With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility...
summary
Argues that everyday apps become dozens of Skinner boxes, cites variable reinforcement as the mechanism, and points to concrete data: Deloitte finds 46 checks a day, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports a fourfold rise in device manipulation while driving, and Snapchat reports rising daily users despite a $2.2B Q1 net loss. Names a commercial reinforcement API (Dopamine Labs) that personalizes reward schedules, calls for collecting and publicly sharing aggregate user analytics, and proposes opt‑controls to let people tune an app’s addictiveness.
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chapters (7)
- 0:00Start
- 1:12Turn Off Your Devices
- 3:37Variable Reinforcement
- 7:31We Are Addicted to Smartphones
- 7:42Characterizing Addiction
- 14:15Mastering Reinforcement
- 19:26Psychological Effects of Social Media
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