As a product enthusiast who has gone through enough material on the so-called “habbit-forming” digital products, as a data scientist who has created models on the cognitive addictivity of apps and smartphones, and as an amateur magician who understands the art of deception, I approve of the contents of this article.
Luckily I have worked for ethical firms, and I have some self-control mechanism in place, so I didn’t end up doing any harm.
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Just a week ago I caught myself again rolling in bed for two hours passed midnight, being confused and restless. That I have forgotten to check or write or read something. I was constantly looking into the notifications of my phone and certain apps. Until I realized that I have read this somewhere. I am being manipulated. I knew how it works and I could do it to others myself, yet it works on me!
The notification slot machine explained in this article is just one way of mindfuck that smartphones give you, so you come back for more. There are many more tricks.
There is this thing called “psychometrics”. Originally it is the science of psychological measurements. In the world of business, it has much simpler applications; From the data you produce using tech, those who run the figures and numbers, can sometimes measure some states of your mind, and use it in any direction they want.
So far I haven’t said anything new. But, there is one thing that you need to know:
Typically, the psychometrics of tech are not committed to your happiness. They are committed to your addictivity.
And they work!
P.S. Just came across another example:
Nima, we care about you and the memories you share here. We thought you’d like to look back on this post from 1 year ago.
Bullshit of the day; said by a robot. True that I liked to look back on this post from 1 year ago.
Facebook doesn’t give a rat’s ass about me, my life and my happiness. The programmer and the product owner related to their code has just found another way to maximize the monetization and maintain their high salary. They lie systematically to keep you in the platform.
P.S.1. The Minus Trillion Dollar Question. How many people (let alone other beings) we harm remotely during our lives, without seeing or registering them?
P.S.2. Nice someone wrote this so I don’t have to do it.