Dopamine Fasting

Yes. To quote William Arkle,

'Purity is not goodness, it is having clear and undistorted communication with all our levels of experience.'

'The teaching of purity and simplicity is therefore not an attempt to narrow down our life and experience, it is not a type of punishment, it does not invalidate our individuality neither does it bring special dispensations with it from God. It is nothing more or less than what is understood in scientific terms as a law of condition of nature which we must accept and work with because it is not within our ability to change. To be pure is not to be in fear of making mistakes which will make God angry with us and thus punish us. It is rather to eradicate from our attitudes the hesitations and suspicions which prevent us acting and experiencing with intensity and conviction.'

https://williamarkle.blogspot.com/2019/06/a-geography-of-con...

It isn't necessary to be formally religious to understand that the object of purity is to make the varying intensity of one's responses be truly integrated with the situations that one encounters, whether one is being attacked by a lion, at risk of ostracism, receiving good news, celebrating a birthday, etc.

Reading through this, it identifies something that I've seen a lot of people say is a problem, and suggests that the way to solve the problem is simply don't do it sometimes, on a schedule.

While that may help, you've basically dedicated a portion of your life to not enjoying your life.

Instead, I've taken a different tack. I've chosen to do those addictive things less, but instead of not-doing-fun-things, I do fun things that are at least somewhat productive.

For me, that's making something or learning a new skill, usually in order to make something. Programming, woodworking, drawing, etc. Even just putting together Lego or Metal Earth figurines, though it's harder to justify them as "productive" rather than just fun.

I still play video games. But I don't play those mobile games with the "gacha" mechanics. It's not that I don't enjoy them, but that I realize they take over my life and are not productive at all. At all.

It's not at all easy to kick these bad habits this way, but it's way better than "dopamine fasting", IMO.

I share a similar perspective. I often wonder how much more creative and productive we'd be if video games suddenly disappeared, or if by magic, the internet shut off at 8pm every night.

I've observed that when the internet has gone down, or I've been unable to play videogames, I'm more likely to fill the downtime with building things.

Just FYI, mocking the term "Toxic Masculinity" shows you either don't understand what it refers to or think those things are good, either of which makes me much less interested in anything else you might have to say because it sets a bad precedent.

Toxic Masculinity does not mean being male is toxic (i.e. harmful). It refers to specific ideas about what it means to be male or how men should act that are toxic. Like not sharing emotions other than violence, not asking for help, never admitting weakness, etc. If you think those things are silly and we shouldn't be doing them: great! But many people (especially men) hold onto these notions and that's what the term refers to.

The internet is crucial for many people to be productive.

If by "internet" you meant "fscebook, twitter, Instagram and the like", you already see the problem.

I'd say that delaying gratification somewhat is key. If you stop the internal monkey from getting its immediate hit of dopamine, and get the conscious part of you involved, you can be productive and enjoy it.