Social networks are deliberately addictive for users – Cubajournalists

A note published by Hilary Andersson in the BBC's Panorama space reveals that social networking companies are addicted to their products with their customers, with the deliberate goal of obtaining financial gains.

Sources of Silicon Valley, who They told BBC Panorama that it was like they were putting "behavioral cocaine" and dispersing it on your interface, as something that makes you come back again and again. again, "said Aza Raskin, a former employee of Mozilla and Jawbone

." There are literally a thousand engineers who have worked to try to create a maximum dependency, "he explains. 19659002] In 2006, Raskin, who is an advanced technology engineer, designed the "infinite scroll" features of many applications that are now considered capable of creating habits and allowing users to move to the content located there. below without having to click, an i An innovation that forces them to look at their phones longer than necessary.

Raskin said his intention was to catch people and that he feels maintaining He added that many designers have applied in-depth to create addictive features in the application based on the business models of the companies for which they work.

"To go forward in the next round of financing or to get the shares of the business Montez, the time that people spend on your application must also increase, and you have to invent new ways to stay hooked. "

Another former Facebook employee, Sandy Parakilas, recounted something similar:" Social networks are very similar to slot machines "and that's why it has stopped 39; use the service after he left the company in 2012. I literally felt that I was quitting.

For a year and five months for Facebook Him and d & # 39; others acknowledged the risk of addiction and said that they were aware that the product formed habits. "The business model is designed to attract customers, absorb as much time as possible and then sell that attention advertisers. "

Facebook, on the other hand, said to the BBC that its products have been designed "to bring more people to their friends, family and things of interest to them and who, at any stage of the process, do not want to create a factor of dependency"