Notes about Digital Addiction Techniques aka Addiction Algorithms

Folks like me are expected to use addiction algorithms when we build and maintain tech solutions. People like me continue to build solutions with addiction algorithms, so that everyone can pay their bills and provide what the masses demand, what our managers demand and what investors demand.

I am looking at the digital addiction issue with a harsh critical view because it can not be ignored or sugar coated - IF I truly want to help find solutions that respect everyone involved and position everyone involved to benefit. This article is not pointing at any 'one' social media or website. Most websites and software are using addiction algorithms in some form or another. The most popular social media sites have been paving the way for all of us though; because they have been defining, discovering and deploying the tactics longer and more successfully than everyone else.

In my career of 23+ years, I have thought about how life would be different for myself if I pursued creating the "next big Facebook or Amazon or Instagram or LinkedIn success" in the digital wild west. I admit that about myself because as I mentioned; I must be critical of this issue if I am to help create a solution that benefits all of us (providers & consumers). Some of this article might look like I have no respect for my peers that have received tremendous success with their addiction algorithms - but I actually do have respect for their work and for every single one of them as human beings. Respect does not involve being afraid to share my own thoughts, especially when they are critical.

I do know the folks (including myself) that are making tech solutions available for the masses, are not purposefully being 'rotten' - we are all doing the best we can, with what we have to work with - - while being very conscious about how we are paying the bills, taking care of our families, surviving and thriving. I build bots for more than 20 years and stumbled on this digital addiction issue early in my career. I noticed people were becoming quickly addicted to the bots I was publishing and it did alarm me. Since then, I have been experimenting with techniques to remove addiction from the bots and will post an article about that soon. Unsurprisingly, when we remove digital addiction factors - the solution is no longer in demand from the masses - even when the solution solves a problem effectively and economically. I may be close to finding a happy medium though and will share what I can soon. I share a living document and welcome anyone's ideas for respectful tech solutions that remove the addiction features while still respecting the software & web architects https://docs.google.com/document/d/1H74rz2zOqkZVGs9KMNE_DGWdamCwlJeRWU3KxyDIaGg

It's no secret the tech industry is lacking true diversity and one of the consequences when we have a lack of balance is typically social diseases such as the addiction algorithms mentioned in this article.

Digital Narcotic Addiction Techniques

• Digital Content Candy Narcotic. Elicit strong emotions from your targets today and long into the future. The more unique content you create & share, the more successful you might become.
• Digital Peer Pressure Narcotic. Train targets to pressure others into joining and participating.
• Digital Emotional Narcotic. Emoji Responses: like, share, comment, and respond. Train targets to pressure others into repeating.
• Digital Friendship Narcotic. Train targets that they must collect thousands of followers to be happy, successful, informed, respected.
• Digital FOMO Narcotic. Fear of Missing Out. Show targets they must be in your network and participating because everyone else that matters is doing so.
• Digital Network Effect Narcotic. Everyone else is on the network, using the software - so the target must get on the network and use the software, even when the cost is loss of privacy, being experimented on, being monitored. The targets' family will often pressure them into joining, participating and remaining loyal.
• Digital Notification Number Narcotic. Quickly show the target the number of people that followed, mentioned or viewed the target's content. Similar to click bait, "you won't believe how many people just liked your post" - entice target to click, draw them in deeper, get them addicted to digital narcotics.
• Social Media Reversion. Hide or do not provide access for targets to delete their accounts with your website.
• Endless Scrolling through Content Candy. Congratulations, your targets are now established as your loyal servants at this stage. You can now run any experiments you desire on your loyal servants because no matter what you do to them & use them for - they will continue to feed your company, continue to attract millions and billions to your marketing corporation. The world's corporations and startups will pay you what ever you want; to allow them to access, use and experiment on your loyal servants. We have arrived and can publicly state we (the tech industry) will 'cure the world of all diseases', refuse to accept wages for our work, some of our followers will call us "Gods" and we will enjoy billionaire lifestyles. Our loyal servants will pay us to monitor their every moment with audio & video surveillance. Our loyal servants will pay us to remove their privacy. Our loyal servants will never dare hold us accountable because to do so, would ban them from our global network and access to what ever 'knowledge' we choose for them.
• Algorithmic Filtering. Monitor targets responses, use them as lab rats, tweak the content to keep targets inside longer and increase their engagement so we can demand more money from the companies that pay us to make this all happen. Only the most addictive content feeds will survive the current war for targets time and attention, so the Algorithmic Filtering is being constantly tweaked to make the content continuously more addictive over time.

According to Jeff Einstein; The 21st digital century society is not being destroyed by fear - but more from things we all love and invite into our lives, our homes, our families, our workplace to steal our freedom, money and time.

Chemical Destiny - Meaningful Ritual = Addiction

• The human brain is chemically motivated to avoid pain and pursue pleasure.
• Relationships with various things and people is where humans spend their time.
• Humans build rituals around each relationship - that dictate where, with whom and how we spend most of our money and time.
• Meaningful Rituals: contribute to and promote physical, social, spiritural and emotional well being.
• Self-Serving Rituals: contribute to and promote addictions and obsessions.
• Digital Narcotics have destroyed, marginalized or co-opted the institutions (family, meaningful labor, education, organized religions) that used to provide meaningful rituals, moderation and common sense.
• Digital Narcotics are available as an endless supply and replacing the meaningful rituals our older generations benefited from, so that younger generations of people are never experiencing anything different from digital narcotics.
• Addiction is a DEFAULT social condition, The RULE instead of an exception in the 21st digital century.

REFERENCES

99 Days of Freedom. http://99daysoffreedom.com/

Computer World. Social Media Addiction is Bigger than you think. http://www.computerworld.com/article/3014439/internet/social-media-addiction-is-a-bigger-problem-than-you-think.html

Jeff Einstein. The Addiction Algorithm. http://digitalapostate.com/the-addiction-algorithm

Jeff Einstein. Aphorisms & Quotes. http://digitalapostate.com/jeff-einstein-aphorisms-quotes

Network Effect. http://networkeffect.io/

Respectful Tech Solutions https://docs.google.com/document/d/1H74rz2zOqkZVGs9KMNE_DGWdamCwlJeRWU3KxyDIaGg