Dukkha in the Age of Algorithms: Why We Feel Uneasy
Digital life amplifies dissatisfaction by shaping attention and desire.
Posted May 19, 2026 | Reviewed by Kaja Perina
The Buddha’s first noble truth is often translated, somewhat bluntly, as “life is suffering.” A more nuanced rendering is that life contains dukkha: a persistent sense of unease, dissatisfaction, or incompleteness. It is a strikingly modern idea. In an age of unprecedented comfort, convenience, and connectivity for many, a great number of people report not contentment but restlessness. There is an uneasy sense that something is missing, even if we cannot say what it is. This is not necessarily a failure of individuals. It reflects something fundamental about the human mind and, increasingly, about the environments we inhabit.
Dukkha and the nature of experience
In Buddhist thought, dukkha refers not only to obvious suffering but also to the unsatisfactory nature of ordinary experience. Even pleasurable moments are transient and cannot provide lasting fulfilment. This idea aligns closely with clinical observation. Much distress does not arise from extreme adversity, but from the accumulation of smaller dissatisfactions: fluctuating mood, unmet expectations, and the sense that our current life is somehow not quite enough. Human experience is rarely purely happy or unhappy. Rather, it is a shifting mixture of both, with a “quiet hum” of dissatisfaction often present in the background.
The algorithmic shaping of desire
Modern digital environments interact with this tendency in powerful ways. Much of daily life is now mediated by systems designed to capture attention and refine engagement. These systems do more than hold attention. They shape desire. Content is selected and presented in ways that encourage continued interaction. Each engagement leads to more tailored stimuli, which in turn generate further engagement. The result is a cycle of wanting, receiving, and wanting again. From a Buddhist perspective, this resembles craving, identified as a key driver of dukkha. The difficulty is not desire itself, but its persistence and its inability to deliver lasting satisfaction.
Comparison and dissatisfaction
A further feature of digital life is constant exposure to curated representations of others. These representations are selective, often highlighting achievement, happiness , and meaning while omitting uncertainty or distress. This creates a subtle but important shift in perception. Ordinary life may begin to feel inadequate by comparison. In clinical terms, this mirrors processes seen in depression and anxiety , where negative self-appraisal and comparison play central roles. Again, the issue is not new, but its scale and intensity are. The mechanisms underlying dukkha are being amplified by the environments we have created.
In practice, many patients describe patterns consistent with these dynamics: difficulty disengaging from devices, persistent comparison, and a sense of restlessness or dissatisfaction that is difficult to explain. Buddhist psychology does not equate all dissatisfaction with mental disorder. Rather, it distinguishes between distress, dysfunction, and disorder, recognising that these can overlap but are not identical. This distinction is useful. It allows us to see some aspects of contemporary unease not simply as pathology, but as understandable responses to particular conditions, both internal and external.
Understanding the modern condition
The concept of dukkha offers a framework for understanding why greater comfort has not led to greater contentment for many. It suggests that dissatisfaction is not eliminated by increasing stimulation, achievement, or digital connections. Instead, these may intensify the very processes that generate unease. The age of algorithms has not created dukkha, but it has made its dynamics more visible and, perhaps, more difficult to ignore.
Awareness and disengagement
Greater awareness of how attention and desire are shaped may help create small but meaningful spaces for reflection and choice.
Even brief moments of disengagement from constant stimulation can allow a different, often quieter, experience of the mind to emerge.
Kelly B (2025). Buddhism and Psychiatry: Moving Beyond Mindfulness in Mental Health Care . Cham: Palgrave Macmillan (open access: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-96045-1 ).
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Brendan Kelly, M.D., Ph.D. , is Professor of Psychiatry at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland, Consultant Psychiatrist at Tallaght University Hospital, Dublin, and author of The Science of Happiness .
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This article is part of the Bringwise Psychology Journal — daily insights on human behavior, mental health, and personal growth.