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> I'd like to think that's not true Facebook insiders have admitted that it is. Mike Allen, Facebook's first president, said this in an interview: “The though
by reading-at-work 8y ago
> I'd like to think that's not true
Facebook insiders have admitted that it is. Mike Allen, Facebook's first president, said this in an interview:
“The thought process was all about, ‘How do we consume as much of your time and conscious attention as possible?’,” he said. “And that means that we need to sort of give you a little dopamine hit every once in a while, because someone liked or commented on a photo or a post or whatever, and that’s going to get you to contribute more content, and that’s going to get you more likes and comments. It’s a social validation feedback loop. … You’re exploiting a vulnerabilty in human psychology.”
So that underscores their general attitude towards user behavior. The 'every once in a while' piece applies to the newsfeed too - it's designed to keep you searching for things you care about, and they carefully mix in things you don't, so that you're never too satisfied or unsatisfied, just constantly craving more.
- spenczar5 8y agoI couldn't believe this quote, so I had to dig it up. It's real, but from Sean Parker. Mike Allen was the interviewer. Source (a slightly clickbaity-looking place, go at your own risk): https://www.axios.com/sean-parker-unloads-on-facebook-god-only-knows-what-its-doing-to-our-childrens-brains-1513306792-f855e7b4-4e99-4d60-8d51-2775559c2671.html https://www.axios.com/sean-parker-unloads-on-facebook-god-on...
- mehrdadn 8y ago> It's real, but from Sean Parker. Does that give it less weight or more weight? It's hard to see what you were going for here.
- fipple 8y agoWhy is it hard to believe the quote? This has been the MO of mass entertainment since the gladiators fought the lions.
- spenczar5 8y agoIt's just so bald. I hadn't seen anyone at Facebook so openly describing things like "exploiting a vulnerability in human psychology." They usually say stuff like "bringing people together," "connecting the world," etc.
- hutzlibu 8y agoErm ... does this surprise, when the founder of facebook openly said his users are idiots for trusting him with their data?
- srtjstjsj 8y agoSean Parker wasn't at Facebook during that interview. This was after his unamicable separation.
- mortdeus 8y agoHe isn't the only person who talks about the dopamine driven feedback loops. Chamath Palihapitiya, who was one of the first engineers at facebook, talks about how they all used to gather in meeting rooms and have intense back and forth discussions on how they actually build this thing so that the entire world wouldn't be able to resist adopting it. He talks about how at the time they really didn't foresee the foreboding future implications of what they were trying to build at the time.
- perl4ever 8y agoThat's a little like talking about how you didn't foresee the foreboding implications of designing a self-sustaining chain reaction involving neutrons. Although I think the reaction continues and we can't tell exactly what's happening even now.
- mortdeus 8y agoChamath Palihapitiya also talks about this. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J54k7WrbfMg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J54k7WrbfMg
- osdiab 8y agoI actually find Axios to be a pretty great news source. Lots of solid, insightful analysis on categorized topics delivered as regular newsletters that don’t take up all your time.
- Alterlife 8y ago> "so that you're never too satisfied or unsatisfied, just constantly craving more." That quote reminds me of Louis CK's interview with Conan (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HbYScltf1c https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HbYScltf1c) where he says about mobile phones: "You never feel completely sad or completely happy, you just feel kinda satisfied with your product... and then you die."