played an important role in human survival throughout history. After all, it is conceivable that consuming calorie-rich foods or living in communities with social bonds may have increased the chances of human survival in the past. However, in the modern era, this primordial drive has been transformed into a tool known as the ‘happiness economy‘, a mechanism that causes an ebb and flow between pleasure and addiction.
Today, people are facing the ‘hedonic treadmill‘, a phenomenon where repeated exposure to a stimulus reduces its impact and requires greater novelty to achieve the same satisfaction. This has succeeded in creating ‘digital slaves‘ who abandon other activities, such as reading a book, to prioritize instant gratification, such as binge-watching all the episodes of a popular TV series on a platform, or disrupting their duties to spend more time on social networks!
In fact, human history is full of interesting examples of how hedonic behaviors have evolved over time to the present day. In particular, changes in hedonic behavior have come to the fore during periods of increasing economic prosperity and technological advances. For example, in the 1950s, in the post-war years, consumerist materialism was reinforced as a cultural norm, and advertisements linking happiness to owning a new car, a house or the latest kitchen appliances began to be broadcast on television, which began to replace radio. Shopping malls, designed as ‘temples of consumption‘ in the 1970s, became places where pleasure was commodified and standardized.
The fast food industry, artificial intelligence-based algorithm-driven social media streams and addictive video games have in common dopamine-centered hedonic traps that offer hyper-concentrated rewards while eclipsing natural pleasures by capturing individuals through the same neural pathways.
Due to the depth of the topic, we will continue to explore the details in the coming weeks.