Cuddles ... or Why I read AGF more than I practice ?

[whvick]

“Well, I can glance over new post during down time at work. And my phone is always in my pocket, but my guitar fills up my trunk, and is hard to carry around, and there are latches to unlock. And ...and...”
I tend to swing from guitar to photography, my two favorite hobbies. Sometimes I will go months focusing on one at the neglect of the other.
While I am into guitar I hang out here a lot. When I am into photography I tend to read the DPR (digital photography review) forums a lot. And, like when I am in my guitar seasons, I read the forum more than I shoot.

I just came across this article that said this:

According to an article by Harvard University researcher Trevor Haynes, when you get a social media notification, your brain sends a chemical messenger called dopamine along a reward pathway, which makes you feel good. Dopamine is associated with food, exercise, love, sex, gambling, drugs … and now, social media.Mar 17, 2019

And this:
Social Media Increases "Cuddle" Chemical Production in the Brain [STUDY]
Jun 25, 2010 · Sometimes referred to as the "cuddle" chemical, oxytocin — a hormone produced in the brain — stimulates feelings of trust and security, reduces anxiety levels

So what we need is a hormone rush when we practice, and we would all become virtuosos.

I guess soon we will have phones built into our guitars the way we can have digital tuners build in. That way we would not have to give up our social media to practice.

Anyone else out there who reads more than they practice? Any thoughts?

[musicman1951]

I'm retired, so this is another false dichotomy for me. I've got as much computer and practice time as I like every day - and then I've got a lot more time to find something else that looks like fun.

[Mr. Jelly]

Originally Posted by musicman1951

I'm retired, so this is another false dichotomy for me. I've got as much computer and practice time as I like every day - and then I've got a lot more time to find something else that looks like fun.

Yea, that! +1

[jaymarsch]

I tend to be on the forum and read stuff when I am waiting for a report to run or while I’m eating breakfast. Times that I wouldn’t be playing guitar anyway. Now, that I am able to commute to work by train, I have 45 minutes to catch up on the forum and social media without compromising my guitar time.
I like cuddling my guitar so I get that dopamine hit more with playing than reading!

Best,
Jayne

[whvick]

I have lost 80 pounds in the last 9 months I have been on AGF. I suspect I have substituted one dependency for another. At least AGF is not fattening. [emoji848]