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A review by hellhoundharry
Irresistible: The Rise of Addictive Technology and the Business of Keeping Us Hooked by Adam Alter
4.0
It started off a bit slowly, talking mostly about addiction in itself, how it works and where else in our society we will find addictions, such as gambling, gaming and drugs. Adam talks a lot about how they are supposed to work and how people have gotten out of it.
One part I found interesting was the one where he talked about heroin use in the Vietnam War, how a lot of american soldiers over there was using that stuff because they were bored. Lots of the time in the war was spend waiting, waiting for orders, waiting for transfer.... And it scared the US government, because they were afraid of having 100 000 heroin addicts returning from 'Nam.
But it didn't happen, partly because addiction is also connected to a location and a feeling. That is why you won't find any recovering alcoholics at the old bar drinking soda. Or that if you get out of a serious drug problem you should probably get a new circle of friends or move to another place, so you don't get that trigger.
Now, when one reads this a question would probably be "What has this got to do with new technology?" It was to me when I first read it, what does heroin abuse and social media and new technology have in common? One is a chemical substance you shoot up your veins, the other is just a screen you look at!"
Well, it does have some similiarities: People who have tried to quit social media usually fall back simply because they are used to grabbing for their phones whenever they are bored. Like say they wait 10 minutes for the bus, out comes the phone. And what do people do with their phone? They scroll instagram, facebook, twitter, tiktok, reddit, tinder, bumble... The list goes on.
It's about habits and triggers. When I am sitting down at my computer right now, I might just hop into social media because I get bored. Or when I am having lunch with my coworkers and the conversation dies down, I might just open it up and look at it. Or when I am feeling lonely I might pick up my phone and shoot a DM via facebook to a friend, like a digital pacifier. You will hear drug addits using the same explanation when asked why they are on the stuff: "I need it because I am bored, lonely or whatever".
I think it's funny when I talk to someone and I mention my intentions of quitting social media. The reaction is a very defensive "Oh, but I could never do that because (insert reason here)". It's especially funy because I have never ever suggested they should get off the stuff. What they do is up to them.
So in the beginning the book is rather slow because it has several stories and examples like this that makes you go "okay, but what has this got to do with addictive technology?", but at least it DOES tie everything up at a later point.
The latter half of the book was in my opinion much more interesting where there was a lot of talk about what can actually be done. Say you are a self-proclaimed social media addict, what can you do to break out of that circle?
One part I found interesting was the one where he talked about heroin use in the Vietnam War, how a lot of american soldiers over there was using that stuff because they were bored. Lots of the time in the war was spend waiting, waiting for orders, waiting for transfer.... And it scared the US government, because they were afraid of having 100 000 heroin addicts returning from 'Nam.
But it didn't happen, partly because addiction is also connected to a location and a feeling. That is why you won't find any recovering alcoholics at the old bar drinking soda. Or that if you get out of a serious drug problem you should probably get a new circle of friends or move to another place, so you don't get that trigger.
Now, when one reads this a question would probably be "What has this got to do with new technology?" It was to me when I first read it, what does heroin abuse and social media and new technology have in common? One is a chemical substance you shoot up your veins, the other is just a screen you look at!"
Well, it does have some similiarities: People who have tried to quit social media usually fall back simply because they are used to grabbing for their phones whenever they are bored. Like say they wait 10 minutes for the bus, out comes the phone. And what do people do with their phone? They scroll instagram, facebook, twitter, tiktok, reddit, tinder, bumble... The list goes on.
It's about habits and triggers. When I am sitting down at my computer right now, I might just hop into social media because I get bored. Or when I am having lunch with my coworkers and the conversation dies down, I might just open it up and look at it. Or when I am feeling lonely I might pick up my phone and shoot a DM via facebook to a friend, like a digital pacifier. You will hear drug addits using the same explanation when asked why they are on the stuff: "I need it because I am bored, lonely or whatever".
I think it's funny when I talk to someone and I mention my intentions of quitting social media. The reaction is a very defensive "Oh, but I could never do that because (insert reason here)". It's especially funy because I have never ever suggested they should get off the stuff. What they do is up to them.
So in the beginning the book is rather slow because it has several stories and examples like this that makes you go "okay, but what has this got to do with addictive technology?", but at least it DOES tie everything up at a later point.
The latter half of the book was in my opinion much more interesting where there was a lot of talk about what can actually be done. Say you are a self-proclaimed social media addict, what can you do to break out of that circle?