Hooked is a great analysis of what makes software addictive. I read it with a “know your enemy” philosophy: I wanted to learn more about the ways technology manipulates me, for instance, why I have an urge to open Twitter when I’m momentarily bored.

Hooked was excellent in this regard. It succinctly outlines Eyal’s “Hook Model”: an algorithm for building addictive software. Paired with Deep Work, the book is a valuable reminder about how dangerous modern technology can be. Some of the brightest minds on the planet are paid millions by social media companies to marginally improve the addictiveness of the software, based on deep research into our neurobiology and a scary understanding of our cognitive biases. I am reminded of a thought I had when reading Snow Crash: these apps have been engineered to hack into our brain: our dopamine system via variable rewards; our need to belong to a tribe via external triggers (e.g the notification badge that drives FOMO).

As a society, we have not had time to develop generational wisdom on how to have a healthy relationship with technology – it’s difficult for our parents to teach us about good tech habits (like they do with e.g diet, socialisation) when they themselves are addicted. Awareness of manipulative tactics is the first step to dulling their importance. I’m not sure whether to be optimistic or pessimistic about humanity’s relationship with technology. On the one hand, the metaverse is a brand new battlefield and if history is anything to go by, tech companies will have the upper hand compared to reactive regulators. On the other hand, there seems to be growing awareness of the power that big social media companies have over us and there are signs of resistance e.g Apple’s push to privacy-by-default and web3 (arguably).

If you’re building a consumer startup or trying to increase engagement for some product, Hooked is clearly a valuable read. There are actionable insights at the end of every chapter, and Chapter 8 provides a playbook for building a habit-forming product. I suppose it’s a little strange that Hooked explicitly provides a how-to guide for people trying to make habit-forming products, given their negative impacts, but Eyal points out an optimistic alternative perspective: that by learning the techniques of these masters of addiction, we can engineer structures that allow us to build positive habits. This is something that I’m personally excited to explore in the context of personal knowledge management, reading habits, and productivity.


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