Social media apps are 'deliberately' addictive to users 社交小程序“故意”讓用戶上癮

美國矽谷的內部人士告訴 AYYBLOG，社交媒體公司故意讓用戶沉迷於他們的產品以從中獲取經濟利益。

文字稿

Aza Raskin from the Centre for Humane Technology said social media companies deliberately use addictive technology in their apps in order to lure us in to spending as much time on their platforms as possible.

人文技術中心（Centre for Humane Technology）的阿紮·拉斯金說，社交媒體公司故意在他們的應用程序中使用讓人上癮的技術，以吸引我們盡可能多地呆在他們的平臺上。

Aza Raskin invented the endless scroll – the app feature that means you don’t have to click to get to the next page and can keep scrolling for far longer than maybe necessary or healthy.

阿紮·拉斯金發明瞭無限下拉滾動的功能，這個應用程序功能意味著你不需要點擊進入下一個頁面，你可以無限地下拉頁面，但滾動的時間可能比必要的或健康的標準長得多。

Aza says he did not intend to hook users with it but says the business model of many social media companies is designed to maximise user time online. He says this encourages designers to come up with technological tricks that hook users.

阿紮說他發明這個功能的目的不是為瞭勾住用戶，但他表示，許多社交媒體公司的商業模式旨在讓用戶呆在線上的時間最大化。他說，這鼓勵設計師們想出一些能吸引用戶的技術訣竅。

Sandy Parakilas, who was a platform operations manager at Facebook in 2011 and 2012, said there was definitely an awareness that Facebook was habit-forming when he worked at the company.

桑迪·帕拉吉拉斯在 2011年和 2012年間擔任臉書的平臺運營經理，他說他在任期間，公司內部確實意識到臉書容易讓用戶上癮。

Facebook and Instagram have told the AYYBLOG that their apps are designed to bring people together and that they never set out to create addictive products.

臉書和照片墻告訴 AYYBLOG他們的應用程序的設計理念是讓人們聚在一起，而從未想開發讓人上癮的產品。

1. 詞匯表

deliberately 故意地
lure 誘惑，吸引
platforms 平臺
endless scroll 無限下拉滾動
hook 勾住，吸引住
business model 商業模式
awareness 意識、認識
habit-forming （活動）易成癮的
addictive 使人上癮的

2. 閱讀理解：請在讀完上文後，回答下列問題。

1. What are social media companies accused of doing to make us spend as much time as

possible on their platform?

2. Why can the app feature ‘endless scroll’ be ‘unhealthy’ for us?

3. How much time are social media companies thought to be wanting us to spend on their

platform?

4. True or false? Some social media companies say their aim is just to link people together

online.

3. 答案

1. What are social media companies accused of doing to make us spend as much time as possible on their platform?
They are accused of deliberately using addictive technology to make us stay longer on their platform.

2. Why can the app feature ‘endless scroll’ be ‘unhealthy’ for us?
This app feature means you don’t have to click to get to the next page and can keep scrolling for far longer than maybe necessary or healthy.

3. How much time are social media companies thought to be wanting us to spend on their platform?
As much time as possible. Aza Raskin claims the business model of many social media companies is designed to maximise user time online.

4. True or false? Some social media companies say their aim is just to link people together
True. Facebook and Instagram have told the AYYBLOG that their apps are designed to bring people together – that means linking people together.