I was going through my Overdrive TBR when in the six or seventh page, I stumbled across this. I’m still very into reading about how the internet and social media affects us so I checked this book out immediately. Also, I guess my habit of adding books to my TBR list and then waiting for the right mood to read them is finally paying off – I don’t think I would have found the book at this time otherwise.

Irresistible is a study of behavioural addiction and how modern apps have facilitated this rise. The book opens with a strong indictment – Silicon Valley’s leaders don’t allow their children to spend time on the very apps and devices they create (this Business Insider article has more details). Why?

Alter argues that this is because addiction is not something that’s inherent in people, it’s “produced largely by environment and circumstance”. And not only can we be addicted to behaviours (like exercise, shopping, gambling), these are actually even easier to conceal. What is the difference between normal and excessive Facebook/Instagram usage? When does the worry over your likes cross over from normal to worrying?

The first section of the book makes the case that behavioural addictions are on the rise and the second part takes us through the components of an addictive app. Alter argues that apps/platforms that cause behavioural addiction consists of six components:

1. Compelling goals that are just beyond reach
2. A sense of incremental progress and improvement
3. Tasks that become more difficult over time
4. Unresolved tensions that demand resolution
5. Strong social connections
6. Irresistible and unpredictable positive feedback

Not all platforms will have all six components but they will have several of them. Unfortunately, we can’t completely avoid them because “addictive tech is part of the mainstream in a way that addictive substances never will be.” Hence, the third and final section of the book explores some ways we can either use these addictive traits to promote good behaviours or employ methods to mitigate their harm. In terms of suggestions, other books like Digital Minimalism and How to Break Up with Your Phone have more concrete suggestions, but the chapter on gamification is interesting and worth a read.

I liked that this book broke down the components that lead to behavioural addiction and talked about each of them separately. Most of the examples raised were apps but there was a really interesting look at the rise of Instagram and I think that it’s possible to take these components and use them to determine is an app, game, or platform is likely to produce behavioural addiction. That makes it more useful because there will always be new apps and new social media networks coming up and we have to be able to look at them with a critical eye.

After reading this, I’m now curious about Instagram’s recent decision to hide the number of likes on a photo. That may remove one of the key components that make it irresistible (if I understand how this new feature works) which might affect the time on the app. I wonder why they would do it.

Overall, this is a good book to read if you’re interested in finding out why certain apps and websites are particularly addictive. Even if the app or website you’re thinking of isn’t mentioned, you can probably figure out why it’s addictive after reading this.