#132 How Addictive Technology Keeps You Hooked with Professor Adam Alter
Do you find it hard to resist the ping of a new email, the urge to scroll on social media, or watch the next episode when streaming? Do you wish you could stop checking, clicking, liking and sharing? Then put down your phone and listen to this episode.\nMy guest today is Adam Alter, an associate professor of marketing and psychology, bestselling author of \u2018Irresistible: The Rise of Addictive Technology and The Business of Keeping Us Hooked\u2019 and an expert on the compulsive nature of technology. Adam explains how tech companies make it their business to know exactly how to keep us engaged for hours on end. He shares some of the hooks embedded in products to \u2018catch\u2019 us, such as variable reinforcement (those likes and shares on social media), goals and rewards, and a lack of stopping cues (there\u2019s always another video cued up, another game level to play\u2026). And how do they know all these techniques work? Big data. They simply look at what makes us click.\nTech giants prey on our capacity for \u2018behavioural addiction\u2019, which like other addictions can undermine our mental health and relationships. Playing with a phone is not just trivial distraction it can have real consequences, especially for our children \u2013\xa0something that as a parent really concerns me. Adam suggests we should be teaching our kids \u2018digital hygiene\u2019 in schools and I couldn\u2019t agree more.\nOf course, there are many positive uses of tech, like education, admin, communicating with loved ones we can\u2019t see in person. But when screen time starts to harm our wellbeing, Adam says we need to look at what psychological needs it\u2019s meeting. What\u2019s lacking in our lives that leads us to numb the discomfort by picking up that phone or tablet?\nBut it\u2019s not all doom and gloom. Adam says, it is possible to live a rich, meaningful, healthy life in our tech-driven age. And we discuss some of the solutions we\u2019re both using to wean ourselves and our families off screens. We agree it\u2019s about intention, using tech where we need and enjoy it, but making a conscious decision to do without it at other times. Starting with an hour or two a day when you put your phone out of sight is a great example.\nIf, like me, you\u2019ve recently watched The Social Dilemma, Netflix\u2019s fascinating (and scary) take on persuasive technologies and surveillance capitalism, I think you\u2019ll really appreciate Adam\u2019s insights \u2013 and his reassurance that tech addiction is not a human failing.\xa0\nShow notes available at\xa0drchatterjee.com/132\nFollow me on\xa0instagram.com/drchatterjee/\nFollow me on\xa0facebook.com/DrChatterjee/\nFollow me on\xa0twitter.com/drchatterjeeuk\nDISCLAIMER: The content in the podcast and on this webpage is not intended to constitute or be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your doctor or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have heard on the podcast or on my website.\n Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.