The infinite scroll and other habits that make apps your favourite…

Ever wondered what makes a certain set of apps always appear in your list of Siri Suggestions (or its android equivalent)… Yes, behavioural science plays a roll here as well… especially when the app is designed to, well, in the words of my favourite author, get you hooked…

Here is a list of my favourite apps and my analysis on what makes me keep coming back for me… if reading is not your thing, be sure to check out my Instagram highlight on the same topic.

Duolingo

So, on a whim I decided it was time to pick up another language… Well, I love travelling and what harm would knowing a new language do anyways… I don’t think even I imagined I would stick to this for as long as I have… well I will give a lot of the credit to Duolingo that ensures I keep coming back – let’s look at what Duo – the familiar green owl is doing right.

Making it simple

The focus is not on whether you have mastered the language you are attempting to learn but if you are on the right journey. They new update even presents your progress as a journey. What this means is as a learner you are not daunted by the enormity of picking up a new language but can focus on completing the current lesson or the day’s challenge. This is far more achievable and therefore far easier to stick to.

Building streaks

Behavioural science tells us that once we invest in something we don’t want that to go to waste… Duo not only encourage you to build your streak but finds you ways not to lose it… The constant inputs from Duo tells you how many other learners have reached a 365 day streak and pushes you to get there… your own past streak is used often to tell you what you are indeed capable of doing… And if you still miss a day, the streak freeze allows you to take that day off without losing your painstakingly built streak…

Your partner in crime

Having someone to egg you on when you have decided to build a habit, is more valuable that you’d imagine… And with the Duolingo widget, Duo takes that role rather seriously… From changing faces of the widget through the day depending on whether or not you’ve done your Spanish (or your language of choice) for the day… to a desperately crying Duo by the end of the day – you are left with no option but to do what you set out to…

Instagram

As the title of this article suggests – I do spend a good amount of my free time on Insta… but what does behavioural science have to do with it… allow me to bring this alive…

Variable rewards

Yep  that’s what adds the infinite to the scroll – you can’t stop because you don’t know what’s coming next… and that is something that brings you more joy than something predictable… So insta reels can be compared to your very own, slot machine on your mobile… no you aren’t likely to win a jackpot but you surely don’t know what is coming next…

The spotlights on you

Behavioural science tells how we imagine people notice us, far more than they actually do… now against this belief what happens when every time we add a story or post – well people see it… and often there are more views than we expected feeding our spotlight bias and bringing us back for more…

Made for you

A curated experience of anything is always more cherished… and with the ever evolving and elusive insta algorithm – you are surely receiving more of what you like consuming making the experience one that is tailored to your tastes…

It’s MY page

The Ikea Effect in behavioural science tells us that we value something more when we’ve been part of the creation process… need I say more – you create posts, reels, stories and even your handle… it’s all made by you… you are bound to love it…

Audible

Why I love Audible, is because it has allowed me to pack in many more hours into my 24-hour day… And how does it perform this miracle?

Multichannel multitasking

Audible to me is the best app for multichannel multitasking… Nir Eyal has written about this in his last book Indistractable and it simply says multitasking can be a very productive exercise provided you are using different senses while indulging in the various activities you want to do together...

Now since audible needs just your auditory senses… think of all the things your can pair it with… driving, cooking, walking, travelling… yeah that’s a whole of hours added to your day…

Beat the planning fallacy

Behavioural science tells us how we tend to underestimate the time we need to complete a task… With Audible you can put this fear to rest… because it tells you exactly how much time you need to finish a chapter or even the entire book… and this is based on your reading speed, so don’t worry if your are a slow reader… you didn’t need to worry about this,  when you are listening to your book…

The cashless effect

Now any of your subscription apps have managed to separate the payment and consumption of the their service… This, behavioural science tells us, makes for a more pleasurable exercise as we hate the actual feeling of paying for something and losing money… What makes it better with audible is the concept of credits… I know I can get my credits back when I complete my book and return it if I don’t want it sitting in my library… and just in case I want to retain the book… there is a credit that’s going to come into my account in the following month in any case…

Streaks

 Now Streaks may not be as popular as the other apps above… but for me its been a life changer… what makes it so special… I think the entire app has been designed to make sure we stick to what we want to do…

Breaking it up

Just like we saw with Duolingo above… Streaks encouraged breaking your goals into simple, measurable actions… So, if weight-loss is your goal – Streaks allows you to add that little step towards this end... could be the amount of water you drink, or the steps you take or the food you eat…

Making it just right

Streaks encourages you to increase or decrease your goal depending on how you have been fairing at sticking to it… making it easier for you to stick to… so if you have been constantly completing a task it nudges you to increase the time you promise to that task… and conversely if your repeatedly miss out on a task – it helps you to reduce your commitment thereby trying to ensure you don’t totally fall off the wagon…

How can I forget the Streaks

As the name of the app suggests – every one of your tasks helps you build your streak for that particular habit… and we know once we are invested in something we don’t want to lose the effort we’ve put in till that point… this pushes us to keep at it…

If you have a favourite app that you’d like me to analyse through the lens of behavioural science, be sure to write in and I’d be happy to deep dive for you…