Intelligence Squared

Why Are We So Addicted to Everything? With Nicklas Brendborg

November 12, 2025

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  • Modern health crises like obesity, anxiety, and loneliness are tied together by the underlying phenomenon of "supernormal stimuli," which are exaggerated versions of stimuli that exploit our evolved biological instincts. 
  • Supernormal stimuli, exemplified by ultra-processed foods that exaggerate sweetness beyond natural levels, lead to overconsumption and desensitization, requiring ever-increasing stimulation to achieve the same reward. 
  • Introducing friction or barriers to accessing supernormal stimuli, similar to historical examples like alcohol prohibition, can decrease consumption and allow the brain to resensitize to less stimulating, potentially healthier rewards. 

Segments

Introduction to Supernormal Stimuli
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(00:05:00)
  • Key Takeaway: Supernormal stimuli are exaggerated versions of natural rewards that hijack biological instincts, linking diverse modern health crises like obesity and anxiety.
  • Summary: The concept of supernormal stimuli, coined by a Nobel laureate, explains how exaggerated environmental cues overwhelm natural instincts. An example involves birds preferring large, brightly colored fake eggs over their own, illustrating an instinct without a natural ceiling. This same phenomenon underlies contemporary issues such as the obesity epidemic, rising mental health problems, and various addictions.
Food Optimization and Desensitization
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(00:09:02)
  • Key Takeaway: Food companies optimize products by exaggerating natural rewards like sweetness, leading to overconsumption, while reduced sugar intake can resensitize taste receptors.
  • Summary: Food production has shifted to optimizing products for maximum reward and minimal satiety to increase sales, utilizing inherent human preferences like sweetness. Strawberry-flavored candy, for instance, exaggerates the sweetness found in natural strawberries, causing overeating and weight gain. Conversely, removing added sugar allows the palate to resensitize, meaning less sugar is needed to achieve a rewarding taste sensation.
Superstimulation in Sex and Relationships
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(00:16:58)
  • Key Takeaway: Industries exploit the sex drive and partnering instinct through superstimuli like pornography and dating apps, potentially contributing to rising singlehood and falling fertility rates.
  • Summary: The drive for sex and partnership is targeted by industries creating hyper-rewarding experiences, analogous to how candy relates to fruit. Pornography concentrates appealing attributes through editing and selection, while dating apps exploit the liking for numerous options, potentially desensitizing users to real intimacy. Observed increases in singles and falling fertility rates globally suggest these technological superstimuli are having societal effects.
Screen Time and Social Media Rewards
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(00:29:08)
  • Key Takeaway: Screens deliver potent superstimulation by packaging social recognition (likes) and curated experiences (TV shows) into highly concentrated, algorithmically optimized formats.
  • Summary: Screens are central to superstimulation because many rewarding experiences are visual; social media exploits the fundamental human need for social recognition. Features like the ’like’ button provide concentrated social acknowledgment, leading to desensitization where users require more validation to feel rewarded. Algorithms continuously optimize content delivery to maximize screen time for ad revenue, favoring the most attractive or successful content creators.
AI’s Role and Future Optimism
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(00:38:11)
  • Key Takeaway: Artificial intelligence will likely exacerbate superstimulation by automating the creation and hyper-personalization of addictive content, necessitating conscious countermeasures.
  • Summary: AI, like Sora 2 generating TikTok-style videos, threatens to automate the optimization of content to be maximally attractive, potentially adjusting videos in real-time based on user attention. This automation could trap individuals, especially those with fewer resources, in a life dominated by ultra-processed foods, high screen time, and constant digital stimulation. However, pharmacological interventions and conscious behavioral changes, like using grayscale mode on phones, offer pathways to resensitize and regain control.