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How Technology Hijacks People’s Minds – from a Magician and Google’s Design Ethicist
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How Technology Hijacks People’s Minds – from a Magician and Google’s Design Ethicist


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Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

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  • Applicable
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Recommendation

Smartphone apps are addictive because they are designed that way. Former Google product ethicist Tristan Harris believes it is time for people to take back control over how they spend their lives. In his widely read essay, Harris reveals 10 different ways in which tech companies command people’s attention. getAbstract recommends this thought-provoking list to both users and creators of mobile apps and websites.

Take-Aways

  • Tech companies have designed a series of features that tap into people’s psychological vulnerabilities to keep users engaged with their products.
  • Many apps and websites operate like slot machines by offering users “intermittent variable rewards” that can be highly addictive.   
  • Social media sites play on people’s innate need for social approval through features like tagging and the like button, which keep users checking their feeds often.  

About the Author

Tristan Harris is a former design ethicist at Google. He now heads the nonprofit movement Time Well Spent.


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