From our other sites
The story
An article distributed by ITmedia Mobile introduced the coined term “dopa-gaki” (dopamine brat), describing a state of being unable to step away from social media and short-form videos for even a moment. Short for “dopamine-addicted brat,” the term is said to capture the psychology of losing tolerance for boredom. On 5channel, threads saw a wave of pushback against the term itself, along with comments suggesting the same tendency isn’t limited to children but applies to adults and the TV generation too. Some posters linked declining sales of gum and cigarettes to the spread of smartphones, turning the discussion into one about how, across generations, the way people “kill time” has changed.
“Can’t stand even a moment of boredom” — What is the SNS-addicted “dopa-gaki”? The psychology behind it, and how things stand outside Japan (page 1/3) – ITmedia Mobile
Published September 15, 2026, 08:00 AM [Tomoko Suzuki, ITmedia]
Lately, you may have seen the term “dopa-gaki” floating around social media. It’s a coined term short for “a brat addicted to dopamine (a brain chemical),” used as slang for someone who can’t tolerate even a moment of boredom and constantly craves intense stimulation from music, short-form videos, livestreams, and social media.
Source: itmedia.co.jp / Read the original article here
What people said
I don't feel that way — you need vocabulary that can properly describe a state.
There was a Frenchman who was blown away by the Japanese concept of "chinposi" (the position of one's junk in one's pants).
Of course Frenchmen also feel discomfort about their junk's position.
But there was no word for it. He said "chinposi" was the perfect term to describe that uncomfortable feeling he'd always had.
What creeps me out is replacing a word that already exists with another word that already exists.
Fashion terms like "spats" vs "leggings" are like that.
What actually annoys me is when a word borrowed to describe a concept with no other way of being said (or that would take a wordy explanation) gets used instead in place of a perfectly plain existing word.
Like calling mere "setting" a "worldview."
Or using a meme about something whose essence never changes as if it were a fresh local buzzword.
Or treating a phrase everyone's just recycling as if it were some profound proverb or maxim.
Sure, I bring my phone into the bathroom too. I'm fiddling with it on the train as well.
I think what matters is whether you can look at your own state objectively and accept it or not.
It's got tap-to-pay built in — there's no way you'd keep it off your body.
They even keep staring at their phones while walking after getting off the train.
They don't know the luxury of doing nothing.
Even on a packed train, there's always a few percent of people who can't put their phone down.
So was the old guy reading a newspaper on the train back in the day a "dopa-oji" (dopamine-addicted old man)?
People reading paperback novels have become a rare sight.
She watches TV from morning till night.
She gets angry if you turn it off.
Isn't that just loneliness? Does she live alone?
Might be early-stage dementia. People lose motivation to do almost anything and just end up watching TV.
Does that make me a "dopa-oji"?
Sorry, same here honestly — though only when there's a network outage and X and stuff go down too.
When someone quotes my post I get anxious about it and want to check it over and over even during work.
Ah, I get that lol. Guess that makes me a "dopa housewife" then.
It's got this full-blown "edgy teen phase" vibe that's embarrassing to watch.
Maybe the person themselves doesn't take it as an insult?
Insult or not, I think it's important to recognize for yourself whether you're a "dopa-gaki."
Plenty of people probably notice things like no longer being able to sit through a long movie or a long video.
What kind of sense of style is that?
Isn't that just what slang is?
Technically it's not just "gaki" — it's properly written 餓鬼 (gaki, literally "hungry ghost" in Buddhist lore, the origin of the slang for "bratty kid").
In other words, the time-killing tool just shifted from gum to social media — hating boredom hasn't changed at all, then or now.
It's hilarious that idiots who can't properly track this kind of generational shift are making a fuss shouting "dopa-gaki! dopa-gaki!"
Nah. It shifted to gummy candy.
Same with cigarettes. Sales peaked around 2000 and have dropped to a fifth of that.
Health consciousness and price hikes play a part, but the smartphone's influence is also plausible.
This sudden drop has got to be caused by this, right?
That's a "dopa-baba" (dopamine-addicted old lady) lol
Why can't you consider the possibility she's a young mom?
The Cyndi Lauper one.
That's basically the same as smartphone addiction. "Dopa-gaki" specifically refers to the subset of smartphone addicts who can no longer handle anything but short-form content.
TV is one-directional, so there are natural points where you can decide to turn it off.
No wonder your brain goes haywire if you're watching that stuff constantly.
It's annoying how no matter how many times you dismiss them, they come right back.
People shamelessly post fake/misleading videos (and unfunny ones at that) purely to farm views by stirring up outrage.
Though I guess the real problem is the mass of idiots who fall for it every time.
Even if you empty your head, there's no substance there so you can't enjoy it at all.
I remember someone once posted that empty-headed people enjoy it precisely by emptying their heads, and that made total sense to me.
I don't see that many adults hooked on short-form videos though. My impression is adults are more often binge-watching dramas or manga nonstop.
Isn't that exactly what the article says?
> It seems "dopa-gaki" isn't a phenomenon limited to children — plenty of adults may recognize it in themselves too.
Background and Key Points of This Discussion
“Dopa-gaki” is slang short for “dopamine addict” — not a medical diagnosis, but an internet term that has recently come into use to describe a tendency toward dependence on social media and short-form video. The original ITmedia Mobile article itself frames this state as something not limited to children and applicable to adults as well, and the thread likewise saw plenty of comments noting it cuts across age groups. Where opinion split was over how to judge this kind of “X-gaki” neologism itself: some welcomed it as useful vocabulary that accurately captures a real state, while others found it distasteful, seeing it as either a stigmatizing label or a kind of cringeworthy self-diagnosis. There were also posts linking the decline in gum and cigarette sales to the spread of smartphones, but it’s worth noting this is speculation from 5channel users rather than a causal relationship backed by the article or official statistics.
*This article is an excerpt and summary based on the 5channel (Breaking News+) thread “‘Can’t stand even a moment of boredom’ — What is the SNS-addicted ‘dopa-gaki’? The psychology behind it, and how things stand outside Japan.”
Leave a Reply