Why Do We Seek?

Here is a fascinating article that Melissa sent around about our obsession with seeking information, and how technology today is very well, and dangerously, suited to the way our brains work. Anyone who has a day job in front of an internet-abled computer should read this article!

http://www.slate.com/id/2224932

Here's a highlight:
"So addicts become obsessively driven to seek the reward, even as the reward itself becomes progressively less rewarding once obtained. 'The dopamine system does not have satiety built into it,' Berridge explains. 'And under certain conditions it can lead us to irrational wants, excessive wants we'd be better off without.' So we find ourselves letting one Google search lead to another, while often feeling the information is not vital and knowing we should stop."

I think this definitely applies to our addiction to obtaining material objects. We shop and buy and consume because we think it will be rewarding somehow, but when we actually make the purchase, we go home often feeling let down, because the seeking of the object, the desire for it, is more exciting than actually having it.

In addition, we are using material objects to fuel our addiction to seeking information: computers, iPods, iPhones, Blackberrys, etc. We need the newest gadgets to get the information faster and make everything available right at our fingertips at all times.

I also really liked this list of adjectives: It is an emotional state Panksepp tried many names for: curiosity, interest, foraging, anticipation, craving, expectancy. He finally settled on seeking.

It appears that seeking information is a drug like any other, and a very addictive one at that. After all, they call it "crackberry" for a reason, no?