8. Hooked

Previously, we described the experiment developed by Skinner and connected it to the pattern humans follow with, among other things, social media.

However, Nir Eyal developed a model to explain this much better. In his book “Hooked,” he describes four phases that are essential for building a habit (a behavior with little or no conscious intervention) in users.

The phases are:

1. Trigger
2. Action
3. Reward
4. Investment

Something triggers the user’s attention (Trigger): Notification.

The user does something after seeing the Notification (Action): Click/tap.

The user receives the reward they were seeking (Reward). Here it’s important that the reward is variable. That is, sometimes the user will receive a large reward, at other times a small reward, and sometimes nothing significant.

The user makes an investment to continue the cycle (Investment): Responds to the comment.

If this cycle is repeated enough times, the user becomes hooked to the habit (Hooked).

Now that we know this, we understand that escaping from this pattern is and will continue to be an advantage in protecting our attention and focus.

The great asset to protect in the coming years will continue to be our capacity for attention.