“Understanding the Psychology behind Social Media Addiction: How Platforms Use the Hooked Framework for Habit Formation”
Decoding Social Media Addiction: How Platforms Harness the Hooked Model Framework for Habit Formation.
Nowadays Businesses are constantly looking for ways to produce good products that will not only draw customers but also keep them coming back for more in the competitive digital market. One of the most effective frameworks is the Hooked Model, a concept developed by Nir Eyal in his book “Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products.” This model offers a systematic approach to developing good user experiences that may develop into users’ long-lasting habits, promoting sustained engagement and loyalty.
The Hooked Model is a four-step process. Explained below:
💡 Trigger
This is the backbone of the Hooked Model. Triggers encourage users to act, whether opening an application, clicking a link, or visiting a website. Triggers are mainly two types
- External Trigger: In this Trigger, These signals, typically coming from outside the user, can be emailed with calls to action, notifications, or advertisements. They function as an indication or reminder for engagement. For example, Social media platforms use notifications when someone likes their post, comments on their photo, or mentions them, users get notified. Users are encouraged by these notifications to use the app and engage with the content.
- Internal Trigger: In this Trigger, These are the user’s emotions, thoughts, or feelings that act as triggers. They tend to act to satisfy needs, For example, Users may use their social media platforms in search of interaction with others, entertainment, or to pass the time when they’re bored.
🥊 Action
Once a Trigger has been activated the user takes Action. Something may be as easy as clicking a link or scrolling through a Facebook or Twitter feed. The goal is to provide an effortless user experience by making this action as frictionless & simple as possible. For example. Social Media Platforms offer a simple infinity-scrolling experience so that users keep interacting with the feed. Users can easily perform simple tasks when they scroll through feeds by liking, commenting, sharing, or posting.
🏆 Variable Rewards
These keep users engaged by the element of Suprise or Unpredictability. Variable Rewards may include a sense of achievement, fresh understanding, approval from others, or even a dopamine rush. Because rewards might vary, Users are always interested so they keep coming back for more. For example, if A User is scrolling their social media Platforms they never know what's coming up next it builds Suprise and Curiosity inside users. Another example is the Like Button in Social media Platforms functions as a very effective Variable Reward. When users get likes in their posts they get Social validation from others.
💸 Investment
In this step, Users are encouraged to invest their time, effort, and resources in a Good Product by doing so, Users become more attached to the experience. This can be done by implementing functions like Earning Points/Puzzles, Personalized Profiles, Creating Virtual Identities Adding Gamification, etc. Users are more likely to return if they make a larger investment because they seek to profit from what they’ve previously invested. For example, In Social Media Platforms users are allowed to express their personality and invest in personalizing their online appearance through customization options including profile photos, cover images, and bio descriptions.
How Social Media Platforms Use the Hooked Model
- Trigger: Notifications for post comments or likes, friend requests act as External Trigger and On the other hand, User desire to get social connections or explore their feed act as Internal Trigger.
- Action: User scrolling through the news feed reacting to posts, and sharing photos are the most common actions.
- Variable Reward: Facebook offers various kinds of rewards, such as personal updates, news articles, movies, and shared content.
- Investment: Users invest their time in connecting with friends and family, sharing life events, and changing their statuses.
Tiktok
- Trigger: Push notifications are sent by TikTok for new followers, trending videos, and messages that act as External Triggers. Internal Trigger acts when a user tends to pass the time, feels boredom, or wants to stay culturally relevant leading them to use TikTok.
- Action: Users may become addicted very quickly by engaging in short videos and Infinity scrolling.
- Variable Reward: In Tiktok there is a Personalized home screen called *For you* feed of diverse content ecosystems such as Entertainment, Educational, Comedy Lipsync, etc.
- Investment: When a user creates their content, engaging in challenges and using effects or filters they invest their time and creativity into it.
- Trigger: Notifications for likes, shares, and comments act as External Triggers, and On the other hand Social connection and validation work as Internal Trigger.
- Action: It is simple to engage with effortless actions, like photographs, watching Stories, and scrolling through a visually appealing feed.
- Variable Reward: Instagram's wide range of content offers amazing photography and a variety of posts.
- Investment: Users Invest their time in creating stunning profiles, posting photos, and using features like hashtags and check-in.
- Trigger: Notifications for retweets, mentions, and trending topics act as External Triggers. The desire to get real-time information and interact with others acts as an Internal Trigger.
- Action: Infinity Scrolling through the tweet feed, retweeting, replying, and engaging in discussions are easy actions.
- Variable Reward: Twitter’s fast-paced nature offers a constant update on content that offers opinions, news updates, and entertainment.
- Investment: Users Invest their time and effort in creating insightful full tweets, growing their following, and participating in conversations.
Snapchat
- Trigger: Snapchat utilizes External Triggers through notifications for new snaps, chats, and stories. The desire for social interaction, engagement in their friends’ activities, and interest in visual content act as Internal Triggers.
- Action: Sending snaps, engaging in conversations, and creating stories are simple and smooth actions that require minimal effort.
- Variable Reward: Snapchat provides a wide range of content, such as personal snaps, and stories from friends.
- Investment: Users Invest time and creativity in personalizing snaps with filters text etc.
Conclusion
The Hooked Model has become a technique that social media platforms have developed, applying triggers, actions, variable rewards, and investments to produce habit-forming experiences. Social media platforms encourage users to return, participate, and spend time and effort on understanding their emotional requirements while developing a fun environment. To maintain a healthy balance between online interaction and offline experiences, people must be aware of their individual usage patterns.
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I’m Gausul Haque Nasif — working as a UX Engineer at GoZayaan I have 3+ years of experience in this Product design journey. I’m open to Freelance projects. You can get in touch for a project or just wanna talk.
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