Why are we addicted to our apps?
Habit-forming is relevant today more than ever because we are addicted to our apps. Apps manipulate and motivate users to create beneficial behavior and are habit-forming. The more time we spend on the app chances are our searches will become more filtered and better targeted. The 4-step rule to designing a habit-forming app is represented by the Fogg Behavior Model, represented in the formula behavior (B) = Motivation (M), Ability (A), and Prompts(P) and followed by Reward. When we invest our time on an app and are rewarded by likes or followers we feel the need to keep going back. Have you ever wondered why our mind allows us to look for rewards online? It is because of the same equation as above.
For example, We are triggered (P) by the politics of a certain area so our motivation (M) is to make more people aware of it and we have a habit of picking up our phone now and then (ability) so we behave a certain way online and our brain allows that. B=MAP.
So how do we form better habits?
Slowly, How we feel becomes the core of our existence. Feelings develop habits and nearly 45% of our daily behavior is habits. So to change how we feel all we have to do is to look into our habits. Habits are repeated behavior. Usually, we repeat certain behaviors as they release dopamine which feels rewarding. For example, smoking is a bad habit because it harms our health but our brain repeats this habit because we enjoy pleasure or reward. The brain doesn’t differentiate between good & bad habits. It is wired to perform functions and we don’t pay attention to our behavioral loop after some time.
How does it feel like repeating our behavior?
Repetitive behaviors are like loops we have created in our brains. And to fix this loop we must become aware of our habits just by noticing how we feel. Once we are aware of the habits we need to alter then we have a starting point to feel better or happier.
What does psychoanalysis teach us about habits?
In the 1890s people did have bad habits that made them feel bad and led to major brain dysfunction so in 1896 Sigmund Freud developed psychoanalysis. Freud believed that we all are driven by the ‘pleasure principle and that pleasure sucks us into easy physical and emotional rewards. When we find the pleasure we keep repeating our behavior to maximize our pleasure. When we are 0–6 months old we function only on the pleasure principle but as we grow up we need constraints to avoid dangerous experiences. In contrast to the pleasure principle, Freud rallied for the reality principle. The reality of functioning within constraints is hard to accept but it can only be achieved if we find real pleasure in our reality principle. Freud said that when our ego (the balancer) is not able to negotiate with the ID and Superego then we generally get confused or develop neurosis. Through psychoanalysis, Freud attempted to treat neurosis, and patients could uncover or talk about their issues and why they resisted letting go of the behavioral loops. The root cause would be submerged in our subconscious and through psychoanalysis, Freud discovered the common defense mechanisms like our dreams or Freudian slips/parapraxis/humor. Interestingly Freud noted that we joke about something symbolic and release its anxiety by making a thing of concern into a thing of humor.
We have many answers in psychoanalysis that are still relevant today and Freudian concepts help us understand why resolving issues of the subconscious is important. To train our brains better and to feel better we have to develop better habits. Why HeadSpace or Forest-like habit-forming app development is a billion-dollar idea? Because seeing and engaging with your daily growth and being able to track it is a good self-building experience.
And in today’s time experience is the key. A good personal experience that helps us build and evaluate ourselves every day can be a unique individualistic experience. Maybe that is why the mindfulness meditation application market is anticipated to value USD 4,337.95 million by the year 2027. To sum it up it is pretty much like a day out shopping. We can invest our time finding quick validation to help resolve issues of the subconscious or invest in guided meditation apps to train our brain better, everything is available and how we behave is based on our motivations, abilities, and prompts.
