The Psychology Behind Why We Can't Stop Messaging

... deployed by the messaging software and many other products is composed of:

1. Trigger
2. Action
3. Variable Reward
4. Investment

Understanding these four steps makes us see the hidden psychology behind a user's daily tech habits.

... towards doing something can be external, like a ‘click here’ button, or internal, like an emotion or craving. A successful trigger graduates from being an external one into something inbuilt in the user.

Example: One feels lonely or bored and instinctively opens Facebook.

Text messages have the notification as an external trigger when you get a new message from a friend, giving you a small rush in the head.

Any trigger, be it a text message notification or an emotion, prompts a user to take some action, like opening the app or clicking a button.

This simple action can be internalized and make the users click on the app icon to open it even if there isn’t any new message.

• BF Skinner, a psychologist, found that if an action gives a variable, unpredictable reward, it is more frequently used and is addictive.
• Like a slot machine, the reward is not something that the user knows beforehand, providing a sense of wonder, intrigue and mystery.
• In the case of messages, the variability is baked in the message itself, and different apps utilize novel ways to keep the user hooked.

There is a push provided to the user to ‘invest’ in the service so that there are variable rewards in the future. This can be anything from uploading a new profile picture to set a status update for all to see.

The investment increases the probability of the next trigger happening, as in the case of messages when a message is sent, the likelihood of a reply increases manifold.