Nir Eyal is the bestselling author of Hooked and a contributing writer for Forbes, TechCrunch, and Psychology Today. An entrepreneur, educator, and speaker, Nir writes about innovations at the intersection of psychology, technology, and business.

In this interview, Nir shares the psychology behind why we get hooked by our devices and apps. He talks about how product designers use this knowledge to deliberately build certain features into their products, and he encourages us to use this knowledge to rethink our tech habits.

In this episode, you will learn:

the psychology that informs our technology habits
the four key elements that make a technology product habit-forming
the connection between emotion and our habits with tech
what makes certain tech products are more sticky than others
tips for what to do when tech becomes too addictive
how we can use this technology to form good habits

Nir also shares how what hooks us with tech can be used to improve the quality of our lives, especially when it comes to physical and mental health and wellness, and how he makes that the focus of his work today.

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Links to Topics Discussed

7 Cups of Tea

B. F. Skinner

Operant Conditioning

 

The IKEA effect

Dan Ariely

Michael Norton

Robert Cialdini

Foot in the Door Technique

Cognitive Dissonance

Marc Andreeson

Getting Unhooked by Nir Eyal

 

The Acceleration of Addictiveness byPaul Graham 

Thank you to Clark Nowlin for his sound engineering and to Emmy-award-winning Creative Director Vanida Vae for creating the Curious Minds logo!