Article | Nicole Mikhael

“Psychological exploitation” in the design of addictive applications relies on techniques specifically crafted to encourage excessive and continuous use, exploiting individuals’ psychological tendencies. These techniques include elements like continuous rewards and challenge-based games that foster ongoing engagement, negatively impacting both mental and physical health. Such designs can lead to issues like anxiety, depression, and sleep disorders, significantly affecting user behavior and overall well-being. It is also essential to recognize that these applications may have a more profound impact on younger age groups, such as children and adolescents, who are particularly susceptible to digital addiction due to the heightened sensitivity of their brains to these stimuli.

The negative effects of these applications extend beyond the individual to society as a whole, disrupting social relationships and reducing productivity. Moreover, the impact of these applications reaches deeper levels, including biological effects such as increased dopamine release in the brain, which reinforces dependency on these applications and makes it increasingly challenging to break free from addiction. Given these impacts, companies should focus on developing technology that enhances social interaction and promotes positive and healthy behaviors, rather than steering technology toward exploitative paths for profit.

Technology itself can play a role in curbing digital addiction, with artificial intelligence being utilized to provide personalized solutions for managing screen time. Applications can learn from user behavior and offer appropriate recommendations or automatic usage restrictions when necessary. Additionally, apps can be developed to enhance “digital well-being” by promoting healthy habits like adequate sleep and regular physical activity. Research into “technological neutrality” can also contribute to reducing addictive elements, such as repetitive rewards.

To mitigate these effects, companies should adopt features that encourage healthy usage patterns, such as reminders to take breaks and tools for monitoring and managing screen time. These measures help ensure users’ psychological well-being and reduce the likelihood of addiction. On the other hand, investing in educating users about the risks of digital addiction and promoting responsible use of technology is highly recommended. Educational institutions should also play a crucial role in raising awareness among students about these risks and equipping them with the tools to manage their time effectively. Moreover, collaboration between designers and academic institutions or non-profit organizations focusing on digital well-being can have a positive impact. Another technological solution includes developing apps that allow users to set specific times for usage and restrict access outside of these times, helping control excessive use.

Adherence to legal frameworks is also essential in this context. Companies and technology designers must comply with laws aimed at preventing harmful addictive practices, such as the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which set standards for protecting user privacy and managing data, thereby reducing exploitative practices. Additionally, governments should intervene through public policies and regulatory guidelines that limit the design of addictive applications and promote a balance between innovation and protection from psychological exploitation. In this framework, collaboration between companies and civil society can also play an important role in developing technological solutions that reduce digital addiction, through awareness campaigns on responsible technology or launching initiatives that promote mental health.

In conclusion, technology exists to simplify human life, and technological progress is undeniable. However, when this progress intersects with addictive behaviors, it poses significant challenges to individual mental and social well-being. Therefore, companies and designers must take ethical responsibility in this domain and strive to balance business objectives with user welfare. In this context, users themselves should not be overlooked in making conscious decisions that limit the effects of digital addiction by fostering a responsible and moderate approach to technology use. Users can also contribute to promoting healthy competition among applications by choosing those that demonstrate a commitment to mental health responsibility.

Nicole Mikhael

IT Researcher
Technical License in Information Technology