[honzzz]

After reading the closing thoughts, it seems to me that the author equates addictiveness with "world-class" product that people "love". That type of thinking scares me - hey HN crowd, how prevalent would you estimate it is between creators?

And more broadly - how many of them even think about morality of what they are trying to build? How many still believe they are creating better world while intentionally trying to build addictiveness into their products, and how many just rationalize it by something like if I don't do it, someone else will, so I might as well do it (attitude I have noticed here surprisingly often)?

[xmprt]

I think addictive is a buzzword that people use nowadays. It doesn't mean the same as an alcohol or gambling addiction. It's more like finding something that just works and that you enjoy using. TikTok does have some actually damaging aspects but when the author uses addictive here, I think he's talking about building something that doesn't annoy people from using it.

[selfhoster11]

I don't think it's a buzzword, or overused at all. A YouTube addiction is not as equally crippling as alcohol abuse, but it certainly is an addiction that I am currently fighting.

[brundolf]

It's definitely an overloaded word. When someone says "I'm addicted to these new Marvel shows they've been coming out with", they (probably) don't mean it's a crippling habit that's ruining their life