Nir Eyal: Breaking Bad Habits, Technology Addiction, & Emotional Triggers
Are you interested in breaking bad habits?
Today's guest, Nir Eyal, helps companies create behaviors that benefit their users, while educating people on how to build healthy habits in this busy modern world.
He is a best-selling author, speaker, and behavior change jedi-master that is educating people on how to build healthy habits in their own lives; all while writing for TechCrunch, Forbes, Psychology Today, and frequently speaking at industry conferences and for Fortune 500 companies.
As the author of “Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products,” Nir has taught at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and Design School on practical insights to create user habits that stick.
Are You Addicted To Technology?
How do successful companies create products people can’t put down?
Why do some products capture widespread attention while others flop? What makes us engage with certain products out of sheer habit?
Is there a pattern underlying how technologies hook us?
Nir Eyal answers these questions (and many more) by explaining the Hook Model—a four-step process embedded into the products of many successful companies to subtly encourage customer behavior.
Through consecutive “hook cycles,” these products reach their ultimate goal of bringing users back again and again without depending on costly advertising or aggressive messaging.
Why We Do What We Do
With technology growing exponentially, it is no surprise that the waterfall of apps, wearables, and the internet of things have become a double-edged sword in our world.
On one hand, technology has given rise to advances in human connection, expression, and productivity, while on the other, without mindfulness and intention, it can harm the most important thing we have: our health and wellness.
To balance the demands of this attention-grabbing technology while still maintaining our vitality and well-being, Nir's new book profoundly uncovers the how, why, and what makes this addictive technology, well, addictive.
Behavior Change & Breaking Bad Habits
Nir's blog is about the intersection of psychology, technology, and business. He calls it “behavioral design.” The topics at Nir's blog encompass user experience, behavioral economics, and a dash of neuroscience.
Since 2003, Nir has sold two technology companies and now help teams design more engaging products. For most of his career he has worked in the video gaming and advertising industries where he learned, applied (and at times rejected) the techniques used to motivate and manipulate users.
His life's work in behavioral design has flourished from his writing, speaking, and consulting by helping companies create behaviors that benefit their users, while educating people on how to build healthy habits (and breaking bad habits) in this busy modern world.
About Nir Eyal – Wellness Force Guest
writes, consults, and teaches about the intersection of psychology, technology, and business. Nir previously taught as a Lecturer in Marketing at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford.
Nir co-founded and sold two tech companies since 2003 and was dubbed by The M.I.T. Technology Review as, “The Prophet of Habit-Forming Technology.”
He is the author of two bestselling books, Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products and Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life.
Indistractable received critical acclaim, winning the Outstanding Works of Literature (OWL) Award as well as being named one of the Best Business and Leadership Books of the Year by Amazon and one of the Best Personal Development Books of the Year by Audible. The Globe and Mail called Indistractable, “the best business book of 2019.”
In addition to blogging at NirAndFar.com, Nir's writing has been featured in The New York Times, The Harvard Business Review, Time Magazine, and Psychology Today.
Nir is also an active investor in habit-forming technologies. Some of his past investments include Eventbrite (NYSE:EB), Anchor.fm (acquired by Spotify), Kahoot! (KAHOOT-ME.OL), Refresh.io (acquired by LinkedIn), Product Hunt, Marco Polo, Presence Learning, 7 Cups, Pana, Byte Foods, FocusMate, and Shadow.
Nir attended The Stanford Graduate School of Business and Emory University.
Links From Today's Show
- Nir's Book
- Nir's Blog
- The Hook Model
- 7 Cups App
- Pantry
- Non invasive glucose monitor
- “Why Fitness Apps Are making You Fat”
- “Addiction By Design” by Natasha Dow Schüll
- “Redirect” by Timothy D. Wilson
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