How to Coach Yourself and Others Beware of Manipulation | Page 261

Judging for Yourself
Bogost was right in comparing addictive technology to
the cigarette. Certainly, the incessant need for a smoke
in what was once the majority of the adult population
has been replaced by a nearly equal compulsion to
constantly check our devices. But unlike the addiction
to nicotine, new technologies offer an opportunity to
dramatically improve the lives of users. It’s clear that
like all technologies, recent advances in the habitforming potential of web innovation have both positive
and negative effects.
But if the innovator has a clear conscience that the
product materially improves people’s lives — first
among them, the creator’s — then the only path is to
push forward. Users bear ultimate responsibility for
their actions and makers should not be blamed for the
misuse or overuse of their products.
However, as the march of technology makes the world
a more addictive place, innovators need to consider
their role. It will be years, perhaps generations, before society develops the antibodies to new
addictions. In the meantime, users will have to judge the yet unknown consequences for themselves,
while creators will have to live with the moral repercussions of how they spend their professional lives.
My hope is that Manipulation Matrix helps innovators consider the implications of the products they
create. Perhaps after reading this, you’ll start a new business. Maybe you’ll join an existing company
with a mission you believe in. Or, perhaps after reading this you’ll decide it’s time to quit your job,
which you now come to realize no longer agrees with your moral compass.
Photo Credit: byJess.net, Sarah G…, and NirAndFar.com
Source: http://techcrunch.com/2012/07/01/the-art-of-manipulation/
Editor’s Note: Nir Eyal is a founder of two startups and an advisor to several Bay Area companies and
incubators. He is a Lecturer in Marketing at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and blogs about
the