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Technology and Mental Health: How to Avoid the Dark Side of Technology Design
Almost everyone now has a smartphone in their pocket. But did you know that the design of technology, such as social media and apps, is made to be addictive and difficult to stop using? This can affect our mental health and cause problems such as stress, anxiety, and addiction.
How does technology design make us addicted?
Technology design uses the concept of random rewards to make us addicted. This concept actually comes from psychological research on pigeons and rats in the 1950s. Researchers found that when pigeons and rats were given rewards regularly, they would stop responding when the reward was reduced or removed. However, when the reward was given randomly, they continued to behave the same way because they didn’t know when the reward would come, but they hoped it could come.
Addictive design like this is also found in slot machines in casinos, where random rewards make players continue playing and difficult to stop. On social media like Instagram and Twitter, you may receive notifications or “likes” randomly, which makes you want to check the app again and again.
