Five years ago, a casual photo with friends or a "how my day went" text post could get you a couple hundred likes. That felt good. That felt like connection.
Today, the same dopamine hit requires video editing, AI-assisted captions, trend analysis, and competing with millions of algorithmically optimized posts. We're paying more and getting less.
This isn't just a vibe—it's measurable. And I've been tracking it.
The Baseline: When Dopamine Was Cheap (2019–2020)
The old feed was simple. Facebook, VK—mostly friends, a few public pages, and local memes.
To get attention, you needed:
- A photo from a trip
- A couple sentences about your day
- Maybe a thoughtful caption
Likes were about genuine support. Your people clicked the heart because they cared what happened to you, not because you looked like a micro-brand.
Dopamine was nearly free: minimal time, zero production, and a clear circle of people who actually knew you.
According to research on social media and dopamine pathways, these platforms activated the same reward circuits as social interaction—receiving positive feedback triggered dopamine release in the brain's reward centers, creating short-term feedback loops that kept users engaged.
Instagram and the Avatar Economy (2012–2020)
Then Instagram quietly raised the bar. The feed got prettier. So did everyone's life—or at least how it looked.
- Photos weren't just "what happened"—they were "how it looks in the grid"
- Everyone around you seemed slightly more vibrant than reality
Likes shifted from genuine engagement to social rating. It became less about "I care about your day" and more about "you're playing this game well."
Dopamine now cost more in effort: angles, color correction, caption crafting, Stories strategy, the constant sense that "I should look the part".
By 2020, Instagram's median engagement rate was significantly higher than today—around 2.94% compared to 0.61% in January 2025. The same content that worked then requires dramatically more sophistication now.
TikTok, Reels, and the Attention Casino (2020–Present)
Then TikTok and Reels exploded. The feed stopped being about people you know.
- Now anyone could see you—and you could see anyone
- The feed became infinite, formats got shorter, everything revolved around instant interest
- Algorithms decided who saw your video and for how many seconds
Before, getting noticed meant impressing your circle. Now you're competing with millions of random videos for fractional attention spans.
To get the same dopamine you used to get from 100 likes from friends, you now compete in a global lottery system.
This created:
- More aggressive formats (hooks in the first 0.5 seconds)
- Maximum expressiveness front-loaded
- Focus on the hook, not the story
The data backs this up: TikTok's average engagement rate dropped from 5.77% in 2023 to 4.64% in 2024. Instagram Reels saw median engagement fall from 0.55% to 0.50% in the same period [web:51]. Even as more people post, fewer people engage proportionally.
Twitter, Threads, and the Endless Idea Stream
Meanwhile, Twitter and Threads operate differently—but extract the same cost.
- Endless feeds of short thoughts
- Any mundane idea can blow up if it catches the timing and mood right
But dopamine here isn't about warmth—it's about significance. Likes and retweets signal: "I'm saying something important. People are listening."
Your brain quickly recalibrates that level of reaction as the new normal.
Research shows that engagement rates on X (Twitter) dropped 48% between 2024 and 2025—the steepest decline of any major platform. Comments increased by 107% year-over-year, but total engagement per post plummeted.
AI Enters the Game—and Raises the Floor
When AI joined the playing field, it seemed like things would get easier.
- Models help generate viral headlines
- They create graphics, covers, copy, and video
- Anyone can look like they have a production team behind them
But here's the trap: when everyone has access to beautiful images, polished videos, and compelling hooks, the baseline quality level rises.
What was "wow" yesterday is just "standard" today.
Before, a couple hundred likes required sharing an authentic moment. Now, for the same effect, you:
- Design the format strategically
- Plug in AI tools
- Filter ideas through "will this actually hook someone?"
- Compete not just with humans, but with algorithmically optimized content
According to recent research, 61% of marketers now use AI for content generation, with adoption growing 25% between 2023 and 2024. This means the content you're competing against isn't just more polished—it's increasingly engineered for maximum engagement.
What the Same Dopamine Costs Now
If we simplify drastically, here's what changed:
Then (2019–2020)
- Small circle of people who mostly know you
- Simple formats: text, photo, personal updates
- Likes as gestures of support, not ratings
- Dopamine nearly free: some time, zero production
Now (2025)
- Infinite feed of random audiences
- Video, Reels, editing, AI, hooks in the first seconds
- Likes as markers of status, relevance, "expertise"
- Dopamine expensive: more effort, energy, and nerves for the same feeling
By the numbers:
- Average engagement rates across platforms: 1.4%–2.8% in 2025
- Instagram engagement dropped 16% year-over-year
- Facebook engagement fell 36%, TikTok 34%, X 48%
- Cost per engagement on social campaigns: $1.29 on average
- Average CPL (cost per lead): $65 for paid ads, $95 for organic content
We're paying more and the effect lasts less. The same dopamine that used to come from a simple, warm post to your circle now requires mini-production and participation in a global race.
Why I Choose Depth Over Dopamine Hits
At some point, I caught myself measuring my work's value by numbers. Views, likes, saves—they easily substitute for meaning.
But the moments that resonate most with me aren't attention spikes. They're when chaos becomes a clear system, or when a working template emerges from noise.
That's why I'm interested in something different now. Not squeezing maximum dopamine from every post, but understanding how all this works—and how to use AI without completely burning out in the feed.
That's where my research, prompts, templates, and Spaces come from. It's my way of playing not just on the side of algorithms, but on the side of awareness: building systems that work even when a post doesn't "blow up."
According to research on social media as a behavioral dopamine agonist, excessive platform use can lead to cognitive fatigue and emotional distress over time—mimicking dopamine pathway activation patterns associated with addictive behaviors [web:27]. The key isn't avoiding platforms entirely, but building intentional systems around them.
Calculating Your Own Dopamine Cost
If this resonates with you, we can experiment together.
Try counting not just reach, but your personal cost per like: how much time, energy, and money you're trading for that one second of dopamine.
Ask yourself:
- How many hours did this post take (ideation, creation, editing, posting, engagement)?
- How much mental energy did I spend optimizing it?
- Did I enjoy making it, or was I just chasing metrics?
- What's my actual return—connection, learning, growth, or just a number?
When you track your real costs—not just money, but attention, creativity, and peace of mind—you might find that some dopamine hits are absurdly expensive.
And that awareness opens up new choices: invest in systems, not spikes. Build depth, not just reach. Create for clarity, not just the feed.
This article was drafted with the help of an AI assistant and then edited and reviewed by me.
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