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They don't need to not like it. It's relative. They just have to like the new thing better. Which shouldn't be hard when they're objectively maximizing engagem

• majormajor 5y ago
  > Which shouldn't be hard when they're objectively maximizing engagement at your expense. This needs more proof - specifically, would people agree it's at their short term expense even if they agree it's against their long term expense? Lots of successful short-term fun, long-term negative products out there in the world, and we rarely expect - or see - the free market alone to make those products go away.
  • zrm 5y ago
    Most products like that don't actually work. Payday loans are available to everyone, but people typically don't use them to buy luxury goods. The people who take them out use them to avoid things that are long-term worse, like eviction or losing your job because you couldn't pay to get to work. The products in that category you see succeeding are survivorship bias, like cigarettes. Which only works because it builds a physical dependency. But maybe the algorithm is like nicotine and it's hard to break the habit. We can still win, because we can offer the same algorithm, because we can offer more than one. So you switch because you aspire to quit. You want the option. And you don't have to quit today, you can switch and keep the addictive one. But then you have a choice. You can turn it off when you're feeling strong. Wean yourself. Time lock the bad one in your client. Which eventually makes it easier to quit smoking altogether.