219 Alex Salkever, Vivek Wadhwa: Your Happiness Was Hacked

Your Happiness Was Hacked explores how technology is designed to manipulate our attention, behavior, and emotions, and provides strategies for regaining control.

Duration: 05 hours

34 minutes

Alex Salkever, Vivek Wadhwa: Your Happiness Was Hacked

Summary

In Your Happiness Was Hacked, Alex Salkever and Vivek Wadhwa examine how technology companies are using psychological techniques to manipulate our behavior and emotions. Drawing on the latest research from psychology, neuroscience, and technology design, the authors reveal how tech is designed to be addictive and distracting, and provide strategies for regaining control over our attention, time, and mental well-being. By understanding the techniques used by tech companies and making conscious choices about our technology use, we can take back control and improve our happiness and well-being.

About

Title: Your Happiness Was Hacked: Why Tech Is Winning the Battle to Control Your Brain--and How to Fight Back

Authors: Alex Salkever and Vivek Wadhwa

Publishing Year: 2018

Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers

Length in Hours: 5 hours and 34 minutes

5 main ideas

Tech companies are using psychological techniques to manipulate our behavior and emotions, and to keep us engaged with their products.
Social media and other technologies are designed to be addictive and to distract us from our goals and priorities.
Technology use can have negative impacts on our mental health and well-being, including increased anxiety, depression, and social isolation.
By making conscious choices about our technology use, we can regain control over our attention and mental well-being.
Strategies for regaining control include setting boundaries, prioritizing our goals, and using technology in a purposeful and intentional way.

5 funny quotes

“The only way to win the attention game is not to play.”
“A tech detox is like a juice cleanse for the mind.”
“Social media is like a never-ending game of Whac-a-Mole. Just when you think you’ve caught up, another notification pops up.”
“The problem with technology is not the technology itself, but how we use it. It’s like a hammer: it can be used to build a house or to break a window.”
“Our smartphones are like a Swiss Army knife for the digital age. They can do everything from taking photos to summoning an Uber to checking the weather. But sometimes all we really need is a knife.”

5 thought-provoking quotes

“We are in the midst of an all-out war for our attention, and we are losing it miserably.”
“The tech industry is engaged in a race to the bottom of the brain stem, where our most primal instincts and impulses reside.”
“If you’re not paying for the product, you are the product.”
“The algorithms that power social media platforms are optimizing for engagement, not for our well-being.”
“The truth is that our devices and the apps that run on them have become so addictive that we often choose them over human interactions.”

5 dilemmas

Balancing the benefits of technology with the potential negative impacts on mental health and well-being.
Addressing the ethical considerations of designing technology to be addictive and manipulative.
Finding ways to regulate the tech industry without stifling innovation or impeding progress.
Balancing the benefits of social media and other online platforms with the potential for online harassment, cyberbullying, and other negative interactions.
Addressing the impact of technology use on children and young people, who may be particularly vulnerable to its addictive and manipulative effects.

5 examples

Facebook’s News Feed algorithm, which determines what content users see, is designed to maximize engagement and keep users scrolling.
Apple’s iOS operating system includes features like Screen Time that allow users to set limits on their device use.
Google’s search algorithm is designed to show users the most relevant and useful results based on their search history and other data points.
Tristan Harris, a former Google employee, has become a prominent voice in the tech industry calling for greater attention to the ethical implications of technology design.

Nir Eyal, author of Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products, has been criticized for promoting techniques that encourage addictive technology use.

Referenced books

Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products by Nir Eyal
The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains by Nicholas Carr
The Attention Merchants: The Epic Scramble to Get Inside Our Heads by Tim Wu
Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World by Cal Newport
The Hype Machine: How Social Media Disrupts Our Elections, Our Economy, and Our Health--And How We Must Adapt by Sinan Aral

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