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302 reviews for:
Irresistible: The Rise of Addictive Technology and the Business of Keeping Us Hooked
Adam Alter
3.7 AVERAGE
302 reviews for:
Irresistible: The Rise of Addictive Technology and the Business of Keeping Us Hooked
Adam Alter
3.7 AVERAGE
The information is interesting, but I found the information to be so heteronormative that I was annoyed at times. Never knew computer usage was so tied to genitalia. Interesting to know what the usage of technology of non-binary people. Now, this book is from 2017, so maybe he can re-release an abridged more inclusive version in the future.
challenging
hopeful
informative
medium-paced
This is a smart and thorough examination of the role of technology in behavioral addiction. The book smartly starts by rightly reframing the concept of addiction from something akin to disease to "an illegitimate means of meeting a legitimate need." This moves us from medicalizing addiction, to truly dealing with the whole-person concepts which lead folks down a path from which they don't know how to return.
Under this umbrella, our chemical and neurological reactions to technology should not surprise us. I think we all have a generalized sense that this tech is not all good for us, but we go awry in the belief that our personal usage of it is not the problem. As Alter successful broadens and deepens our understanding of addiction and shows the coercive effects of online games, fitness trackers and other familiar features in our lives, it does not take long to wonder, "Could he actually be talking about me?" What a wonderful and unwelcome gift of self-awareness.
The book misses the 5-star mark by its ending; Alter attempts to move from diagnosis to treatment quite stodgily. His suggestions are cumbersome and sometimes logical fallacies from the premises he started with. He borrows heavily from the CBT movement for behavioral correction, a movement which has had little success in chemical addiction, so one must wonder why it would be effective in tech? His final suggestion comes down to "find a friend and live life in the real world so the fake world is not so tempting." Solid advice, if everyone else wasn't staring at their screens.
Under this umbrella, our chemical and neurological reactions to technology should not surprise us. I think we all have a generalized sense that this tech is not all good for us, but we go awry in the belief that our personal usage of it is not the problem. As Alter successful broadens and deepens our understanding of addiction and shows the coercive effects of online games, fitness trackers and other familiar features in our lives, it does not take long to wonder, "Could he actually be talking about me?" What a wonderful and unwelcome gift of self-awareness.
The book misses the 5-star mark by its ending; Alter attempts to move from diagnosis to treatment quite stodgily. His suggestions are cumbersome and sometimes logical fallacies from the premises he started with. He borrows heavily from the CBT movement for behavioral correction, a movement which has had little success in chemical addiction, so one must wonder why it would be effective in tech? His final suggestion comes down to "find a friend and live life in the real world so the fake world is not so tempting." Solid advice, if everyone else wasn't staring at their screens.
Well researched (using existing literature) and generally informative. Even though I wasn't surprised by anything this book said, I still enjoyed it and will keep some of the ideas in mind as I continue to use digital media. Lots of examples in phone and video games with a small amount on social media - personally I wish he had spent more time on this and other digital addictions.
Read this as an audiobook and the author does an excellent job narrating.
Read this as an audiobook and the author does an excellent job narrating.
A fascinating look at how different forms of addiction came to exist and are actively brought into being by the way we live these days. More important are the last 100 pages which discuss the way forward and the uneasy peace we are all going to have to make with the gadgets, games and bad habits to which we devote large chunks of our waking hours.
An interesting look into the science of addiction and how to engineer experiences that can be addictive - and whether or not that is something we should do.
Would recommend
I basically speed-read this book for my work book club, but it was enjoyable and interesting. I thought it a bit too anecdote-heavy, and I found myself flipping forward to the next concept. But it really makes you rethink your fitness tracker, goal-setting, and internet-video-watching. It reminded me of when I read [b:Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us|15797397|Salt Sugar Fat How the Food Giants Hooked Us|Michael Moss|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1361919312s/15797397.jpg|21520265].
I basically speed-read this book for my work book club, but it was enjoyable and interesting. I thought it a bit too anecdote-heavy, and I found myself flipping forward to the next concept. But it really makes you rethink your fitness tracker, goal-setting, and internet-video-watching. It reminded me of when I read [b:Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us|15797397|Salt Sugar Fat How the Food Giants Hooked Us|Michael Moss|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1361919312s/15797397.jpg|21520265].
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
liked how the focus was on behavioural addiction and how anyone is susceptible if they’re put in the right situation for it. also nice to read a book like this where it’s less “doomsday” esc, it’s self aware in knowing the battle isnt removing technology from our lives but finding a smaller space for it to take up. most of the general topics in this book arent very shell shocking or different from the average criticism of modern tech, but i think the laundry list of studies (trust me, there are a lot of them) cited along with those criticisms were really interesting to read.
4 stars
Most of the information in this book wasn’t a huge shock to me, considering I’m probably addicted to my phone/devices.
I found the details about substance vs behavior addiction interesting, and particularly how behavioral addiction is becoming more of a generational issue was fascinating to me, as a millennial/gen z cusper.
Ironically enough, I couldn’t put this book down. It was so thought-provoking and made me take a real inward look at myself and my consumption of media/screen time.
I enjoyed this a lot, and I think that if you’re interested in science of addiction, or the potential detriment of the exorbitant use of screens, you’d enjoy it too.
Most of the information in this book wasn’t a huge shock to me, considering I’m probably addicted to my phone/devices.
I found the details about substance vs behavior addiction interesting, and particularly how behavioral addiction is becoming more of a generational issue was fascinating to me, as a millennial/gen z cusper.
Ironically enough, I couldn’t put this book down. It was so thought-provoking and made me take a real inward look at myself and my consumption of media/screen time.
I enjoyed this a lot, and I think that if you’re interested in science of addiction, or the potential detriment of the exorbitant use of screens, you’d enjoy it too.