Books about addictive tech design

Persuasive Technology by BJ Fogg

→ Why? It’s the Genesis of modern Big Tech.

This book, written by a renowned researcher in the field of behavioral design and technology, is the guidebook for many of the most influential Big Tech companies of today. The author himself was the one who taught future heads of Instagram, Google, Facebook and Uber.

The book was originally published in 2002. Yet many of its predictions came true, and the contents of the book feel as relevant (if not more so) today compared to nearly 25 years ago.

Persuasion techniques are most effective when they are interactive, when persuaders adjust their influence tactics as the situation evolves.

Hooked by Nir Eyal

Hooked: How To Build Habit-Forming Products is a book that I have a love-hate relationship with. On one hand, I find the idea of a step-by-step guide for creating ‘habit-forming’ (read: addictive) products problematic, but on the other, I cannot deny the sheer value that this book provides. It goes very in-depth on the topic of what makes us keep coming back to our devices and apps.

I would recommend it as a reading for everyone. Once you’re aware of the cookie-cutter process that makes all these apps stick in your mind even after closing them, it’s much harder to unwittingly fall prey to them.

Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport

→ Why? Learn how to control the effect of digital distractions.

Digital Minimalism covers advice on how to reduce mental clutter caused by social media, phone addiction and other forms of digital distractions.

Among other things, Cal Newport argues that social media was purposely designed to be unsatisfying in order to provide a cheap alternative to real, in-person conversations. This way it leaves you wanting for more.

Whether there’s a notification or not, it doesn’t really feel that good… Whatever we’re hoping to see, it never quite meets that bar.

Leah Pearlman, Product Manager on the team that developed Facebook’s Like button

Stolen Focus by Johann Hari

→ Why? Learn about what’s causing our attention decline.

Johann Hari walks the reader through an interesting journey, aiming to answer a simple question: why is our ability to pay attention slowly deteriorating?

In his pursuit of an answer, he interviewed many subject matter experts (among which was also Nir Eyal, who wrote Hooked – the book I recommended above).

Stolen Focus gives a solid overview of many different factors that propel this attention crisis forward, covering social, psychological, economic and even political points of view, and then attempts to come up with practical tips that the average person can follow.

Dopamine Nation by Anna Lembke

→ Why? Learn about dopamine and how we get addicted to things.

While not strictly focused on technology, Dopamine Nation covers how our seemingly unproblematic hobbies and interests can become a source of addiction.

The book was written by an American psychiatrist who is Chief of the Stanford Addiction Medicine Dual Diagnosis Clinic, and is an easy read for people unfamiliar with how dopamine, the neurotransmitter of pleasure and rewards, can compel us into continuing negative habits despite knowing they are bad for us.

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Books for the distracted mind

Make Time by Jake Knapp and John Zeratsky

While there is nothing groundbreaking in this book, the authors of this book managed to achieve one amazing thing – they presented a framework for making time that seems achievable for an average Andy. There are no “shut yourself away for 30 days” type of tips here, and the tone seems genuinely down-to-earth.

The Make Time framework is based on setting and completing one “Highlight” (a meaningful 60-90 minute task) every day. How do you pick one? Your Highlight can be decided on based on urgency, satisfaction or personal joy. They go into much more detail on how to actually execute and stick with this in the book.

This is a great recommendation for those that are great at planning but get stuck on the execution stage.

Deep Work by Cal Newport

In his book Deep Work, Cal Newport discusses various ways we waste our mental energy and time, while only leaving a small portion of our busy days to do “real” work, which he refers to as ‘deep work’:

Deep Work: Professional activities performed in a state of distraction free concentration that push your cognitive capabilities to their limit. These efforts create new value, improve your skill, an are hard to replicate.

He offers a lot of advice on how to achieve this state, from eliminating distractions and improving our concentration and mental memory, to how to effectively schedule work hours and say no to ‘shallow work’.

While this book shows some levels of privilege (and Cal’s lack of experience in the corporate world, at least outside of academia), this book was formative to me in terms of the perspective on life. It invited self-reflection in the way I choose to spend time on, especially during a very vulnerable time of my life.

Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman

You may see this book in the self-help section of your local bookstore, which may lead you to believe it’s just another time management cash grab. But it’s actually a more philosophical exploration of what it even means to “manage our time”.

The author starts the book off by stating that we should think about and accept the imminence of our death, and that we have around 4,000 weeks until it happens. He draws the comparison to how we used to measure time according to seasons and environmental conditions, and ponders to what extent we can reframe our own perception of time in order to feel less burnt out and stressed.

Overall, it’s a very interesting read, especially for those of us who live and die by our digital calendars.

Tiny Habits by BJ Fogg

Tiny Habits is one of my favorite books to reread whenever I feel stuck in a rut, because Fogg shares straightforward advice that empowers you to take action.

His premise? To make habits stick, make them really, really, really easy to do. That’s it.

The reason why you should trust his advice is because Fogg the guy for figuring out what makes humans take action – he’s a social scientist and adjunct professor at Stanford University, as well as the founder and director of the Stanford Behavior Design Lab, formerly known as the Persuasive Technology Lab.

Goodbye, Things by Fumio Sasaki

This is a book about Fumio Sasaki’s personal journey to minimalism. Although he does take it to an extreme most of us would not be comfortable with, what I’ve found most valuable about this book are the psychological benefits of reducing our material possessions.

The concept of the ‘silent to-do list’ was enlightening, especially for someone with ADHD like me. Sasaki claims that our possessions “don’t just sit there”, but they instead send “silent messages” to us (metaphorically).

For example, maybe you picked up a foreign language textbook which now collects dust on your shelf. Except, every time you look at it, you’re reminded that you’ve left the language-learning process halfway, and its silent message uses up your mental energy on beating yourself up. These messages tend to add up with every material possession we own.