#420: What Makes Your Phone So Addictive & How to Take Back Your Life

The Art of Manliness

Society & Culture, Education, Philosophy

4.7 • 14.5K Ratings

🗓️ 5 July 2018

⏱️ 43 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

If you’re like most people, you’ve got a powerful computer in your back pocket that allows you to listen to this podcast, check the score of your favorite team, and learn the population of Mickey Mantle’s hometown of Commerce, OK (answer: 2,473). Our smartphones are a blessing, but for many people they can also feel like a curse. You feel compelled to check your device all the time, leaving you feeling disengaged from life. What is it about modern technology that makes it feel so addictive? My guest todayexplores that topic in his book, Irresistible: The Rise of Addictive Technology and the Business of Keeping Us Hooked. His name is Adam Alter and today on the show, we discuss what makes today's technology more compelling than the televisions and super Nintendos of old, whether our itch to check our phones can really be classified as an addiction, what soldiers' use of heroin during the Vietnam War can tell us about why our attachment to our phones is hard to shake, and how the reward we're looking for on social media isn't actually the "likes" themselves. Adam then shares what he thinks is the most effective tactic for taking back control of our tech, and how consumers may be able to influence the direction of its future.

Transcript

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0:00.0	[♪ INTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪
0:13.9	BREK McKay here and welcome to another edition of the Art of Manliness Podcasts.
0:18.0	If you like most people, if you got a powerful computer in your back pocket that allows you to listen to this podcast,
0:22.5	check the score of your favorite team and learn the population of Mickey Man also in town of Commerce, Oklahoma.
0:27.1	Answer 2473.
0:29.4	Our smart phones are a blessing but for many people they can also feel like a curse.
0:32.8	You feel compelled to check your device all the time, leaving you feeling disengaged from life.
0:36.8	What is it about modern technology that makes it feel so addictive?
0:40.2	I guess they explore that topic in this book.
0:42.2	Irresistible, the rise of addictive technology, and the business of keeping us hooked.
0:46.2	His name is Adam Alter.
0:47.3	Today on the show we discuss what makes today's technology more compelling than the televisions
0:51.3	the Super Nintendo's have owed, whether or it's to check our phones can really be classified as an addiction,
0:55.8	what soldiers use of heroin during the Vietnam War can tell us about why our attachment to our phones
1:00.3	is hard to shake and how the reward we're looking for on social media isn't actually the likes
1:04.3	themselves. Adam then shares what he thinks is the most effective tactic for taking back control
1:08.4	of our tech and how consumers may also be able to influence the direction of its future.
1:12.2	After the show's over, check out the show notes at aowm.is slash Irresistible.
1:16.3	Adam joins me now via clearcast.io
1:26.7	Adam Alter, welcome to the show.
1:33.7	Thanks for having me.
1:34.8	So you published a book called Irresistible and it's all about the rise of addictive
	...

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