Do you wonder why you cannot seem to get off your phone? Why do you keep scrolling endlessly on one app and jump to the next until your phone batteries die? In my next series of articles, I will be exposing some persuasive strategies that app designers use to ensure that you stay on their apps for as long as possible.
If you find yourself addicted to a social media app such as Facebook, Twitter, TikTok or Instagram, one of the strategies that may be keeping you glued to the app is normative influence. Normative influence refers to humans’ desire to fulfil the expectations of others and be accepted by them. Designers of social media apps take advantage of the power of this strategy by implementing reactions, views and comments on every social media post you make. The more positive reactions, views and comments you get on your posts, the more accepted and happier you feel in your community of netizens. Studies have shown that successful social media interactions initiate the secretion of dopamine from the brain. Dopamine is a chemical that plays a key role at motivating behaviour, which is released as a reward during or after carrying out satisfying activities such as eating a delicious cake or completing your chores. This dopamine release encourages you to make more posts or also engage in other people’s posts to gain more acceptance, thereby extending your engagement time on the app. On the other hand, when you receive negative reactions, less views, or few comments on your favourite app, you tend to be motivated to keep trying to reverse this to maintain the satisfying dopamine effect, which also results in extended screen time on the app. Extended unsuccessful attempts to gain this satisfaction may lead to sadness, feelings of insecurity or even depression.
Either way, the app designer wins with this strategy.
Therefore, the next time you feel bad about not having enough likes on your tweet, not having enough views on your Instagram picture or not having many comments on your Facebook post, remember that it is the normative influence strategy at work. Shake it off and see it for what it is: Simple nosy strategies that keep you glued to your phone.
Look out for my article next month as I reveal another strategy that keeps you glued to your phone.
Image by Azmi Talib from Pixabay
