The first time I noticed the app was designed to keep me scrolling
It was a Tuesday. Late. I'd been flicking through for forty minutes without buying anything. Then I tried to close it and felt the tug.
I'd tell you which app but honestly it doesn't matter — they all do it. The little haptic when you hit the bottom. The 'just for you' section that resets every time you open it. The way the back button doesn't quite do what you expect.
Once you see it, you can't unsee it. And then the question becomes why I'd been giving it forty minutes a night for years.
134 replies · 612+ with you
- DDiego· São Paulo · 3h
The dopamine hit isn't in the purchase. It's in the open-and-close loop. That's the part they optimise against.
- JJomar· Manila · 2h
I deleted three shopping apps the week after reading this thread. Don't miss any of them.
- RR· Dublin · 1h
Worked on a retention team at one of these companies for two years. The words 'session length' are said more times per week than anyone's name.
- LLeila· Beirut · 46m
This is the thread that made me move the app off my home screen. Took three more weeks to delete it. The friction is the point.
- TTom· Melbourne · 22m
Follow up: what did you replace the scroll with? I tried books, lasted a week. Calling friends has stuck.