Irresistible: The Rise of Addictive Technology and the Business of Keeping Us Hooked

I was listening to Irresistible as I was having my steps counted by my watch as I was walking. I guess I am hooked on some of these things. Though perhaps some of it is good?

The book looks at technology and how it hooks us in to behaviors that may not be good for us. Even behaviors that may be good can be negative when they are pushed too hard. This is where step counting comes in. People get very attached to the act of counting steps that they do not pay attention to the big picture of health benefits.

Interactive devices can also be very dangerous. They distract us from the real world. The "interactive" world is our beck and call and distracts us from the true interaction (that requires more give and take.) Companies know that they can make things addictive to keep people coming back. There needs to be a balance of simple to learn together with challenges for more experienced users. People can be hooked with these with similar reactions to other substances.

Gamification gets mixed reviews in the book. It seems like a good method to encourage positive behaviors. However, it sometimes just encourages the "game" behavior. People may be attracted to the game aspect, but not really adopt the desired behavior. This is also a problem with fitness trackers. Rather than focus on fitness, people may focus on tracking. 

Frequent flier programs are another means of gamifying loyalty. Traveling more gives you more status and more benefits, thus encouraging more travel.

It can take great effort to resist the "irresistible" efforts. Are we greating a generation of addicts by exposing our kids at such a young age?