5 Billion YouTube videos are watched every single day, 7 Million Snap Chat videos are watched every minute, and 2.4 Million Instagram “Likes” are posted per minute. With statistics like these, it is no wonder that one out of every two teenagers report feeling “addicted” to their phones. As we prepare to celebrate our freedom this July 4th, it may surprise you that you are not as free as you think when it comes to your technology use.
As parents we joke about how our kids’ phones have become an extension of their bodies and that they are never without them. But, what is not so funny is how our kids’ inability to break free from their devices is an intentional by-product of the Persuasive Design Techniques, which are used by tech companies to keep us coming back to their products. According to Tristan Harris, a former Google employee turned outspoken critic of the tech industry, billions of people have little choice over their technology use and are unaware of the invisible ways in which tech companies control what we do on their sites and apps.
“Human behavior is programmable”, according to Ramsay Brown, the COO of Boundless Minds (Formerly Dopamine Labs), an Artificial Intelligence optimized human engagement software company. Today, computer programmers study how the human brain works in order to understand the motivations behind behaviors, so that they can write code to persuade us to do things without us being aware that we are doing them. Programmers call this “brain hacking”, because users mistakenly believe that they are spending time on sites and apps by their own conscious choice. But, the reality is it is not a conscious decision at all.
All of us are caught in the cross hairs of the tech industry’s digital arms race for attention. Ad-supported sites and apps like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube employ armies of people who work with supercomputers to hook us ever more deeply into their services. They study everything about our human psychology and biology and use them like weapons to keep us engaged. The sophisticated psychological research behind the technology industry’s Persuasive Design Techniques, make it possible to develop social media, video games, and smartphones with a pull that is eerily similar to addiction.
One of the most addictive Persuasive Design features is the pull-to-refresh mechanism, whereby users swipe down, pause and wait to see what content appears. It’s like a slot machine, you pull, wait, and possibly get a randomly doled out reward. It affects the same neurological pathways just like gambling and drug use.
Another example of Persuasive Design is the red notification button, which indicates that you have “something new” to see. Facebook was the first to design it, and it was blue, but no one used it. Once they switched the color to red, everyone used it. Red is a trigger color, so it provokes us to click on it. Red notification buttons are so effective at grabbing our attention, nearly every app uses them.
According to Silicon Valley insiders, we and our children are no match for the sophisticated engagement and persuasion techniques being built into today’s apps. This is especially scary when it comes to our kids, who are more susceptible to manipulation.
Snapchat, one of the most popular messaging services for teenagers, has the “streak” feature, which shows the number of days in a row that two snapchat users have ‘snapped’ each other within a consecutive 24-hour period. Once a streak starts, a flame icon appears indicating that the user is now on a streak with that user. A streak number will appear next to the flame displaying number of consecutive days the streak has been going. The streak continues as long as the friends snap back and forth each day. If a streak is in jeopardy of ending, an hourglass emoji appears next to the friend’s name signaling that a snap has to be sent in order to keep the streak going. Each of these icons and awards are techniques to keep our kids engaged with the app. The techniques are so effective, that kids will go to great lengths to keep streaks going and become anxious if a streak becomes jeopardized.
Our kids are biologically unprepared to resist Persuasive Design Techniques. Until their mid-twenties, the pre-frontal cortex in our children’s brains is underactive. If you have a tween/teen, it may not surprise you to find out that the pre-frontal cortex is the area of the brain that controls impulses and risk-taking behavior. At the same time, our kids have an underactive Limbic System; which is the area of the brain that controls emotions and pleasure-seeking behavior. In short, our kids biologically have an inability to control impulses and a hyper desire to seek pleasure.
Additionally, technology’s reward-based features are designed to activate the release of dopamine in the brain. When dopamine is released in large amounts, it creates feelings of pleasure and reward, which motivates us to repeat a specific behavior to get that same feeling again. Game developers are very proficient at creating dopamine release features so each flash of light or new level achieved produces large “dopamine hits” encouraging us to go back for more even if we know we should be doing other things. This is precisely the reason your kids are having such a hard time breaking free from Fortnite! (Gaming Addiction….a blog for another day!)
So why is it so important for tech companies to keep us coming back? Because the longer a tech company can keep us engaged on their products, the more information they acquire on us; information that is sold to the highest bidder. As Ramsay Brown so bluntly said in a CBS News Interview, “You don’t pay for Facebook. Advertisers pay for Facebook. You get to use it for free because your eyeballs are what’s being sold there.”
As a relatively unregulated industry, it is not surprising that tech companies have taken great liberties with the information that they receive from us. In 2017, The Australian received several leaked documents; which indicated that Facebook had been touting to advertisers its ability to determine teens’ emotional state based on their on-site behavior, and even to pinpoint “moments when young people need a confidence boost.” According to The Australian, the data available to advertisers included a young user’s relationship status, location, number of friends on the platform and how often they access the site on mobile or desktop. Although Facebook denies offering “tools to target people based on their emotional state”, the bottom line is that all the data that we, and our kids, knowingly or inadvertently provide to the tech companies can be used against us.
All companies, not just Facebook, sell this information to the highest bidder – including our beloved Disney and “educational” apps. Persuasive Design Techniques impede our ability to make decisions for ourselves, but we are not powerless. We have the ability to take back control. Here are some ways you and your kids can resist the persuasion attempts:
Educate Your Kids About “Persuasive Design” Techniques
Now that we know that developers intentionally design their apps and sites to hijack our attention through sophisticated design techniques, it’s time to educate our kids. When they know what’s coming, it will be easier for them to defend themselves. Show your kids techniques like “autoplay” on YouTube and Netflix and explain to them that these techniques don’t allow them to choose to watch the next video, it just plays automatically. It is designed to keep them in front of the screen. Make a game out of seeing who can be the first to spot persuasion attempts in some of their favorite apps, I am sure that your kids will start pointing out techniques we didn’t even realize were there.
Turn Off “Persuasive Design” Features
Start with the device itself, if you have an iPhone, tap Settings > Notifications. You will see a list of the apps that you have on your device. There, you can scroll through each app and customize when and how notifications are sent. I recommend turning off all notifications, banners, and badges for non-critical apps. The next step is to go to YouTube and Netflix and turn off their “Autoplay” features. This will force you to actively select whether or not you want to watch another video. It makes us more mindful of the choice to watch or not.
Re-Arrange the Home Screen On Devices
Most of us mindlessly open apps because they are the first thing we see when we unlock our phones. So, re-arrange the apps on your home screen and limit that area to only the apps you use to be productive. The concept of “Out of sight, out of mind” works, so move all social media and gaming apps to another page or at a minimum, put them in a folder. This way you will be less inclined to make mindless choices.
Set Up a Secondary Email Account
All apps ask for your email address. Why? So they can re-engage you. Facebook’s email alert – “Did you see your friends post?” uses our fear of missing out (FOMO) to draw us back to the platform. It’s very effective. A secondary email account allows you to warehouse all those alerts and you can schedule a time to check them.
Set A Good Example For Your Kids
Just like we help our kids to learn how to behave off-line, we need to also help children learn how to behave online. Whether you realize it or not, our kids model our behaviors. If you find yourself constantly on social media sites, your kids will go there too. Instead, seek out healthier sources of dopamine releases and get outside with them. Exercise helps increase dopamine levels naturally and will help them (and you!) get through the irritability and anxiety that occurs with tech separation.
Thanks for reading my blog! If you would like to schedule a one-on-one consultation or to book me for a speaking engagement at your community event or organization, send me an email at inquiry@cybersavvy.com. To see more tips and advice on parenting your digital native kids, visit www.cybersavvy.com.
Contact:
Kathy Loomis
(404) 793-7999
KLoomis@CyberSavvy.com
