Irresistible : why we can't stop checking, scrolling, clicking and watching / Adam Alter.

  • Alter, Adam, 1980-
Date:
2017
  • Books

About this work

Description

Impact of science and technology on society. How many times have you checked your phone today? Why are messaging apps, email and social media so hard to resist? How come we always end up watching another episode? In recent years, media and technology have perfected the lucrative art of gaining and holding our attention. This extraordinary feat has changed the behaviour of billions of people, and especially the young: by current medical standards, we are experiencing an unprecedented, global pandemic of addiction. But what exactly is an addiction[unk] And what, if anything, might we do about it? From cliff-hangers to earworms, from religion to pornography, and from the awesome allure of the 'Kim Kardashian: Hollywood' app to the unexpected benefits of the 'butt-brush effect', Irresistible blends fascinating stories with ingenious science to explain how and why we all got hooked.

Publication/Creation

London : Bodley Head, 2017.

Physical description

354 pages ; 24 cm

Contents

Prologue: Never get high on your own supply -- Part one: What is behavioral addiction and where did it come from? (1. The rise of behavioral addiction ; 2. The addict in all of us ; 3. The biology of behavioral addiction) -- Part two: The ingredients of behavioral addiction (or, How to engineer an addictive experience) (4. Goals ;5. Feedback ; 6. Progress ; 7. Escalation ; 8. Cliffhangers ; 9. Social interaction) -- Part three: The future of behavioral addiction (and some solutions) (10. Nipping addictions at birth ; 11. Habits and architecture ; 12. Gamification) -- Epilogue.

Bibliographic information

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Languages

Where to find it

  • LocationStatus
    Medical Collection
    WM176 2017A46i
    Open shelves

Permanent link

Identifiers

ISBN

  • 9781847923578
  • 1847923577