Difference between revisions of "Addictive Design"

Revision as of 20:45, 6 February 2023

Addictive design refers to products and services that are designed to create a habit-forming experience that keep users engaged and coming back for more. The main objective of addictive design is to compel users to use a particular product or service, even if they do not have the desire to do so. The vast majority of social media platforms use addictive design techniques such as the like button, push notifications, infinite scrolling, and gamification in an attempt to increase the amount of time that users spend on their platform. While addictive design can be used to enhance the user experience, it also poses ethical concerns about data privacy, deception, and mental health.

Background

Dopamine

Techniques

Like Button

The like button is ubiquitous across social media platforms and is designed with the intention to encourage social reciprocity. Inherently, human beings feel satisfied when they receive social gratification, and likes are a form of social gratification. In other words, receiving a like elicits a dopamine response. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that gives you a sense of pleasure and is part of the reward system. As a result, users become incentivized to continue posting to social media platforms and seeking social affirmation through likes. On the other hand, users who do not receive an ample amount of likes on their posts feel distressed due to a lack of social validation. ^[1]

Push Notifications

Push notifications, similar to the like button, are ubiquitous across social media platforms and are designed with the intention to grab the user’s attention and prompt them to use the application from which the notification is being sent. Receiving push notifications creates a sense of urgency and a fear of missing out. As a result, users feel a constant need to check their devices so they can stay in the loop. Similar to the like button, a dopamine response is elicited each time a user receives a push notification, resulting in users becoming incentivized to spend more time on their devices. ^[2]

Infinite Scrolling

Infinite scrolling is a design technique in which all content is loaded on a single page instead of spreading the content across multiple pages. ^[3] In other words, the user is able to continuously consume a seemingly endless amount of content by scrolling. This design leaves users susceptible to consuming much more content than they normally would without realizing it, which ultimately means users are being coerced into spending more time on the application than they intend to. Many social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok employ this design technique. ^[4]

Gamification

Gamification is a design technique in which game mechanics are used to reward users for completing tasks. ^[5] For example, the popular social media platform Snapchat uses gamification to encourage users to use their application. That is, Snapchat implemented a feature called “Streaks” which keeps track of how many days two users have consecutively interacted with each other. The longer the streak, the more invested users are in maintaining it, which creates a sense of accomplishment. As a result, users are incentivized to use the platform every day to keep their streaks alive. In other words, keeping a streak alive drives engagement with the application more than the enjoyment of participating in a social experience. ^[6]

The Illusion of Choice

Ethical Concerns

Data Privacy

Social media platforms use addictive design techniques to encourage and incentivize users to spend as much time on their platform as possible. As a result, users share a great deal of data with these platforms, and many users are unaware that they are even sharing their data. Thus, the privacy of the users using these platforms is at risk. Many social media platforms analyze the personal data of its users to tailor content for each individual user. While this may enhance the user experience, users will likely spend more time on social platforms than they intend to without even realizing it. Additionally, social media platforms have the ability to sell the data they collect from their users to third parties without their knowledge or consent, which clearly is a cause of ethical concern. ^[7]

Deception

Social media platforms use addictive design techniques to manipulate users into doing something that they would not normally do. For example, social media platforms that employ the addictive design techniques of push notifications or infinite scrolling subtly coerce their users into spending more time on their application. ^[8] As previously mentioned, social media platforms analyze the personal data of its users to tailor content such that each user’s feed is personalized. That is, they have the ability to manipulate the content you see, or conversely do not see, on their platform. ^[9]

Mental Health

Products and services that use addictive design techniques create an experience that users find difficult to resist, or simply put, an addictive experience. This experience is typical when using social media platforms. That is, social media platforms employ addictive design techniques that elicit dopamine responses in the users of these platforms. For example, dopamine responses are elicited when receiving push notifications or likes on a post. These dopamine responses not only create feelings of pleasure, but also reinforce these addictive behaviors such that users unknowingly become stuck in a feedback loop. ^[10] Ultimately, this will lead to users overusing social media platforms, which is especially concerning for adolescents. That is, the overuse of social media can rewire the brains of adolescents to seek out instant gratification. This can lead to obsessive, compulsive, and addictive behaviors in addition to making mental health disorders such as anxiety, depression, ADHD, and body dysmorphia worse. ^[11]

References

1. ↑ Reform Social Media, Part V: Ethical Design in Social Media https://mindfultechnics.com/reform-social-media-part-v-ethical-design-in-social-media/
2. ↑ The secret design tools which Social Media apps are using to create addiction https://medium.com/swlh/the-secret-design-tools-which-social-media-apps-are-using-to-create-addiction-e6a502ccb79f
3. ↑ A Survey of Addictive Software Design https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=&httpsredir=1&article=1127&context=cscsp
4. ↑ Reform Social Media, Part V: Ethical Design in Social Media https://mindfultechnics.com/reform-social-media-part-v-ethical-design-in-social-media/
5. ↑ A Survey of Addictive Software Design https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=&httpsredir=1&article=1127&context=cscsp
6. ↑ The secret design tools which Social Media apps are using to create addiction https://medium.com/swlh/the-secret-design-tools-which-social-media-apps-are-using-to-create-addiction-e6a502ccb79f
7. ↑ Reform Social Media, Part V: Ethical Design in Social Media https://mindfultechnics.com/reform-social-media-part-v-ethical-design-in-social-media/
8. ↑ A Survey of Addictive Software Design https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=&httpsredir=1&article=1127&context=cscsp
9. ↑ Reform Social Media, Part V: Ethical Design in Social Media https://mindfultechnics.com/reform-social-media-part-v-ethical-design-in-social-media/
10. ↑ Are You Addicted to Social Media? https://www.leehealth.org/health-and-wellness/healthy-news-blog/mental-health/are-you-addicted-to-social-media
11. ↑ The Addictiveness of Social Media: How Teens Get Hooked https://www.jeffersonhealth.org/your-health/living-well/the-addictiveness-of-social-media-how-teens-get-hooked#:~:text=%E2%80%9CThe%20overuse%20of%20social%20media,ADHD%20and%20body%20dysmorphia%20worse.%E2%80%9D