Adam Alter

Author, marketing and psychology professor at NYU's Stern School of Business.

Adam Alter is an Associate Professor of Marketing at New York University’s Stern School of Business, with an affiliated appointment in the New York University Psychology Department.

Adam is the New York Times bestselling author of two books: Irresistible, which considers why so many people today are addicted to so many behaviors, from incessant smart phone and internet use to video game playing and online shopping, and Drunk Tank Pink, which investigates how hidden forces in the world around us shape our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.

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Philosopher's Notes on Adam Alter's Books

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Irresistible

by Adam Alter

Irresistible. That’s the perfect word to describe the growing array of addictive technologies that are capturing so much of our attention these days. And, it’s the perfect name for the book. Adam Alter is an associate professor of marketing at NYU’s Stern School of Business. This is a great book on, as the sub-title suggests, “The Rise of Addictive Technology and the Business of Keeping Us Hooked.” Big Ideas we explore include the fact Steve Jobs didn’t let his own kids use an iPad (why?), why addiction is about more than just personality (and what matters), how to add 11 years back to your life, what happens when your brain gets pickled and the simple question you can ask to Optimize.

Quotes by Adam Alter

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According to Tristan Harris, a ‘design ethicist,’ the problem isn’t that people lack willpower, it’s that ‘there are a thousand people on the other side of the screen whose job it is to break down the self-regulation you have.’

Adam Alter

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Isaac told me that the most dangerous time for an addict is the first moment when things are going so well that you believe you’ve left the addiction behind forever.

Adam Alter

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Children are especially vulnerable to addiction, because they lack the self-control that prevents many adults from developing addictive habits. Regulated societies respond by refusing to sell alcohol and cigarettes to children—but very few societies regulate behavioral addictions. Kids can still play with interactive tech for hours at a time, and they can still play video games as long as their parents will allow.

Adam Alter

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Sixty-one percent of these people [in a Netflix study] reported some degree of binge-watching, which most respondents defined as ‘watching between two and six episodes of a TV show in one sitting.’

Adam Alter

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Phones are disruptive by their mere existence, even when they aren’t in active use. They’re distracting because they remind us of the world beyond the immediate conversation, and the only solution, the researchers wrote, is to remove them completely.

Adam Alter

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Sluggishness is the enemy of addiction, because people respond more sharply to rapid links between action and outcome. Very little about our world today—from technology to transport to commerce—happens slowly, and so our brains respond more feverishly.

Adam Alter