Nir Eyal – Hooked (2013)

Eigenlijk is dit een boek voor iedereen die regelmatig meer tijd besteedt aan social media dan gewenst. Het is slechts ten dele eigen schuld. De auteur legt uit hoe er bewust gezocht wordt naar een verslavende werking. Minpunt is dat er met grote regelmaat aan het zogenaamde ‘Hooked Model’ wordt gerefereerd, alsof het een wiskundige wetmatigheid betreft.

Painkillers solve an obvious need, relieving a specific pain, and often have quantifiable markets. By contrast, vitamins do not necessarily solve an obvious pain point, they appeal to users’ emotional rather than functional needs.

"Many innovations will fail because consumers irrationally overvalue the old while companies irrationally overvalue the new."

- John Gourville (professor at Harvard Business School)

The social rewards and invariable reinforcement of recognition from peers proved to be a frequent and salient motivator (e.g., the upvoting system of Quora/Reddit that reports user satisfaction with answers and provides a steady stream of social feedback)

The gamification – defined as the use of gamelike elements in nongame environments – has been used with varying success. Points, badges, and leaderboards can prove effective, but only if they scratch the user’s itch.

Part of the appeal of sneaking in a few minutes on Instagram or checking scores on ESPN is our access to a moment of pure autonomy – an escape from being told what to do by bosses and coworkers

There are three types of variable rewards:

The search for social rewards fueled by connectedness with other people
The search for material resources and information
The search for intrinsic rewards of mastery, competence, and completion