Today, in the internet age, his message remains just as true. Like the viewer, the Internet user is the product that social networks, sites and online video games sell to advertisers. In itself, this reality is not necessarily bad. This old, very efficient model allows Internet users to obtain content or services for free. This means that people accept that their data is used as currency. So what then is the problem?

The attention of Internet users is a limited resource that the different platforms try to monopolize. Two main strategies are generally implemented by the media (social and traditional) to capture the attention of Internet users: produce quality content to retain their audience by delivering a rewarding experience or bet on sensationalism, headlines and consumption massive.

However, unlike traditional media, such as television, radio or newspapers, whose interaction with consumers is limited, the Internet is a channel where consumers are active, which allows multiple interactions. The Internet has therefore opened up a world of possibilities and experiences for users, as well as advertisers and the media.

Incentive mechanisms

The mechanisms leading to addiction have been studied for decades.

This technique is also applied to many online games. The player is constantly receiving “gifts” that have no value outside of the game or, quite often, in the game itself. These are purely cosmetic items, like a pond, a nicer house, or Christmas trees. These random rewards become a trigger of great temptation for the player that they encourage to play more and more in order to accumulate more.

Time and social investments

Another mechanism exploited by the famous game is the need to reserve an important place for it in his schedule and among his entourage: in his schedule, because the player must invest time to prepare his fields and his activities which he does not will reap the rewards only after a specified period of time, then if he does not return to the game at the prescribed time, he loses his investment; and among his entourage, because the player is encouraged to have as many neighbors as possible, whom he must help and who, in return, must help him to obtain bonuses, often essential to progress quickly in the game. on a principle of reciprocity bind users to a group. These investments in time and social capital lead to an  escalation of engagement, forcing the player to come back again and again to the game. It thus interferes in the player’s daily life, and this presence is accentuated by the growing use of mobile phones.

The emotional response

“In games of chance, players tend to develop a greater addiction when sensory feedback accompanies winning,”. Think of the bells and alarms you hear when someone wins a slot machine. Sounds and lights have nothing to do with the ultimate monetary reward: a player has been shown to be willing to take greater risks if visual and auditory stimuli accompany winning. This predisposition has even been observed in laboratory rats. The reward obtained as a result of a positive interaction could be food, but by adding sensory feedback, the rats took more risks for their gain. “

Let’s replace sensory feedback with personal gratification, like social media does. What behavior would trigger a gain accompanied by a strengthening of the ego?

Research, responsibilities and possible solutions

Various means exist to treat internet addiction, but the most beneficial, total abstinence, is unrealistic given the ubiquity of the internet in many current jobs, according to  a study published in 1999 . Indeed,  92% of the North American population uses a mobile phone to access the Internet and 53% of people sometimes use the Internet from home for their work. As for video game addiction, the results are mixed, since only a  third (33.5%) of patients  who have followed their full treatment say they have fully recovered.

When it comes to social media addiction, research has only just begun, and while  treatments for internet addiction  can arguably be adapted to this, it is still early to be certain. The problem, however, is taken seriously and is now part  of psychology textbooks .

The tech industry’s response

In the face of growing public concern, the major players in the industry have taken steps to prevent the overuse of devices and applications. These measures take the form of warmer screen colors and a grayscale mode to limit the emission of blue light by screens at night; pauses in notifications to prevent causing interruptions that reduce productivity; or data on the personal use of technologies in order to make the user aware of his level of consumption of a service or an application. But are these solutions sufficient?

Google, Facebook and the others are in conflict of interest. As long as the business model of these companies is based on the greatest possible use of their products in order to sell the greatest possible quantity of advertisements, their solutions, seen as simplistic and superficial, will only attack the image. the problem and not the basic problem.

People with addiction cannot control their urges. There is no point in putting measures in place to help them limit their use of a product or service if they do not have the will or the ability to meet those limits.

A glow at the end of the tunnel

All the dependency mechanisms described are originally necessary for human survival. The fact that they can be used against him does not imply that they must be banned. A slot machine that prompts a person to play over and over again harnesses the brain’s reward system, which is essential for learning. And even repetitive play can be beneficial in bringing the person into “  the zone  ” to reduce daily stress or stimulate learning, as Douglas Heaven , editor of New Scientist magazine explains  . If we play so much, it is mainly because we also need to do ourselves good.

If a social network or a game can infiltrate our surroundings and force us to always come back, it can also recruit this same entourage in order to promote positive behaviors such as the adoption of healthier eating habits, the maintenance of a lifestyle. more active life or increased mobilization within a team to promote cooperation and the pooling of ideas, as described by researcher Alex Pentland in his book “  Social Physics  ”.

What can the advertising industry do?

No one wants to claim responsibility for a problem. No one tries to woo gamers or internet users with mathematical models optimized to encourage the use of products and services. Brands and media are not directly responsible for addiction, but they cannot deny their complicity on two fronts:

The media stoke this greed with the money they give to advertisers to place their ads.

They naturally prefer the most effective advertisers, those whose audiences are likely to be the most captive and who have the most personal data.

Yet in the long run, this cabal can only backfire on brands. None of them want to be associated with a product considered harmful to health. These same brands will therefore not want to be advertised on a platform whose ethics could be called into question. This is why the Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon of this world redouble their efforts to protect their reputation and image in the wake of every scandal. The same is happening with advertisers, who have a duty to protect the reputation of their customers.

In short, social media marketing agency, brands, and web giants, all without exception, will have to question their processes, their promises and – why not? – their values. In an era where  transparency is slowly beginning to enter conversations , we hope, as specialists, but also as citizens, to see the emergence of a common conscience in the industry. And, luckily, we are on the right track.