Doha Debates Examines How Entertainment Shapes Us Today

Qatar Foundation’s Doha Debates continues its flagship debate series with a new episode that examines how modern entertainment shapes our attention, creativity, and everyday well-being. Moderated by Dareen Abughaida, the debate brings together three influential thinkers to ask whether today’s entertainment landscape is enriching us—or overwhelming us.

This week’s debate features Marya Bangee, Senior Advisor at the Pop Culture Collaborative; Dr. Anna Lembke, Professor of Psychiatry at Stanford University and author of Dopamine Nation; and Nicholas Carr, Pulitzer Prize finalist and author of The Shallows.

For Bangee, the power of entertainment lies in storytelling that reflects lived human experience and fosters empathy. “I think entertainment today is pervasive. It’s something that shapes each person and society. The question is how are we going to make sure we are shaping it back.”

Lembke brings a clinical and human-centered lens to the discussion, warning that the design of modern entertainment often overwhelms our brain’s reward pathways. “Modern entertainment is not better for us because it hijacks our brain reward pathway. Now we need more pleasure to feel any pleasure at all.”

Carr widens the frame further, examining how technology-driven entertainment affects our ability to think deeply and act collectively. “We’ve assumed that having more topics, choices and information is always a good thing. Going forward we really need to pay much attention to the drawbacks.”

Students add their own reflections. Sara Akbar, 22, from the University of Doha for Science and Technology, shares: “Between 16 to 28, we are all trying to escape reality because of everything happening in the world. And it really affects how we live our lives. Why can’t we live a second without Instagram?” From Georgetown University in Qatar, Ameer Saadi, 18, adds: “With entertainment, the responsibility here is not to make you a better person but to genuinely try to express some form of the human experience.”

Together, their voices deepen a debate that goes beyond preference or taste, reflecting Doha Debates’ commitment to truth-seeking, open inquiry, and conversations that bridge perspectives rather than divide them.

The episode is now available on the Doha Debates website and YouTube channel. Viewers can also explore previous episodes on childhood in the age of social media and on the meaning of love today.

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About Doha Debates

Doha Debates engages a vanguard of intellectually curious truth-seekers to constructively debate differences in order to build a better future. We emphasize unity over division, encouraging conversations that bring us together rather than drive us apart.

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