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User Behaviour
Article

User Behaviour

Aeon, 2015

áudio gerado automaticamente
áudio gerado automaticamente

Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Innovative
  • Applicable

Recommendation

When a person begins to show signs of Internet addiction, is it only a lack of self-control which is to blame? Freelance science, religion, technology and ethics writer Michael Schulson explains how and why designers craft modern websites to be addictive and explores the ethical implications of companies that profit from “hooking” you in this manner. Schulson also posits practical forms of regulation that might discourage user exploitation. getAbstract recommends this article to those interested in the behavioral sciences and regulation and folks who suspect they’re spending a bit too much time online.

Take-Aways

  • Most people today would agree that their Internet usage habits exhibit some, if not many, aspects of addictive or “compulsive” behavior.
  • Businesses explicitly design their websites to “hook” people, offering “variable rewards” for continuing to browse and click. This, in turn, develops compulsive Web habits in users.
  • Facilitating compulsive web habits is ethically problematic because companies profit from this behavior.

About the Author

Michael Schulson is a freelance writer and an associate editor for Religion Dispatches.


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