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Irresistible : the rise of addictive technology and the business of keeping us hooked

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"An urgent and expert investigation into behavioral addiction, the dark flipside of today's unavoidable digital technologies, and how we can turn the tide to regain control. Behavioral addiction may prove to be one of the most important fields of social, medical, and psychological research in our lifetime. The idea that behaviors can be being addictive is new, but the threat is near universal. Experts are just beginning to acknowledge that we are all potential addicts. Adam Alter, a professor of psychology and marketing at NYU, is at the cutting edge of research into what makes these products so compulsive, and he documents the hefty price we're likely to pay if we continue blindly down our current path. People have been addicted to substances for thousands of years, but for the past two decades, we've also been hooked on technologies, such as Instagram, Netflix, and Facebook--inventions that we've adopted because we assume they'll make our lives better. These inventions have profound upsides, but their extraordinary appeal isn't an accident. Technology companies and marketers have teams of engineers and researchers devoted to keeping us engaged. They know how to push our buttons, and how to coax us into using their products for hours, days, and weeks on end. Tracing the very notion of addiction through history right up until the present day, Alter shows that we're only just beginning to understand the epidemic of behavioral addiction gripping society. He takes us inside the human brain at the very moment we score points on a smartphone game, or see that someone has liked a photo we've posted on Instagram. But more than that, Alter heads the problem off at the pass, letting us know what we can do to step away from the screen. He lays out the options we have address this problem before it truly consumes us. After all, who among us has struggled to ignore the ding of a new email, the next episode in a TV series, or the desire to play a game just one more time? Adam Alter's previous book, Drunk Tank Pink:And Other Unexpected Forces that Shape How We Think, Feel, and Behaveis available in paperback from Penguin"--

Available copies

  • 14 of 14 copies available at Westchester Library System. (Show)
  • 0 of 0 copies available at New Rochelle Public Library System.
  • 0 of 0 copies available at New Rochelle Public Library.

Current holds

0 current holds with 14 total copies.
Location Call Number /
Shelving Location
Barcode Status /
Due Date
LDR 03630cam a2200373Ii 4500
0014017898
003WEST
00520170227124508.0
008170224s2017 nyua b 001 0 eng
010 . ‡a 2016043481
020 . ‡a9781594206641 (hardback) : ‡c$27.00
020 . ‡a1594206643 (hardback)
035 . ‡a(OCoLC)973720280
040 . ‡aPNX ‡beng ‡erda ‡cPNX ‡dPNX ‡dOCLCO ‡dUtOrBLW
05000. ‡aHM851 ‡b.A437 2017
08200. ‡a302.23/1 ‡223
1001 . ‡aAlter, Adam L., ‡d1980- ‡eauthor. ‡0no2009088814 ‡0http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no2009088814
24510. ‡aIrresistible : ‡bthe rise of addictive technology and the business of keeping us hooked / ‡cAdam Alter.
264 1. ‡aNew York : ‡bPenguin Press, ‡c2017.
300 . ‡a354 pages : ‡billustrations ; ‡c22 cm
336 . ‡atext ‡btxt ‡2rdacontent
337 . ‡aunmediated ‡bn ‡2rdamedia
338 . ‡avolume ‡bnc ‡2rdacarrier
504 . ‡aIncludes bibliographical references and index.
520 . ‡a"An urgent and expert investigation into behavioral addiction, the dark flipside of today's unavoidable digital technologies, and how we can turn the tide to regain control. Behavioral addiction may prove to be one of the most important fields of social, medical, and psychological research in our lifetime. The idea that behaviors can be being addictive is new, but the threat is near universal. Experts are just beginning to acknowledge that we are all potential addicts. Adam Alter, a professor of psychology and marketing at NYU, is at the cutting edge of research into what makes these products so compulsive, and he documents the hefty price we're likely to pay if we continue blindly down our current path. People have been addicted to substances for thousands of years, but for the past two decades, we've also been hooked on technologies, such as Instagram, Netflix, and Facebook--inventions that we've adopted because we assume they'll make our lives better. These inventions have profound upsides, but their extraordinary appeal isn't an accident. Technology companies and marketers have teams of engineers and researchers devoted to keeping us engaged. They know how to push our buttons, and how to coax us into using their products for hours, days, and weeks on end. Tracing the very notion of addiction through history right up until the present day, Alter shows that we're only just beginning to understand the epidemic of behavioral addiction gripping society. He takes us inside the human brain at the very moment we score points on a smartphone game, or see that someone has liked a photo we've posted on Instagram. But more than that, Alter heads the problem off at the pass, letting us know what we can do to step away from the screen. He lays out the options we have address this problem before it truly consumes us. After all, who among us has struggled to ignore the ding of a new email, the next episode in a TV series, or the desire to play a game just one more time? Adam Alter's previous book, Drunk Tank Pink:And Other Unexpected Forces that Shape How We Think, Feel, and Behaveis available in paperback from Penguin"-- ‡cProvided by publisher.
596 . ‡a3 7 9 14 18 19 20 23 24 26 27 30 32 36 38 39 40 42 43 44 45 54
650 0. ‡aDigital media ‡xSocial aspects. ‡0BSLW 349202 ‡0(WEST)29337
650 0. ‡aDigital media ‡xPsychological aspects. ‡0BSLW 349202
650 0. ‡aPsychology, Applied. ‡0BSLW 318762 ‡0(WEST)18323
949 . ‡a302.231 A ‡wDEWEY ‡hWHINEWNF ‡i31544200719607 ‡p$27.00 ‡rY ‡sY
972 . ‡a3-3WNFGRID ‡b9781594206641 ‡v3544230 0057
974 . ‡aJF 3/17 ‡b9781594206641 ‡v3124339 0003
975 . ‡fSCA_ANF ‡hSCANBK ‡p27.00 ‡q1
998 . ‡aa1812278
901 . ‡a4017898 ‡bAUTOGEN ‡c4017898 ‡tbiblio

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