Chapter 3 Exercises: What Is Algorithmic Addiction?

Instructions

These 35 exercises help you engage deeply with the concepts in Chapter 3. They range from personal reflection to empirical research to conceptual analysis. Some are individual exercises; others are designed for pairs or groups. Complete them as assigned or in any order unless your instructor specifies otherwise.

Reflection Exercises

1. [Reflection] The Anxiety Test For one full day, leave your phone in a different room from wherever you are working or relaxing. Set it to "do not disturb" so that notifications do not come through. Keep a log of the moments during the day when you feel the impulse to check your phone, noting: (a) what triggered the impulse, (b) how strong it was on a scale of 1-10, and (c) whether you resisted or gave in. At the end of the day, write a 300-word reflection on what the experience revealed about your relationship with your phone and social media.

2. [Reflection] Diagnosing Your Own Use Review the DSM-5 criteria for Substance Use Disorder as described in the chapter. For each of the eleven criteria, honestly evaluate whether it applies, partially applies, or does not apply to your own social media use. Do not be defensive, but also do not be dramatic. Write a 200-word honest assessment. Then step back: based on your self-evaluation, would you classify your use as habitual, problematic, or something closer to the addiction end of the spectrum? What, if anything, would you want to change?

3. [Reflection] The Variable Reward Experience Next time you post content on a social media platform, pay deliberate attention to your behavior in the hours immediately following. How often do you check for responses? What is your emotional state when you get a notification versus when you check and see nothing new? Does the checking feel voluntary or compulsive? Write a 300-word phenomenological account — as specific and honest as possible — of the experience.

4. [Reflection] Intent vs. Actual Use For the next three days, before opening any social media app, write down specifically what you intend to do: "I am opening Instagram to check whether my friend replied to my message." Then, when you put the app down, compare your actual behavior to your stated intention. How often did you do what you planned? How long did you spend, versus how long you intended to spend? What does this pattern reveal about the relationship between your conscious intentions and your actual behavior?

5. [Reflection] Social Media Without Your Phone Spend one hour somewhere you usually use social media — a waiting room, a public space, a break at work — without your phone. Observe and then describe: (a) what you noticed in your environment that you might have missed while scrolling, (b) how you felt during the hour (bored, anxious, relaxed, something else), (c) what you found yourself thinking about, and (d) whether you would describe the hour as wasted or as something else. Write 250 words.

6. [Reflection] The Notification Audit Open your phone's settings and look at the notification permissions you have granted to each app. For each app that has notification access, ask yourself: (a) do these notifications serve me, or do they serve the platform? (b) did I consciously decide to enable these notifications, or did I accept defaults? (c) what would change if I turned them off? Make any changes you think are genuinely in your interest, and then write a 200-word reflection on what this audit revealed.

7. [Reflection] Comparing Platforms Think about two social media platforms you use regularly. Which one do you find harder to put down? Which one do you feel better after using? Are these the same platform, or different ones? What does the comparison reveal about the relationship between engagement and wellbeing? Write 250 words.

Research Exercises

8. [Research] The DSM-5 and Gaming Disorder Research the process by which the American Psychiatric Association decides to add new conditions to the DSM. Then investigate the current status of "social media addiction" or "problematic social media use" in the DSM. Has it been proposed? Has it been rejected? What criteria would it need to meet for inclusion? Write a 400-word research summary that addresses why it is harder to establish psychiatric diagnoses for behavioral conditions than for substance use disorders.

9. [Research] The ICD-11 Gaming Disorder Controversy The WHO's ICD-11 included Gaming Disorder as a formal diagnostic category in 2019, over the objections of many researchers who argued the evidence was insufficient. Research this controversy: find at least two peer-reviewed papers arguing in favor of the classification and two arguing against it. Write a 400-word synthesis that identifies the strongest arguments on each side and evaluates which you find more convincing.

10. [Research] Sean Parker and Platform Design Intent Research Sean Parker's 2017 comments about Facebook's design (quoted in the chapter) as well as similar statements from other platform insiders — Aza Raskin on infinite scroll, Tristan Harris on persuasive technology, and others. Compile a list of at least five statements from platform insiders (named or anonymous) that describe, with candor, the deliberate exploitation of psychological mechanisms for engagement. For each, identify: who said it, what platform context it refers to, and what specific design feature or mechanism it describes.

11. [Research] The Haugen Documents: Going Deeper Research the Frances Haugen documents released to the Wall Street Journal in 2021 (published as "The Facebook Files"). Identify at least three specific findings from the documents that are not mentioned in the chapter but that you think are particularly significant for understanding algorithmic addiction. For each, write a 100-word summary of the finding and its significance.

12. [Research] Adolescent Brain Development and Social Media Research the neuroscience of adolescent brain development, focusing on: (a) the maturation timeline of the prefrontal cortex, (b) the heightened reward sensitivity of the adolescent brain, and (c) research specifically on adolescent social media use and brain development. Find at least three peer-reviewed sources and write a 400-word summary of what the research shows, being careful to distinguish between what is well-established and what is still under investigation.

13. [Research] Prevalence Studies The chapter cites a 2019 meta-analysis estimating that approximately 5% of social media users meet criteria for problematic social media use. Research this literature more broadly: find at least three other prevalence studies and compare their estimates. What explains the variation in estimates across studies? What methodological challenges make prevalence estimation in this domain difficult? Write a 350-word critical summary.

14. [Research] Slot Machines and Variable Rewards Research the psychology of slot machine design, focusing specifically on: (a) how variable ratio reinforcement schedules are engineered into slot machine mechanics, (b) research on why variable ratio schedules are more powerful than fixed schedules, and (c) how knowledge of slot machine design has been applied to the design of digital products. Find at least two sources that explicitly discuss the transfer of slot machine design principles to digital products. Write a 350-word research summary.

Analysis Exercises

15. [Analysis] Applying the Persuasion Stack to Maya Using the full Persuasion Stack framework (all five layers), write a 600-word analysis of Maya's experience as described in the "Maya's Story" sidebar in the chapter. For each layer, identify the specific mechanisms at work, with as much specificity as possible. Your analysis should go beyond what the chapter says: try to identify mechanisms at each layer that the chapter's account leaves implicit.

16. [Analysis] Habitual, Problematic, or Addicted? Read the following three brief vignettes and classify each user's behavior as habitual use, problematic use, or addiction, using the criteria established in the chapter. Provide a 100-word justification for each classification.

Vignette A: Jordan, 22, checks Twitter every morning with coffee, during his lunch break, and before bed. He is aware of this pattern and finds it pleasant. He sometimes wishes he read more books, but he does not experience significant distress about his Twitter use, and he can easily choose not to check Twitter on days when he is busy or out of reach of his phone.

Vignette B: Priya, 16, has tried to delete Instagram four times in the past year. Each time, she lasts between two and five days before reinstalling. She has noticed that she feels worse about her appearance after using Instagram than before, but she feels compelled to keep checking. She has been losing sleep to late-night scrolling and her grades have dropped.

Vignette C: Marcus, 35, uses LinkedIn heavily for professional networking. He checks it more than he technically needs to for work purposes and sometimes feels a mild compulsion to check after posting content. But his use is largely functional, his work has benefited from his professional network, and he experiences no significant distress about his use.

17. [Analysis] The Intent-Effect Gap at Velocity Media Using the Velocity Media notification design vignette in the chapter, analyze the decision to ship the variable-delay notification feature. Apply the framework of intent vs. effect: what were the intentions of each actor (Webb, Johnson, Chen)? What effects did the feature produce? Where does the moral responsibility for those effects lie, given that the intentions were not necessarily malicious? Write a 400-word analysis.

18. [Analysis] Evaluating the Structural Claim The chapter argues that "algorithmic addiction" is distinguished from general behavioral addiction by the role of deliberate design — that the features producing compulsive use are the product of systematic engineering, not accidental side effects. Evaluate the strength of this argument. Is there enough evidence to support the claim that platforms deliberately design for compulsive use? What would constitute strong versus weak evidence for this claim? Write a 400-word analytical response.

19. [Analysis] Individual vs. Structural Responsibility The chapter argues that responsibility for algorithmic addiction cannot be located entirely in individuals or entirely in platforms, but must be understood as distributed across multiple layers of the Persuasion Stack. Using this framework, write a 500-word analysis of how responsibility should be distributed among: (a) individual users; (b) platform engineers and product managers; (c) platform executives; (d) platform investors and advertisers; and (e) regulators and governments. For each actor, identify both their contribution to the problem and their capacity to contribute to a solution.

20. [Analysis] Comparing Addiction Criteria Create a structured comparison table applying all eleven DSM-5 criteria for Substance Use Disorder to social media use. For each criterion: (a) describe what the criterion means in the substance use context; (b) describe the analog in social media use; (c) evaluate the strength of the analogy (strong, moderate, weak, not applicable); and (d) cite any research evidence relevant to whether social media use meets this criterion for a subset of users. Write a 100-word conclusion summarizing what the comparison reveals.

21. [Analysis] The Ethics of the Notification Feature Return to the Velocity Media notification vignette. Write a 400-word ethical analysis of the feature using three different ethical frameworks: (a) consequentialism (what produces the best outcomes for the most people?), (b) deontology (what duties do platforms have to their users?), and (c) virtue ethics (what would a virtuous platform designer do?). Do the three frameworks agree or disagree about whether the feature should be shipped?

Creative Exercises

22. [Creative] A Day in Maya's Algorithm Write a 500-word narrative told from the perspective of TikTok's recommendation algorithm as it processes Maya's behavior over a single day. The algorithm should describe, in first person, what it observes Maya doing, what inferences it draws about her psychological state and preferences, what content it selects for her and why, and how it responds when she shows signs of disengagement versus deep engagement. The narrative should be scientifically grounded and revealing about the mechanism.

23. [Creative] The Product Ethics Memo Write a 400-word memo from Dr. Aisha Johnson, Velocity Media's Ethics Officer, to CEO Sarah Chen, arguing against shipping the variable-delay notification feature. The memo should be persuasive, specific, and grounded in the concepts and evidence from the chapter. It should anticipate and respond to the counter-arguments that Marcus Webb would make. Then write a 200-word response from Marcus Webb to the memo.

24. [Creative] The DSM Entry Write a 400-word entry for "Algorithmic Use Disorder" as it might appear in a future edition of the DSM. Include: a description of the disorder, the diagnostic criteria (modeled on but not identical to the Substance Use Disorder criteria), specifiers for severity, and a section on differential diagnosis (how to distinguish Algorithmic Use Disorder from habitual use and from other mental health conditions).

25. [Creative] Two Letters Write two letters, each approximately 250 words: (a) a letter from Maya to her future self, describing how she currently experiences her relationship with TikTok and what she wishes were different; and (b) a letter from TikTok's algorithm to Maya, describing — honestly — what it knows about her, what it is trying to do, and what it does not care about. The contrast between the two letters should illuminate the power asymmetry at the heart of the chapter's argument.

26. [Creative] The Warning Label Design a warning label for a social media app — similar to the warning labels on cigarette packages — that accurately communicates the risks of compulsive use to adolescent users. The label should be: (a) factually accurate based on the research discussed in the chapter, (b) specific enough to be meaningful rather than vague, (c) short enough to be read, and (d) honest without being alarmist. Then write a 200-word reflection on the challenges you faced in designing the label.

27. [Creative] The Alternative Design Design a social media feed that uses the knowledge of behavioral psychology in the chapter to serve user wellbeing rather than to maximize engagement. What features would you include? What features of existing platforms would you remove or modify? What would the notification system look like? How would content be ranked? What would the business model be? Describe your design in 500 words and then reflect briefly on what you would have to sacrifice compared to current platforms.

Group Discussion Exercises

28. [Group Discussion] The Spectrum Exercise In a group, have each person describe their own social media use and place themselves on the spectrum from habitual to problematic to addicted. Then discuss: what patterns do you notice across the group? What factors seem to correlate with being closer to the problematic/addicted end? Do people's self-assessments surprise you, or do they match what you would have expected? What does this exercise reveal about the variation in individual susceptibility?

29. [Group Discussion] The Design Ethics Debate Divide the group into two sides and debate the following proposition: "Social media companies have an ethical obligation to design their platforms to minimize compulsive use, even if this reduces engagement and revenue." One side argues for the proposition; the other argues against it. After the debate, step out of your assigned positions and discuss: what did you find most compelling in the argument you opposed?

30. [Group Discussion] The Parental Perspective Discuss the following: if you were a parent of a 14-year-old, what rules or guidelines about social media use would you put in place, based on what you have learned in this chapter? Then discuss: are those rules reasonable? Are they enforceable? Do they address the right level of the Persuasion Stack, or are they focused primarily on the individual level in ways that ignore the structural level? What would you need from platforms and regulators that you currently do not have?

31. [Group Discussion] The Whistleblower Question Frances Haugen made significant personal and professional sacrifices to release the Facebook documents. Discuss: (a) was she right to do so? (b) what ethical framework supports or challenges her decision? (c) what does the existence of internal research documenting harm — and the decision not to act on it — reveal about the moral culture of large technology companies? (d) what institutional mechanisms (regulation, internal governance, worker organizing) might have made whistleblowing unnecessary?

32. [Group Discussion] Clinical or Not? The WHO classified Gaming Disorder as a formal diagnostic category over the objections of many researchers who felt the evidence was insufficient. Discuss the following trade-offs: (a) if we classify social media use disorder too early, we risk over-pathologizing normal behavior and stigmatizing heavy users; (b) if we wait until the evidence is unequivocal, we may delay intervention for people who need help. How do you navigate this trade-off? What level of evidence should be required before a behavioral pattern is classified as a disorder?

33. [Group Discussion] The Teenage Experience If there are people in your group who are, or were recently, teenagers, invite them to share what the experience of heavy social media use actually feels like or felt like — not as it is described in research papers but as it is lived. What aspects of the chapter's account match their experience? What aspects miss the mark? What is the chapter failing to capture about the actual experience of being a teenager with a smartphone and social media accounts?

34. [Group Discussion] Individual Solutions Generate a list of practical things that individual users could do to reduce the compulsive quality of their social media use, based on the chapter's analysis. Evaluate each proposed solution using the Persuasion Stack framework: which layer of the stack does the solution operate at? How effective is it likely to be at that layer? What layers does it fail to address? Is individual action alone likely to be sufficient, or does the stack analysis suggest that structural change is necessary?

35. [Group Discussion] Imagining Regulation Imagine you are a legislator drafting a bill to address algorithmic addiction. Based on what you have learned in this chapter, what provisions would your bill include? Consider: (a) what design features should be prohibited or required? (b) what transparency requirements should platforms face? (c) what special protections should exist for users under 18? (d) how should the bill be enforced, and by whom? Present your bill's key provisions to the group and debate whether they would be effective.