BROADCASTS.com

https://astralcodexten.substack.com/p/your-book-review-addiction-by-design

\xa0

[This is the tenth of many finalists in the book review contest. It\u2019s not by me - it\u2019s by an ACX reader who will remain anonymous until after voting is done, to prevent their identity from influencing your decisions. I\u2019ll be posting about two of these a week for several months. When you\u2019ve read all of them, I\u2019ll ask you to vote for your favorite, so remember which ones you liked. If you like reading these reviews, check out\xa0point 3 here\xa0for a way you can help move the contest forward by reading lots more of them - SA]

I was scrolling through TikTok videos a few weeks ago when I came across\xa0a TikTok-sponsored video\xa0telling me to stop scrolling and go outside. I was confused. Here I was, perfectly willing (nay, wanting) to spend hours watching dance routines and drawing tutorials I had no intention of copying, but TikTok wanted me to\xa0stop? Why? Shouldn\u2019t they have been taking advantage of me to maximize \u201ceyeballs,\u201d \u201ctime per session,\u201d and \u201cuser engagement\u201d?

One explanation is that TikTok is a good corporate citizen that helps its users maintain responsible screen time habits. Another explanation comes from Natasha Dow Sch\xfcll\u2019s excellent book\xa0Addiction by Design: Machine Gambling in Las Vegas\xa0(2012). Sch\xfcll talks about gambling machines, people who use them, and the addictions that develop between the two. I think the conclusions she draws are applicable not only to the gambling industry, but also to other peddlers of vice like TikTok.

The Machine

Sometimes employees at Netflix think, \u2018Oh my god, we\u2019re competing with FX, HBO, or Amazon\u2019 \u2026 [W]e actually compete with sleep.

- Reed Hastings