The Emotional Hook
It’s likely you are looking at your phone right now, but what drove you to pick it up and look at it? Maybe it was to respond to a notification or look at the time, or possibly just an impulse while waiting in line. It’s an interesting exercise to note down each time you look at your phone and the reason why. I did this exercise for an hour this morning and noted the following reasons:
Checked time.
Turned off alarm.
Checked to see if I have any messages.
Responded to incoming message alert.
Checked weather.
Responded to calendar alert.
Checked battery charge on my car.
Answered a call.
Took a picture.
Used the calculator.
Listened to a Podcast.
Checked Instagram.
You get the picture…
It’s interesting to see how many of these pickups were driven by an emotional motivation and increasingly, it’s become a learned behavior that we do without conscious knowledge.
What is the ‘Hook’?
When I worked in video game development, we used to talk about the ‘Hook’ that draws people into the game. What is the one thing that will make people open your game or app rather than anyone else’s? This is an emotional response; it’s a subliminal trigger.
The reason why we look at our phone or an app is emotionally driven. As human beings, we are triggered by emotions. These could be positive emotions like excitement, curiosity, sense of achievement. They could be to stimulate our senses with music, humor, drama. They could also be driven by more negative emotions, like FOMO (Fear of Missing Out), or narcissistic tendencies to show off, or voyeurism to see what others are doing. They may also be driven by the pursuit of friendship or love, via messaging apps or dating apps.
We could use the seven deadly sins to categorize these emotions: Pride, Greed, Lust, Envy, Gluttony, Wrath, and Sloth.
It’s interesting to look at the underlying emotion behind the act of thinking about and then opening an app. Some apps may have generally one type of emotion attached, and others may be more complex. I’m very interested in the emotive trigger that fires in the subconscious the moment I think to look at my phone.
Sadly, many aspects of social media pander to our voyeuristic or narcissistic tendencies in one form or another. We either feel the need to show off, to show the best side of our lives, or to see what others are up to. In many ways, it’s become the modern replacement for gossiping. It has made voyeurism acceptable, giving us a curious view into other people's lives. It also drives the need for support and validation through the quantity of friends (rather than quality), likes, and comments.
Health, fitness, and nutrition apps tend to be more positive in their emotive drivers. They draw upon our desire to improve ourselves, live better, and eat better. Some also have a community aspect, which can be beneficial as it helps users compete with others, or gain support, to help them achieve their goals.
FOMO, or the Fear Of Missing Out
Many times I’m driven to look at my phone because I’m curious about what is ‘happening’ somewhere else. What are my friends up to? What’s happening in the news, what’s the weather going to do today? Has someone messaged me with something interesting? These are all examples of our brain's desire to find out what’s going on, and more importantly, make sure we’re not missing out on something.
We’ve been trained to maximize the best experiences in our lives. Bucket lists and the YOLO (you only live once) mentality mean we’re rarely satisfied with relaxing in the moment.
Our brains have evolved to consume information - our phones are the perfect medium to immediately access vast quantities of content anytime of the day or night. Whether it’s world news, weather reports, information about what our friends are doing, or niche subjects about our favorite character or celebrity, there is a limitless amount of easily digestible content. You reading this now is the result of your natural thirst for information. Our brains eat information.
It’s worth considering what notifications or interruptions you’re willing to indulge in. Every app that pings you is a micro distraction from your day. Luckily, phones now enable you to customize every app’s notifications so you can mute totally or set specific parameters to allow just the level of intrusion.
In conclusion,
Our interaction with technology, especially smartphones and apps, is intricately tied to our emotional state. The 'Hook' of each app, whether it's driven by positive aspirations or the subtle pull of FOMO, taps into our subconscious emotional needs and desires. I find it helpful to understand what hooks trigger me, and why. Personally, it helps me manage my time and impulses, in work, it helps me build user experiences (UX) that engages people and helps them move towards their goals.
As an experiment, why not try noting down all the reasons you pick up your phone over the period of an hour. It makes you aware of the frequency and motivations. This conscious approach to technology can lead to a more balanced, fulfilling, and emotionally healthy life.
