Читать книгу Overcoming Internet Addiction For Dummies - David N. Greenfield - Страница 90

The Internet is the world’s biggest slot machine. The slot machine operates on the power of maybe, and this explains the neurobiology of gambling, and most addictions, in some ways. So how does maybe work in our brains? When you pull the handle of a slot machine, your brain knows that it is going to win something. What it does not know is when and how much, but it does know that eventually there will be a reward of some kind. It learns to expect this reward. This system of reinforcement (or dopamine reward) is called variable ratio reinforcement.

So why wouldn’t you just give someone a win each time they pull the handle or after they pull it a certain number of times? The answer is simply boredom (also called extinction). B.F. Skinner did groundbreaking research on operant conditioning and found out that unpredictable (variable) rewards create longer-lasting response habits (which is another fancy way of saying addiction). If a reward is given variably and unpredictably, then your brain engages in this activity like nobody’s business.

So how does this work with Internet use? Whenever you go online (or on your smartphone), you never really know what you’re going to find or when you’re going to find it. This is true for email, information surfing, scrolling, gaming, social media, shopping, and porn; virtually anything you search for online has a variability to it — a maybe factor. In essence, the Internet operates on the same variable reinforcement schedule that a slot machine does, and people are neurobiologically conditioned by their devices without really knowing it.

Not only does the brain love maybe, but it also loves newness. Novelty resets our attention and interest. And there is perhaps no better source of information that provides endless variability and novelty than the Internet. Every time you go online (and in a sense, we are always online with our devices), it can feel like a new experience each time you click or tap through your latest impulse.