Google invented it
Apple scaled it
Facebook perfected it
Bitcoin’s benefiting from it
We’re talking about the gamification of our eyeballs and attention spans via instant digital gratification. Here’s former Napster founder and Facebook exec Sean Parker talking about it, along with a quote from Psychology Today:
“The thought process that went into building these applications, Facebook being the first of them, was all about: ‘How do we consume as much of your time and conscious attention as possible?’ said Parker. “And that means that we need to sort of give you a little dopamine hit every once in a while, because someone liked or commented on a photo or a post. That’s going to get you to contribute more content, and that’s going to get you more likes and comments.” – Sean Parker
“Want to talk to someone right away? Send a text and they respond in a few seconds. Want to look up some information? Just type your request into google. Want to see what your colleagues are up to? Go to Linked In. It’s easy to get in a dopamine induced loop.” – Psychology Today
But now Bitcoin has leveraged that dopamine loop up with something even better – a dopamine/I’m making money loop. What’s better than getting a like on that post of your selfie at the Jay Z concert? Checking your Coinbase app and seeing your brilliance rewarded hour after hour. Imagine if every time you looked in your real wallet, there were more dollars in there. How long would it take you to look again, and again, and again?
Some part of Bitcoin and Ethereum and Litecoin and all the rest has to be this instant gratification loop combined with the joy/fear of making/losing money.
