Unplug from the ‘slot machine’ that’s frying your brain
Jan 3, 2017, 5:57 AM | Updated: 9:56 am
Many of you have resolved to be less plugged in this year because you realize it has deep fried your brain. But to do that, you first have to understand why it is you’re willing to risk running down a pedestrian rather than miss a text message.
Computer scientist Tristan Harris studied this effect when he was a designer at Google, and he explained it in a TED talk.
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“What do you think makes more money in the United States than movies, game parks, and baseball combined?” he asked. “Slot machines.”
Slot machines. And that’s what’s in your pocket.
“My phone is a slot machine. Every time I check my phone I’m playing the slot machine to see what I’m going to get,” Harris explained.
So the problem isn’t the phone. The problem is you’re afraid of missing the message that will change your life! Which is ridiculous. Because what are the experiences that really make you happy? It’s the spectacular sunset or the double rainbow.
The things that make you happy are things you have no control over. And they make you happy because — and the happiness experts will tell you this — you’re accepting the world as it is and not wanting anything more than what you see.
So remind yourself, there can be nothing in that text message more spectacular than what is already around you.
And also know that if ever you’re afraid of missing out you can just press one button, turn on the radio, and if the world is ending, we will alert you in plenty of time.
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