social media addiction slot machine programming

And it’s up to us to choose how we use it. There’s always this narrative that technology’s neutral. Tristan Harris: Inadvertently, whether they want to or not, they are shaping the thoughts and feelings and actions of people. And so you could ask when these features are being designed, are they designed to most help people live their life? Or are they being designed because they’re best at hooking people into using the product?Īnderson Cooper: Is Silicon Valley programming apps or are they programming people?

So now you could say, “Well, what’s the big deal here?” Well, the problem is that kids feel like, “Well, now I don’t want to lose my streak.” But it turns out that kids actually when they go on vacation are so stressed about their streak that they actually give their password to, like, five other kids to keep their streaks going on their behalf. And they invented this feature called “streaks,” which shows the number of days in a row that you’ve sent a message back and forth with someone. Tristan Harris: Tristan Harris: So Snapchat’s the most popular messaging service for teenagers. Tristan Harris: There’s a whole playbook of techniques that get used to get you using the product for as long as possible.Īnderson Cooper: What kind of techniques are used? “.every time I check my phone, I’m playing the slot machine to see, ‘What did I get?’ This is one way to hijack people’s minds and create a habit, to form a habit.” Tristan Harris Tristan Harris: This thing is a slot machine. Tristan Harris, a former Google product manager But Tristan Harris openly questions the long-term consequences of it all and we think it’s worth putting down your phone to listen. Some programmers call it “brain hacking” and the tech world would probably prefer you didn’t hear about it. He is one of the few tech insiders to publicly acknowledge that the companies responsible for programming your phones are working hard to get you and your family to feel the need to check in constantly. Have you ever wondered if all those people you see staring intently at their smartphones - nearly everywhere, and at all times - are addicted to them? According to a former Google product manager you are about to hear from, Silicon Valley is engineering your phone, apps and social media to get you hooked. The following script is from “Brain Hacking,” which aired on April 9, 2017.

Social media addiction slot machine programming