The tech boys have reduced this marketeer to a collaborating lab monkey and they know it.
I’ve already reached my conclusion, but the two hours it took to start typing is not a good sign. It is, however, relevant. The infinite seductions of more knowledge are simply irresistible. This has its pros and cons:
- I’m good at quizzes.
- I can hold a decent conversation whatever your interest or line of work.
- Oh look, it’s dark already.
The ping of a like or the aha of an article that may or may not prove relevant deviates me onto a dozen side quests. I decide to use dopamine as a guideline, and I discern the growing awareness of my own impulsive behavior.
The reward loop
A cursory glance at search results reveals the preference of journalists for over-simplified science. It is too straightforward to say that Facebook is just as addictive as cocaine just because they make the same parts of the brain “light up like a pinball machine.” As do cupcakes by the way.
Scans reveal more brain activity when anticipating a reward than when receiving the reward. Dopamine therefore encourages expectation, rather than reward.
