> it happened when we achieved a level of such constant stimulation (...) that we’re never bored and never engage the default mode network.

I don't know... I don't disagree, but I think this has been repeated so much that I believe everyone, at least everyone that is actively participating in HN discussions is aware of this.

So if we are aware of this and we consciously choose to keep engaging in dopaminergic activities, without having some time to be bored, I think it starts to become a choice. We can blame tech for starting this trend of stealing our attention, but once we become aware of this, we can only blame ourselves for perpetuating it.

I still love learning, especially outside of tech. Been working in the ML field for over 8 years, and while I went into it because I liked the field, I did lose some interest in learning things, but mostly because of the sheer volume of publication and the rate of change. Learning stopped being something I enjoyed doing and went to something I had to do to keep up. And it just stopped having the same flavor.