Off The Grid: Leaving Social Media 🙅♂️ How to Stop Feeling Stuck on Social Media — with Deanna deBara
Apr 16, 2025
Deanna deBara, writer and Season of Stuck host who studies why people feel stuck, joins the conversation. She breaks down how algorithms and dopamine keep us scrolling. They explore connection versus comparison, the bodily side of stuckness, practical habit tweaks to interrupt loops, tying changes to values, and marketing beyond social platforms.
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Early Podcast Doubts Then Slow Growth Win
- Amelia recounts early podcast struggles: season one episodes got ~100 downloads and she considered stopping.
- A friend encouraged her to keep going; years later episodes reached 1,500–2,000 downloads in 30 days.
Algorithms Use Gambling Mechanics To Hook You
- Social media apps exploit randomness and reward systems to create a magnetic pull that traps attention.
- Deanna deBara compares the algorithm's intermittent rewards to slot machines that trigger dopamine with unpredictable hits.
Stuckness Is A Body Problem Not Just A Mind Problem
- Stuckness is both psychological and physiological, not just a lack of willpower.
- Deanna cites Britt Frank: stuckness is a body problem you can't think your way out of because the nervous system can enter a freeze state.
