Guided By Design | Ahmed Al-Raisi | TEDxShabab St

Attention Economy & Business Model - Platforms sell user time, not content, to advertisers [3] - Increased screen time leads to more ad exposure, data collection, and user predictability, enhancing profitability [4] - Design tricks, such as infinite scroll, significantly increase screen time, adding billions of hours annually [5] - Algorithms track user behavior (replays, pauses, scroll speed) to create precise profiles for personalized content delivery [6] - Companies prioritize user attention as a product, potentially neglecting the impact on focus, relationships, and well-being [8] Psychological Impact & Addiction - Dopamine, the anticipation of happiness, drives scrolling behavior, while serotonin, the feeling of contentment, is lacking [9] - Scrolling provides dopamine hits but lacks serotonin, leading to feelings of restlessness and wasted time [11][12] - The novelty effect causes the brain to crave more content, faster and weirder, leading to a potential mood drop after phone use [12][13] - Heavy media multitasking impairs memory and focus due to constant interruptions [13] Generational Awareness & Solutions - Younger generations may not know a life before constant distractions, while older generations are joining platforms without awareness of their addictive design [14][15] - The industry should promote awareness and conversation about attention, making "looking up" the new default [15][16] - Solutions include screen limits, "do not disturb" mode, and grayscale settings to regain control over attention [16]