The role of the Design Process in creating Addictive Social Media Applications

Technology has transformed human life in all its dimensions. Today it is impossible to think of a person who does not have a mobile phone, digital life requires more hours of our day, the users spend time between social networks, studying platforms, shopping, games, and access to government services. In 2021 there are 4,200 million social media users, which is equivalent to 53.6% of the population in the world (Segura R, 2021, p1 (1,2)). The expansion in the number of accessible devices such as laptops, smartphones, and tablets are driving the adoption of social media such as Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Twitter, and Snap Chat, among others (Priyadarshini et al, 2020, p181 (1)) into our lives. The average Internet user's total time online is 7 hours (Segura R, 2021, p1 (11)). The excessive use of?social media has been correlated with addictive behavior and mental distress (Henzel, V., & H?kansson, A. 2021, p1(4)).

?The purpose of this article is through the literature review to know the role of the design process in the creation of addictive social network applications. This document begins with a brief description of mobile social media applications and their classification based on their technological characteristics. It then discusses the reasons why mobile social media apps are designed to be addictive. The last part of the article examines the implications of these addictive mobile applications in our daily lives and proposes the way forward with an emphasis on what UX designers and researchers can do to alleviate this problem.

Social media app models & Technologies

Internet users use social media for many kinds of activities like chatting, calling, sharing personal opinions, creative content, playing games, partaking in communities, gambling, and looking through the activities of other users. Social media can be defined by the compound term social and media. The first term "social" refers to all the activities that occur in the interaction of two or more individuals, such as the possibility of communicating, exchanging opinions, and generating communities. Second are the technological components that allow you to upload photos, videos, stories collectively referred to as "media." (Ngai, E. et al., 2015, p771 (6)). Social media is evolution of the Web 2.0 platform. Technically Web 2.0 is a website that combines basic things like HTML and server-side programming languages with Flash, Adobe, AJAX and RSS that together allow users to share information (Ngai, E. et al., 2015, p782 (3)).?

?Ngai classifies the technology tool of social networks by the level of interaction that it allows the user: Starting by Media sharing sites, places that allow users to upload, organize, and share multi-media materials, including videos, audio, and photos, with people and/or selected communities. (e.g., YouTube, Instagram, and Flickr); Follow by Blogs, like Blogger.com, its characteristic is to share writings or daily activities with other people; Continuing with Social bookmarking sites where users can tag web content and share information based on interest categories collaboratively (e.g., Pinterest, Delicious, and Digg); Also, Virtual communities: Like Wikipedia, Yahoo Answers and Lonely Planet where information is exchanged through different tools such as chat rooms, forums, and discussion boards; Continuing with SNS: It focuses on maintaining relationships between acquaintances and friends (e.g., Like Facebook, Google Plus and LinkedIn) and finally Virtual worlds: Like Active World, Second Life, and some virtual games. They are sites that allow you to have a virtual life such as work, home, and entertainment (Ngai, E. et al., 2015, p783-785).

?Technology Design process for creating an addiction to Social Media Apps

One of the most pleasant sensations is to feel connected and appreciated, social networks are designed to create these emotional states and thereby consume our time and attention. Social Media Apps are designed with a mix of useful UI design and psychology to create user addiction (Muldrew E, 2019 p1(1)). The time a user spends in the application is an indicator of success. The model is easy to understand, the more time a user spends on the platform, the more attractive that site becomes as an advertising space, allowing applications to generate higher profits.

There are many tools designed to hold the user's attention, such as the “wavy dots” (typing awareness indicator), which are the three dots that appear in a bubble when someone is responding, keeping the user paused until the response is received. Another tool is the “Pull-to-refresh or infinite scroll”, which allows access to content without an end. Which consequently produces an endless use of the application. The infinite scroll was designed by the engineer Mr. Raskin in 2006, an invention he regrets (Andersson H, 2018, p1 (4)).

?Another tool is the famous “like” button (retweets, hearts or thumbs-up sign) that provides social validation. In a more sophisticated way, Snapchat uses gamification to engage users, Snapchat uses elongated red lines to show the number of days since two users interacted. And finally, one of the powerful “push notification” tools, the goal is to constantly distract and interrupt the user every day to use the application again (Muldrew E, 2019 p1(2, 4,7,10,11)). Push notifications generate attraction to review their screens to avoid the feeling that they are missing something (Sharma A, 2019, p1 (8)).

Design Features That Keep Users Hooked

The main characteristics of social networks come from gambling and can activate the same brain mechanisms that cocaine generates, consequently creating psychological dependence.

This addiction creates imaginary calls and notifications, where the user senses the buzz or notification sound when it isn't really there. The addition of these social media apps comes from playful loops which mean repeated cycles of uncertainty, anticipation, and feedback and rewards. (Busby M, 2018, p1 (1,2)).

There are specific characteristics in the design of the applications to keep the end-user hooked. There are four phases (trigger, action, variable reward, and investment) it is the Hook Model, created by Nir Eyal. The Hooked Model is the basis of the design of the social media application to keep the user addicted to its use, the main objective of the model is to generate a change in the behavior of the end-user, generating the habit of using the app. (Sharma A, 2019, p1 (6)).

Triggers are the foundation for long-term behavioral change. The objective of an external trigger is to inform the user about an action to be carried out, for example, to click on the subscribe button or to click on the "log in" button. But if the user doesn't click then the trigger fails. (Eyal N & Hoover R, 2014, p41 (3)). The Action phase of the Hook Model also relies on the user performing an action, for example posting a photo because the user is waiting for the reward that could be the clicks of the "like" button on his social network. In this step, the user executes an action for which will be rewarded. (Eyal N & Hoover R, 2014, p64 (5)).

The third step in the Hook Model is the Variable Reward phase and there are three types of variable rewards: tribe, hunt, and self. Rewards of the tribe is the search for social rewards fuelled by connectedness with other people. Rewards of the hunt are the search for material resources and information. Rewards of the self are the search for intrinsic rewards of mastery, competence, and completion. Variable rewards must satisfy users’ needs while leaving them wanting to re-engage with the product (Eyal N & Hoover R, 2014, p89 (4,5,6)). The last step of the Hook Model is the Investment Phase, the point at which users are asked to do a bit of work. Here, users are prompted to put something of value into the system, which increases the likelihood of them using the product and of successive passes through the hook cycle (Eyal N & Hoover R, 2014, p97 (2)). Although the Hook Model is primarily concerned with changing people's behavior, the ability to create persuasive products should be used with caution. Developing habits can be a positive force, but it can also be used for evil (Eyal N & Hoover R, 2014, p111 (1)).

Effects of Social Media Apps Addiction

In 2018, the American Journal of Epistemology published a study that found a link between young people's mental health development and their social media experiences. This bond is forged mostly through their interactions, or rather, the absence thereof. Generation Z, those born between the mid-1990s and the early 2000s, communicate primarily through social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Musical.ly, and Instagram, which has been heavily criticized for encouraging low self-esteem. Gen Z communicates through these social channels, using likes, photos, videos, and other built-in features, increasing their exposure to the visuals on these apps. While online predators are the most commonly perceived hazard from online social interactions, user-generated content is becoming a major threat on the internet. User-generated content such as viral images, videos, blog posts, and games that promote self-harm and substance misuse are frequently utilized in cyberbullying, either directly or indirectly. This can have a negative impact on their victims' mental health. Teens who are exposed to this are more likely to engage in problematic behaviors such as eating disorders, self-harm, violent conduct, and inappropriate sexual practices. Teens who are most affected by social media either have severely poor self-esteem or set unrealistic performance goals for themselves. (Women's Health Institute, 2018, p1 (2,3)). In addition, social media tends to reproduce offline inequities increasing marginalization by gender, race, religion, sexuality, economic status, and citizenship status. (Brough et al, 2020, p2 (3)). Social comparison in social media has typically negative impact but ironically causes people to engage further in damaging social comparison, creating a vicious downward cycle (Verduyn et al, 2020, p34 (5)).

On the other hand, Social Media Addiction also has impacted employees' productivity. Duke & Montag (2017) studied the interrelations of smartphone addiction, smartphone interruptions, and work-related productivity and concluded that smartphone addiction was associated with self-reported negative effects on productivity in the workplace and in employees' daily lives (Duke & Montag, 2017, p94 (6)). The effect of social media addiction on employees’ wellbeing are backache and eye strain, lack of sleep, lack of depth in the relationships, feeling of envy, and tendency to seek approvals (Priyadarshini et al, 2020, p185 (3)). Companies identified the impact of social media addiction in three areas: distraction from work; not meeting deadlines and affected work quality (Priyadarshini et al, 2020, p189 (2)).

There are many effects of technological applications in the user’s life. Sigal indicates that there is a reduction in the capacity of attention, carrying on added consequences. Due to the decreased levels of concentration, individuals also decrease their level of empathy and have less motivation to act in adverse situations (Sigal S, 2021, p1 (5)). The outcomes of 72 studies of American college students' empathy levels done over three decades were reviewed by psychologists at the University of Michigan in 2010. They observed something startling: students' empathy levels had dropped by more than 40%. The majority of this reduction occurred after 2000, the decade in which Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube exploded in popularity, leading to the conclusion that digital technology was mostly to blame (Konrath et al, 2010, p191, (2)).

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Ethical design of Social Media Apps

Exploitation is defined as the creation of a product that the designer does not believe enhances the lives of users and that the creator would not use; presumably, the only reason the designer is attracting users is to make a profit (Eyal N & Hoover R, 2014, p117 (1)). Designers of current and future social networks from an ethical point of view should create inclusive spaces and seek above all a healthy balance between the well-being of the end-user and corporate profits. (Brough et al, 2020, p7 (2)). Bunker proposes three ethical principles for designers: 1) Do no harm; 2) Abide by industry codes of conduct; 3) Abide by a code of practice. The last one is about how designers respect both the business and the user, during the research, analysis, design, and testing phases. Security, privacy, honesty, and respect should be core elements.

?Companies that create social networks that are aware of the problem of user addiction have designed tools so that the end-user knows the time they spend on applications. Facebook created Your Time on Facebook, which allows the user to receive a notification when the time in the application previously defined by the user has exceeded. (Financial Express. (2018).

The users of social media can take actions to counteract the addictive effects of social media. Firstly, turn off all push notifications, this way the user decides when to use the app and regain control of time. The next action is removing the apps from your home screen, the less user sees the apps, the less tempted user is to access them.?The third action is to reduce the number of apps. However, these measures must be followed by the fourth action, to gradually disconnect, create a plan on how to use that extra time the user is gradually regaining (Gulf Business, 2021 p 1 (1,2,3).

Conclusions

The use of social media will continue to increase in the next years, shaping personal communications and taking part in the political and economic world. One of the indicators of success is the time that users use social media apps. Based on the Hooked model, the application developers have created tools that keep the user's attention in the applications such as buttons, wavy dots, infinite scroll and push notifications.

Consequently, users who generate addiction have psychological and physical effects. Some of the psychological effects are to promote low self-esteem, promote self-harm, cyberbullying, feelings of envy, lack of depth in relationships, and tendency to seek approvals, likewise, the physical effects are back pain, eyestrain, and lack of sleep. These effects also impact companies where employees tend to be distracted from work, not complying on time or with the expected quality.

To counteract the addictive effects of social media, application designers must create a balance between the profit of the company and the benefits of the end-user. On the other hand, social media app users can take actions that allow them to reduce the time they spend on their phones and utilize that time in activities that satisfy them. Finally, companies have realized the negative effects that social media apps have on users. Unfortunately, little?has been done to offer a solution as, so far, private companies have only offered indicators of the time of use of the applications, which is undoubtedly an insufficient measure.

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