Irresistible
The Rise of Addictive Technology and the Business of Keeping Us Hooked
Ratings17
Average rating4
15
The Rise of Addictive Technology and the Business of Keeping Us Hooked
Ratings17
Average rating4
"An urgent and expert investigation into behavioral addiction, the dark flipside of today's unavoidable digital technologies, and how we can turn the tide to regain control. Behavioral addiction may prove to be one of the most important fields of social, medical, and psychological research in our lifetime. The idea that behaviors can be being addictive is new, but the threat is near universal. Experts are just beginning to acknowledge that we are all potential addicts. Adam Alter, a professor of psychology and marketing at NYU, is at the cutting edge of research into what makes these products so compulsive, and he documents the hefty price we're likely to pay if we continue blindly down our current path. People have been addicted to substances for thousands of years, but for the past two decades, we've also been hooked on technologies, such as Instagram, Netflix, and Facebook--inventions that we've adopted because we assume they'll make our lives better. These inventions have profound upsides, but their extraordinary appeal isn't an accident. Technology companies and marketers have teams of engineers and researchers devoted to keeping us engaged. They know how to push our buttons, and how to coax us into using their products for hours, days, and weeks on end. Tracing the very notion of addiction through history right up until the present day, Alter shows that we're only just beginning to understand the epidemic of behavioral addiction gripping society. He takes us inside the human brain at the very moment we score points on a smartphone game, or see that someone has liked a photo we've posted on Instagram. But more than that, Alter heads the problem off at the pass, letting us know what we can do to step away from the screen. He lays out the options we have address this problem before it truly consumes us. After all, who among us has struggled to ignore the ding of a new email, the next episode in a TV series, or the desire to play a game just one more time? Adam Alter's previous book, Drunk Tank Pink: And Other Unexpected Forces that Shape How We Think, Feel, and Behave is available in paperback from Penguin"--
Reviews with the most likes.
Good analysis of how some new technologies are addictive. It discusses the concepts of addition and how cues that are used in gambling environments (like casinos) are used in various technologies today to keep us hooked. That goes from cliffhangers at the end of a TV show episode to little rewards in a video game to notifications on our mobile devices.
The book mainly focuses on how we can be subjected to technology addiction but I missed more discussion of how can we protect ourselves from it.
A startling look at our dependence on technology – one that hits very close to home!
For anybody who wants to make an informed choice with more awareness about their own or their kids use of technology. This is the best kind of nonfiction book for me, so interesting I feel like I'm reading a pageturner. Although I normally read fiction in a matter of 1 or 2 days, nonfiction is much more likely to drag on for me. So, you're curious about why, when you step into a train/bus, you can only see a sea of head glancing down at their phones, read this book. If you're one in that sea, you've guessed it! Read it too.
