Genuine Question about Social Media: Designed for Addiction?

[Rasheed]

My question is:

• Is these social media platforms and websites like Facebook; Instagram...are Designed to make people who use them, addicted to it? By addicted I mean: Being unable to put the phone down. 

What you guys think?

[Kross]

YES

[Artsu]

Probably.

I've had a habit of checking facebook a lot. For the past couple weeks, i check this forum more often.

I guess I'm addicted?

Haha, but seriously, facebook sucks. I mean it's useful, but it's a brainwashing/propaganda tool. Reaching millions and millions through the click of s button. Keeping us dependent. Doing it all for selfish gain. Bleh.

[Osaid]

Yes.

The entire point is to make you addicted, that's how they make the most money

[Arcangelo]

YES.

[BlackMaze]

Of course.. You scroll down to take your dose. You can lose many hours of your life doing that. 

[Zak]

Their agenda is to turn us into employees 

[Elshaddai]

Yes. I believe even facebook employees admmited making facebook addictive so people would use it.

[Lyubov]

yup, same with fast food.

mcdonald's engineered it's food so it gives the biggest hit of pleasure instantly like a drug. 

[Rilles]

Duh, thats what marketing is about, how do you think they make money, they have to keep you coming back, its not just social media. 

Edited July 25, 2020 by Rilles

[Oliver Saavedra]

Yes totally, it works for all novelty-based platforms including social networks, netflix, the news, porn, fast food, sugar treats, etc. 

Whenever your brain recieves novelty it gets a small shot of dopamine (pleasure) as a reward so it wants to come back for more. After a few shots the brain learns that there's an infinite source of pleasure so it gets hooked on an instant gratification loop. 

novelty > pleasure > repeat

That novelty can come in the form of scrolling down, watching next episode, eating another cookie, LATEST NEWS, next naked hot girl, etc. 

 

Pro tip: A fine way to get out of that addiction loop is doing dopamine detox, google it. 

[Hello from Russia]

Businesses want recurring customers, so they try very hard to make people stay using all kind of tactics. If they succeed we call it addiction. In a sense, Leo made you addicted to his content/forum so you want to comeback for more every day/every Sunday. Pretty much the same stuff happens with these platforms

[Theareather]

I also read and noticed that too big desire to check social media alerts can become an addiction.

[Theareather]

I have been researching this issue last week. And yesterday I was preparing for a communications class and found this site https://newyorkessays.com/examples/addiction/ where there are many examples of essays on different addictions. This includes media addiction. 

Edited November 23, 2020 by Theareather