on the science of addiction

Nothing changes once they’re clean, except the fact that instead of giving in to the addiction, they’re resisting it every day. (...) even the most determined addicts-in-recovery will relapse when they revisit the people and places that remind them of the drug.

this is just what gets me every time. i give up everything for nothing then i am pulled back. the middleground is unbearable.

this reframing into "what actually changes?" reminds me of the quote from an alcoholic to a doctor: "but what do to, doctor, if not drink every day?" furthermore it reminds me of how "everyone's addicted: our journalists, our politicians, celebrities are all turnt into nervous narcissists putting in posts into the twitter slot machine for that dopamine-hit." to paraphrase Jaron Lanier (2018) who in the same talk goes on to contextualise this addiction beside tobacco and alcohol: "in those cases there were people in society outside the addiction system (not just rehabilitating but never on it) to uphold the integrity of a space for discussion. we don't have that." --- Jaron Lanier, 2018, UC Santa Cruz

Persuasive design might push you to make a one-time decision,
this reminds me of the "one-click" at the foundation of Amazon's entire business model: that it should take one-click to make a financial committment.

also i am reminded of this interview with 1920s parliamentary pollers in the US who use the phrase "that's a loaded question", regarding the phrasing of a question for a political poll. a documentary in four parts which aired on BBC in 2002, Century of the Self by Adam Curtis. the documentary series itself relating to what i now think is a silverlining in "persuasive design": the conversation between whether humans are "rational beings capable of their own governance" or if humans are "irrational beings incapable of governing their own lives", which to this polling group interviewed in the 1920s to me seems answered by "yes, people can make rational choices for the betterment of their lives (if we do not persuade people.)"

(...) while addictive design could keep you coming back.

persuasion + addiction = (left blank as an excercise to the reader.)
synonyms to addictive: game-ification, driving engagement, incentives, external motivators, ...

Resorting to persuasive mechanisms can be framed as being in the user’s best interest, and user benefit is subjective.

right, it can all be seen through anyone's perspective. knowing my own perspective helps immensely when persuasion and valid considerations mingle. this is where my own mantra "a thousand other times i thought..." helps me keep my line through such shifts in perspective that y'know a dialogue is all about; my integrity is what lets me view others perspectives without losing my own.

Is the persuasion used to align user behaviour with goals that they themselves explicitly selected?

No. this is all a really intricate machinery to put our heads into, but it's not for us. it's just about us. i recall again Jaron Lanier (2018): "Why would Facebook go out and say they can change people's perception? Why make that study public? That's because it's not about two parties - you and facebook - it's about enticing investors into Facebook for dealing with you." Population control isn't so radical or mind-boggling once you've sat in a decisionmaking apparatus representing alot of people. Autocracy becomes a joke rather than a taboo very fast, together with defining "the average human" to design a system around, because it all hinges on deciding for people that aren't present and that involves alot of tedius processes to be fair to everyone - more tedius the less a person speaks up for themself. It's easier to dismiss the silent masses as someone agreeing then.
there is a topic to be had about normal/norm in statistics/standardizing humans/logistics and the parliamenterism of 2000s compared to the parliamentarism of the 1900s. it is contextual - as nothing exists in a vacuum - however we're not quite there yet;

i think it's like that air instruction manual where we gotta put on the breathing mask for ourselves before we can help others; i can't even do my own dishes after dinner & keep a weekly laundry day for the "research" into obscure topics of video essays, posts and comments then (despairing over having neglected myself all day, yet exhausted and addicted) i don't successfully compose myself enough to care for myself in the real world. not to mention how all my loneliness and negative emotions come all at once when i put down the screen- ofcourse i wanna feel better again in those moments. it really is an added emotional burden to be addicted.

“And so the only form of ethical persuasion that exists in the world is when the goals of the persuaders are aligned with the goals of the persuadees.” - Tristan Harris
https://www.wired.com/story/our-minds-have-been-hijacked-by-our-phones-tristan-harris-wants-to-rescue-them/

awesome axiom. could be a thing for oaths.

Here are some persuasive or addictive design mechanisms that designers should be careful with, or avoid entirely.
- variable rewards (the slot machine effect)
- (artificial) Scarcity & Urgency
- Social proof and Authority (top 10, the best, recommended, 605406 followers, ...)
- Reciprocation (message sent, delivered, read, ghosted, someone retweeted, someone visited your profile, ...
- Technology-induced guilt or obligations (parasocializing with... a fictional character.)
- Lack of friction (1-click design)
- Gamification
- Interruptions (popups, inducing negative emotions which urges further escapism into addiction)

Norbert Weiner wrote perhaps the first condemnations of a human being being put inbetween the input-output of machines. his are solid, fully academically published, papers. so we're not without litterature for navigating the "what does it matter if i'm persuaded and addicted and don't realize it myself? it's normal."

the more i learn of Piefed the more i realize the features to turn off those design mechanisms: can turn off post scores, total time on Piefed is logged and shown, no obnoxious ads, (can i turn off the notification's icon red & numbercount? probably.)

further reading mentioned in the article
- Adam Atler, Irresistible: The Rise of Addictive Technology and the Business of Keeping Us Hooked (2017