Shadowing Practice: When does our technology use become an addiction? - Learn English Speaking with Video
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When it comes to tech, which has infiltrated, you know, all of our lives, every part of life,
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every waking moment, I think people are confused on this.
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Like, when does a daily habit, a thing that we've been doing and think that we need to do, cross over into addiction?
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Addiction is a spectrum disorder, right?
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You can have mild, moderate, or severe addiction, depending upon the severity of the symptoms, how many symptoms there are.
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But there can also be this pre-addicted state that you might think of as risky use or even a bad habit.
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When I use the term addiction, I'm really saying this has crossed the threshold from being something
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that we would consider a bad habit into something that we would really consider a mental illness.
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again, characterized by these four C's, out of control use, craving,
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compulsive use, meaning that I initiate use even against my desire and intention not to use,
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and then especially consequences, plus tolerance, you know, which we've talked about, needing more potent forms over time to get the same effect, and also withdrawal.
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When I try to stop, I experience this physiologic response that then pulls me back into it.
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You explain that pleasure and pain work like the balance of a seesaw.
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How does that impact addiction?
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Explain that to our audience here.
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Yeah.
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So I use this extended metaphor of a balance to communicate to my patients,
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my medical students, what's happening in the brain as we go from sort of healthy adaptive use of a substance
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or behavior to unhealthy maladaptive addictive use.
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So if you imagine that in your reward pathway, there's something like a teeter-totter that represents how we process pleasure and pain when it tilts one way,
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we experience pleasure.
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When it tilts another, we experience pain.
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But there are certain rules governing this balance.
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And the first and most important rule is that the balance wants to remain level, which is what neuroscientists call homeostasis,
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sometimes referred to as set point.
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You refer to it in your wonderful book, Enough.
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Enough point?
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As the enough point.
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It's the set point.
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That was Dr. Anya's word.
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Right, yeah.
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It's homeostasis.
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And our brains will work very hard to return to a level balance or homeostasis with any deviation from neutrality.
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So, for example, when we do something that's pleasurable, uniquely for our brain, that releases dopamine, the balance tilts toward the side of pleasure.
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But no sooner has that happened that our brain will respond by down-regulating dopamine transmission, not just to baseline, but below baseline.
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So you need more, more, more.
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Right.
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When we experience pleasurable activities like eating, exercising, or socializing, it triggers our brain to produce the feel-good chemical called dopamine.
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The cycle of addiction begins when addictive substances and behaviors cause massive dopamine surges,
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which causes our brains to both produce less dopamine and at the same time absorb it less efficiently.
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This creates a dopamine deficit, which causes us to crave more and more of the substance or the behavior just to feel normal.
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And I like to imagine
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that process of neuroadaptation as these little gremlins hopping on the pain side of the balance to bring it level again.
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But the gremlins like it on the balance, so they don't get off as soon as we're level.
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They stay on until we're tilted an equal and opposite amount to the side of pain.
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That is the come down.
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That's the craving, the hangover, the moment of wanting one more potato chip.
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Yeah.
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Or one more joint.
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Let's be standing in front of the pantry just grazing, looking for what is the thing I can do to curb this anxiety that I'm feeling.
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Right, right.
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And remember, our brain wants to get back to homeostasis.
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So the fastest way to do that is to have another potato chip.
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The problem is if we continue to consume our drug of choice over days to weeks to months to years, those gremlins start to multiply.
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And pretty soon we have enough gremlins on the pain side of the balance to fill this whole room.
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And now we've entered into addicted brain.
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We are in a chronic dopamine deficit state.
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Now we need to use more of our drug in more potent forms, not to get high, but just to level the balance and feel normal.
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And that is what is happening to your children when you try to take away the phones.
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That's what's happening to you when you can't get yourself, and you can't stop scrolling.
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That's exactly right.
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You're just scrolling, scrolling, scrolling.
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Yes.
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Okay.
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80% of people coping with an addiction to online shopping are women.
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Listen to Safat's story.
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I have a shopping addiction, and over the past three years, I've racked up over $30,000 in credit card debt.
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99% of it is shopping.
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I have said no to going out to dinner with friends, bought the cheapest thing at the grocery store just so I could buy that one thing, whatever it was in the moment.
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It's really shameful because I'm in my mid-30s.
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I have a good job, and yet I'm struggling to pay rent because I keep spending more than I can afford.
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I was also scared to come on here and say this because it feels like I failed.
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Oh.
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Yeah.
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Oh, wow.
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Okay.
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Yeah.
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Safat joins us from Brooklyn.
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Hi, Oprah.
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What do you think is at the root of your shopping addiction?
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I was really interested to read about it because I go online and I...
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It's a dangerous thing, let me just tell you.
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It's a dangerous thing.
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And you get a little...
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I guess I'm getting a little dopamine hit.
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Add to cart. So exciting.
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Add to cart again.
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Before you know it, I have three blouses for $24.99.
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And none of which you need, probably.
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None of which I need.
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I didn't need that little crop top.
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So I have $24.99.
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Then I'm like, what else can I get?
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So does it feel like that?
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Is that what it feels like for you?
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You just get a little hit or?
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Yes, it absolutely does feel like that.
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For me, the root of my addiction stems from, I think childhood, I've talked about this with my therapist
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and my family moved to America when I was six years old and we moved to a upper middle class white neighborhood.
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And I noticed all the kids would get gifts, Christmas gifts, birthday gifts.
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And I was getting like hand-me-downs and, you know, sharing a room with my siblings.
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And so I think what I told myself in those moments is when you're older, you're going to be able to have these things you're going to be able to fit in.
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So now that I have a job,
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what I'm realizing that I do on a regular basis is I buy these things almost to satisfy my inner child,
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to tell myself, okay, you've made it, right?
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And so that's become my coping mechanism.
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And additionally, I feel unfulfilled in many aspects of my life.
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And I think instead of sitting with the discomfort of the sadness or disgust or whatever I feel in myself,
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I resort to let me find something to buy
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because that's what I trained myself from a young age is what would make me happy.
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So I continue to do it.
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I get a little boost of dopamine.
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And then what I really feel is shame and guilt for doing it because I've accrued so much debt.
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Yeah.
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I heard you've racked up over $30,000 in credit card debt that you can't afford to pay.
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Yes, correct.
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So you feel good in the moment where you're ordering it?
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Do you feel good when you're adding to cart and then when it arrives, you're ashamed?
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Yes.
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Yeah.
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So as soon as I buy it, instead of feeling happy, I feel immense amount of shame and guilt.
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And then when it arrives, I'm excited to open the box.
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And I've also been for years now hiding my packages from my partner.
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Not that he absolutely has no problem with it.
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He's encouraging of me doing the best for me to get over the addiction.
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But I think internally, I feel so much guilt that I will hide the packages.
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I will lie about it.
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So I'll open it and then I'll feel guilt and shame again, and then instead of dealing with it, I'll go and purchase something else.
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Dr. Limpke, what do you want to say?
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Gosh, so much here.
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Okay, so you started talking about some early childhood experiences that you think contribute, and I think that's important to reflect on that.
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But I think there's a danger of spending too much time looking for the root cause of addiction
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when there doesn't actually need to be an underlying reason other
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than we're living in an addictogenic world where shopping has become drugified.
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The medium of being online itself constantly sends us triggers to buy.
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That's the whole business model of...
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You can't read an article without...
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What we're all trying to do now is filter out all the ads as you're trying to communicate with anything.
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Yes.
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Yes.
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And we get a little hit of dopamine, not just when we're shopping,
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but just getting a reminder that we might be able to go shopping
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or that there might be something available
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that actually also stimulates the brain's reward pathway and then sets up
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that state of craving that makes us want to go shopping.
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And the reason this is so important is because, yes, it's good to talk about your childhood and some early underlying,
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you know, issues that might be contributing to it.
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But you could talk about that all day and it's not going to get at the root of the problem
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if you're still exposing your brain to this very addictive medium that's constantly triggering your brain,
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releasing dopamine, and then leading you down this road, which is why self-binding strategies are so important.
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Self-binding is where we create literal and metacognitive barriers between ourselves
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and our drug of choice so we can press the pause button between desire and consumption.
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So what does she need to do?
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So what you need to do is you need to delete any shopping apps that you have, right?
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You need to possibly get rid of any online pay vehicles.
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Anything that makes it easy and frictionless for you to buy something is definitely something that you should eliminate.
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You know, online shopping or shopping addiction is a huge and growing problem, especially as you commented, Oprah, among women.
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so these self-finding strategies are really key
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if you really want to take it to the extreme you will get rid of all of your credit cards
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and you will only carry cash and you will only buy in cash
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and not online and this seems extreme but what my patients discover is
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that it's actually so much easier than expecting that you can constantly stimulate your brain and then resist the pull
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that's created by all of these stimuli that are inviting us to consume.
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Who Will Benefit from This Video?
This video is perfect for intermediate to advanced English learners aiming to boost their IELTS speaking practice or refine conversational skills. It dives into complex topics like technology addiction, using natural, engaging dialogue—ideal for practicing critical thinking and articulating nuanced ideas. Whether you’re prepping for an exam or just want to sound more fluent, the video’s mix of casual and academic language helps you adapt to real-world conversations.
Words & Idioms Worth Stealing
Here are key phrases to add to your toolkit:
- Infiltrated: Spread into every part (e.g., "Tech has infiltrated daily life").
- Spectrum disorder: A condition with varying severity (e.g., "Addiction is a spectrum disorder").
- Down-regulating: Reducing activity (e.g., "The brain starts down-regulating dopamine").
- Come down: The feeling after a pleasurable activity fades (e.g., "The come down from scrolling leaves me tired").
These terms add depth to discussions about psychology or modern life—great for IELTS speaking practice!
How to Master the Accent & Flow
The speaker uses a clear, conversational tone with natural pauses—perfect for practicing the shadowing technique. Here’s how: Play short clips, pause, and repeat, mimicking the rhythm and stress. Notice how words like "neuroadaptation" are broken into syllables (neu-ro-ad-ap-ta-tion) and how phrases like "you know" are used to connect ideas. For extra practice, use a shadowing app or shadowing site to record yourself and compare. Focus on the rising intonation when asking questions (e.g., "How does that impact addiction?") and the steady pace during explanations. This will help you sound more natural and confident, whether you’re practicing alone or with a partner. Keep at it—consistent shadowing is key to improving English pronunciation!
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.