What is the algorithm?

• notifications
• likes
• retweets
• infinite scrolling
• new! new! new!

What can it cause?

• anxiety
• depression
• loneliness
• ADHD
• addiction

But this is rare.

Susan Weinschenk PhD in same magazine says we’re getting dopamine which has us addicted to seeking info in an endless loop.

We need dopamine for brain functions like thinking, moving, sleeping, regulating mood, attention and motivation.

Latest research says that dopamine causes “seeking behaviour” which makes you “want, desire, seek out and search”.

The seeking part is handled by dopamine, but liking something is a separate system, but complimentary. Wanting propels you forwards, and liking — an opioid rush, again not provided by dopamine — is your reward.

The loop is about wanting, seeking, finding, getting rewarded for finding, then wanting that hit again.

Study done on rats shows that if you take dopamine away, they die even when food is readily available, because they just don’t want to eat.

Olivia Solon wrote up an interview at Axios with ex Facebook president Sean Parker for the Guardian.

> It’s a social-validation feedback loop … exactly the kind of thing that a hacker like myself would come up with, because you’re exploiting a vulnerability in human psychology.

According to another Guardian post, of Twitter’s 9 top execs, only 4 tweet more than once a day on average, and neither Zuck nor other members of the top brass use Facebook the way we do. Alex Hern’s argument is that they’re not “getting high on their own supply”.

Why is it not an obsession?

> A compulsive behavior is one that is repeated and chronic, and arises from a feeling of anxiety. Just as someone with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) compulsively and repeatedly washes her hands, for instance, to alleviate the anxiety that comes from believing she iscovered with germs, so mentally healthy people who behave compulsively are also driven by anxiety. (Checking one’s phone repeatedly is not considered a disorder, however, because the behavior is grounded in reality, not a delusion, and it usually doesn’t get in the way of living a normal life.

How can be beat it?

• Try not checking your phone for 15 minutes, then half-an-hour, then an hour, and so on
• Turn off notifications
• Put social media apps in a folder, or on another screen
• Look into app limits in your OS
• If this is hard, pick one app and try and cut that down
• Look down on your behaviour from above, and learn to spot it
• Practice mindfulness to learn to be aware of your actions

Stuff Mark didn’t get to

• Find more ways to connect with friends (even digitally)
• A call with a friend
• Gaming session
• Something that doesn’t involve “checking” but is still about interaction
• Look out for the Centre for Humane Technology
• Led by a former Google “design ethicist”
• Check out Cal Newport’s book Digital Minimalism: Living Better with Less Technology

Links

• Notifications and Dopamine: Weird Ways In Which Instagram Likes Lead to Happiness
• ‘Never get high on your own supply’ – why social media bosses don’t use social media | Media | The Guardian
• How to grow more confident - stop abusing your reward system
• Digital Minimalism: On Living Better with Less Technology: Amazon.co.uk: Cal Newport: 9780241341131: Books
• Addicted to Social Media?
• Ex-Facebook president Sean Parker: site made to exploit human 'vulnerability'
• The compulsion to check social media shows how the mind works
• The Center for Humane Technology Wants to Spark a Grassroots Ethical Tech Revolution
• Why We're All Addicted to Texts, Twitter and Google
• If You're Constantly Checking Social Media & Just Can't Help it, This is the Reason Why
• Centre For Humane Technology