Why you can't stop scrolling: the science of 'dark flow'
6/1/202613 min
You pick up your phone to do one quick task, and suddenly 20 minutes have flown by without you even noticing. How do apps do that to you? Science journalist Michaeleen Doucleff felt like her phone had superglue on it, holding her on it for hours each day while draining her of time and energy. Turns out, that feeling isn’t accidental. In her new book, Dopamine Kids, Michaeleen describes four features that tech companies add to apps to keep us scrolling for as long as possible. She’s sharing this superglue recipe with Short Wave host Emily Kwong … and explaining how these features can pull people into what scientists call a ‘dark flow’ state.
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This episode was produced by Hannah Chinn. It was edited by Rebecca Ramirez. Tyler Jones checked the facts. The audio engineer was Jimmy Keeley.
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First 90 secondsSpeaker 10:00
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Emily Kwong· Host0:18
[gentle music] You're listening to Short Wave from NPR. Hi, Short Wavers. Emily Kwong here with NPR alum, now independent science journalist Michaeleen Doucleff. Hi, Michaeleen.
Michaeleen Doucleff· Guest0:31
Hi, Emily.
Emily Kwong· Host0:32
I hear you have a new book out now about the science behind screen time.
Michaeleen Doucleff· Guest0:35
I do. It's called Dopamine Kids, and in one part of it, I explore why so many of us, including myself- Yeah ... can't put down our darn phones.
Emily Kwong· Host0:45
It's awful. Yeah. I pick up my phone to do one thing, and suddenly I'm on social media for 20 minutes. I don't know how that happens.
Michaeleen Doucleff· Guest0:52
Yeah, for me, Emily, it feels like there's this kind of super glue on the phone holding me there.
Emily Kwong· Host0:57
Mm-hmm.
Michaeleen Doucleff· Guest0:58
Turns out that feeling isn't accidental. Many apps are designed to do this.
Emily Kwong· Host1:04
And this has kinda come to light in the courts too. There have been two landmark trials this year in which tech companies were found guilty of harming children through their apps, and specifically the California case found Instagram owner Meta and Google's YouTube deliberately designed their apps to be addictive for kids.
Michaeleen Doucleff· Guest1:20
Yeah, and the companies are appealing those verdicts. But scientists have already spent more than a decade identifying the exact features that tech companies use to keep