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Social media companies are deliberately addicting users to their products for financial gain, Silicon Valley insiders said to the BBC's Panorama program.
"It's like they're taking behavioral cocaine and just spreading it over your interface, and that's what makes you come back and come back," says former Raskin Aza. employed by Mozilla and Jawbone. Behind every screen of your phone, there are usually a thousand engineers who have worked on this thing to try to make it extremely addictive, "he adds.
In 2006, Mr. Raskin, an engineer Leading technology, designed an infinite scroll., One of the features of many applications that is now considered very accustomed.At the time, he was working for Humanized – a computer consultant for the company. user interface
Infinite Scroll allows users to seamlessly browse content without clicking.
"If you do not give your brain time to catch up," says Mr. Raskin, "you keep scrolling."
He said that innovation prevented users from watching their phones much longer than necessary.
Raskin stated that he was not ready to become addicted and that he was feeling guilty now.
But, he said, many designers were pushed to create addictive features by the business models of the big companies that used them. In order to get the next round of funding, in order to drive up the price of your stock, the time people spend on your application has to increase, "he said.
"So when you put so much pressure on that single figure, you will start trying to invent new ways to keep people hooked. "
Lost Time
A former Facebook employee did a" Social media is very similar to a slot machine, "said Sandy Parakilas, who said tried to stop using the service after leaving the company in 2012.
"I literally felt that I was going to stop smoking. "
During his year and five months on Facebook, he said, others had also recognized this risk.
" Th "We had a model of "Business designed to engage you and make you yearn for as much of your life as possible," he said.
Facebook told the BBC that its products were designed "to bring people closer to friends, family and things that interest them."
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The Legacy of Like
One of the most alluring aspects of social media for users is the" I Love ", which can take the form of the thumbs up sign, hearts or retweets.
Leah Pearlman, co-inventor of Facebook's Like Button, said that she had become addicted to Facebook because she had started basing her self-esteem on the number of "j's." like "she had.
The Legacy of Like
One of the most alluring aspects of social media for r users are "likes", which can take the form of the thumbs-up sign, hearts, or retweets.
Leah Pearlman, co-inventor of Facebook's Like Button, said that she had become addicted to Facebook because she had started basing her feeling of self-esteem on the number of people. likes "that she had.
"When I need validation – I will check Facebook," she says.
"I feel lonely," Let me check my phone. "I do not feel safe:" Let me check my phone. "
Ms. Pearlman said that She had tried to stop using Facebook after leaving the company.
"I noticed that I would post something that I would post." The "like" number would be much lower than it was.
"Suddenly, I thought I am also a little addicted to feedback."
Vulnerable Adolescents
Studies indicate that there are links between the excessive use of social media and depression, loneliness and a host of other mental problems.
In Britain, teens spend on average 18 hours per week on their phone
Ms. Pearlman believes that young people who recognize that social media is problematic ues for them should also consider staying away from these applications.
"The first things I would say, is that these teens with some leaders, that can help others to follow," she said.
Last year The President Facebook founder, Sean Parker, has publicly stated that the company was seeking to consume as much time as possible for the user.
He claimed that he "exploited a vulnerability of human psychology
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But Ms. Pearlman said that she had not wanted the" Like "button to be addictive.
She also believes that the use of social media has many benefits for many things.
Faced with Mr. Parker's allegation that the company had actually sought to attract people from the beginning, Ime Archibong, a senior Facebook official, told the BBC that he was continuing to look into the matter
. Third-party people who look at addictive behaviors – whether on our platform or the Internet at large – and who are trying to understand if there are things that we think are detrimental to people, he says. can compete and we can inv Recent reports indicate that Facebook is working on features to allow users to see how long they have spent on their app in the last seven days and set daily time limits. [19659004] The Panorama program also explores the use of color, sounds, and unexpected rewards to drive compulsive behavior
Twitter declined to comment
Snap said he was happy to support the frequent and creative use of its Snapchat application. But he refused to use visual tricks to achieve this and added that he did not wish to increase the product's empty commitment.
bbc.com
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