It’s called Variable Rate Operant Conditioning.
You know that feeling when you seem to not be able to stop scrolling in any app these days? That’s by design. That’s Variable Rate Operant Conditioning.
In operant conditioning, a variable-ratio schedule is a partial schedule of reinforcement in which a response is reinforced after an unpredictable number of responses. This schedule creates a steady, high rate of response.
This is what powers slot machines, pachinkos, Pokemon, Etsy’s search, TikTok, app stores, everything with an algorithm.
Your feed, regardless of the app and what you’re interested in, uses this with a level of sophistication (thanks to a decade+ of data) that makes it devastatingly potent. At this point, it might be so optimized and efficient that most people simply can’t escape or fight it. The 24/7 phone paradigm doesn’t give people enough time to separate and think. People get on the scrolling treadmill as soon as they can, right after dropping off the kids or right before bed.
It’s been warping our minds and it is impacting our societies in the worst way. You haven’t found something interesting. They found (know, remember, don’t share) what triggers you 1000% of the time.
We like to say and believe that Boomers are the reason everything is bad today, but the psychopaths using constant skinner boxes on us and optimizing them to get us on that rent-seeking shit, are cute and ruthless Gen-X and Millies.