You might also be aware that all this is delivered by means of “persuasive design”—an umbrella term for an armory of psychological techniques borrowed directly from the designers of casino slot machines, for the express purpose of encouraging compulsive behavior. One example among hundreds is the ubiquitous drag-down-to-refresh gesture, which keeps... See more

My GPS watch insists on tracking my running streak, my hitting-my-step-count streak, my drinking-enough-water streak. A friend mentions their Duolingo streak. An app offers to track my meditation streak, which seems to fly in the face of mindfulness. As I type this, I’m shown an ad for something called “Streaks,” billed as “the to-do list that... See more

You might also be aware that all this is delivered by means of “persuasive design”—an umbrella term for an armory of psychological techniques borrowed directly from the designers of casino slot machines, for the express purpose of encouraging compulsive behavior. One example among hundreds is the ubiquitous drag-down-to-refresh gesture, which keeps... See more