Lukas Ramonas's Reviews > Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products

A book written by an alien who pretends to be an app creator. The advice in the book is sound, even if self-evident in a lot of cases. But the tone and the cheerful, bubbly voice the author uses to talk about hooking people on digital apps is creepy.

When the author talks about apps and digital marketing, he almost passes for homo sapiens. But then he starts giving examples from other areas and the mask slips off. He says that people loved watching Breaking Bad because the show provided variable rewards for its viewers (twists, turns, and resolutions of plotlines). And that watching Breaking Bad again wouldn't be as fun because now you would know the plot and therefore wouldn't receive variable rewards. The man is an alien. He misses the point of why people watch and rewatch their favorite TV shows and movies. The characters, the themes, the artistry on the screen, the emotional connection to a creator, it's not just the plot, a connection to a piece of art can be deep, profound, and multilayered.

Don't they have TV shows on Mars?

The author explains that hooking users to use habit-forming apps should be used to benefit them. He gives some lip service to potential dangers. But he's mostly happy to presume that readers will be inspired to use the knowledge he provides for the good.

Instead of delving deeper into the catastrophic consequences habit-forming apps like Facebook may have for individuals, societies, and democratic institutions, instead of trying to come up with countermeasures, the author abruptly abandons the ethical issues and goes back to examining his — again, extremely creepy-sounding — "Hook model" in action.

He is an alien.