[alexpotato]

What's interesting is that the process of identifying what gets human attention is nothing new.

e.g. cartoons from the 1950s were designed to have:

- cute animals

- short and fast scene cuts

- catchy music

b/c all three of the above were known to trick the human brain into "sit still and observe" mode.

Focus groups did the same thing for advertising which then morphed into A/B testing to determine revealed preferences.

Same thing with the whole fat/salt/sugar research that led to near addictive fast food.

This is just the next logical step.

[bcjdjsndon]

Books are designed to be addictive. People said the same things about books as they say about screens nowadays. I think it's more important to understand the emotional hysteria people get themselves into

[alexpotato]

My favorite addiction epidemic was when apparently the "catch the ball on the string in the cup" took over parts of Europe to the point that people were ignoring their work.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cup-and-ball

[voltaireodactyl]

One difference to consider: books require active participation on the part of the consumer. Whereas digital/screens can just happen to you whether you participate or not.

[djaro]

Books are not nearly as addictive as social media though.