Why are you participating in hateful conversations on social media? Could be the dopamine.

Ever notice how you are intrinsically drawn to hateful or otherwise dramatic conversations, pages, and groups on social media?

You can blame it on chemicals. Dopamine, specifically.

According to Stanford psychiatrist Anna Lembke, author of Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence, “Feel-good substances and behaviors increase dopamine release in the brain’s reward pathways.”

“But, if I am participating in hateful conversation, that’s not a ‘feel-good!’ situation!”

One would think! However, your brain doesn’t work that way.

Even just commenting or liking comments on those hateful posts releases dopamine, effectively, giving you a hit of a drug!

And, according to Lembke, right after you get that rush of dopamine, “The brain responds to this increase by decreasing dopamine transmission — not just back down to its natural baseline rate, but below that baseline. Repeated exposure to the same or similar stimuli ultimately creates a chronic dopamine-deficit state, wherein we’re less able to experience pleasure.”

In other words…

You look at a hateful post in a Facebook group.

You comment. You feel a little better, maybe even a little bit vindicated.

You fought for something important, something you believe in!

You might even feel a little rush of excitement!

You take a break, get back to work…

Two minutes go by… three.

You go check the post. Any comments?

Oh, there’s one!

It’s someone disagreeing with you! You’ll show them!

You comment again. You feel better.

You are arguing for THE. RIGHT. THING.

You are doing your part!

Okay, time to get back to work, your kids, your family…

You wait ten excruciating minutes.

You check the post again.

And the cycle continues…

You satiate yourself with periodic hits of a drug, all while patting yourself on the back for standing up for your values!

This is bad, but it gets worse!

Not only are you addicted to your on-and-off dopamine cycling, but by commenting on negatively charged social media posts, you are also making sure they’re seen by even more people.

Facebook’s algorithm uses artificial intelligence to study what a user likes and interacts with. It gives each post a score based on how likely the user is to engage with it.

Posts with higher scores, especially those that get lots of likes, comments, and shares, appear more often in the user’s newsfeed. The ultimate goal is to show users content that sparks conversations and strong reactions.

Note that the algorithm does not distinguish between “positive or negative” posts. It doesn’t care! Only the statistics matter.

Inside the mind of a social media algorithm:

“Oh! Lots of comments on THAT POST IN THAT GROUP!”

“Since I’m the algorithm, I can see that this is A VERY IMPORTANT POST IN A VERY IMPORTANT SOCIAL MEDIA GROUP!”

“Therefore, I will show that post to more people so that they can see it and comment!”

“As a matter of fact, I’ll make sure the posts from that entire social media group or page are higher up in everybody’s feed, since they are obviously very important and generate a lot of engagement, which makes my billionaire platform owner – $$$$!”

TL;DR:

Engaging in negative conversations on social media provides dopamine hits, creating a cycle of addiction that keeps you coming back for more.

Worse, your participation boosts the visibility of these posts, helping social media algorithms spread negativity even further.

Participate wisely, my friends!

Sources:

Addictive potential of social media, explained

How Does the Facebook Algorithm Work in 2025?

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