If you're seeing this message, it means we're having trouble loading external resources on our website.

If you're behind a web filter, please make sure that the domains *.kastatic.org and *.kasandbox.org are unblocked.

Main content

Course: Social media literacy > Unit 3

Lesson 6: Where is all this persuasive technology taking us?
Life skills
Social media literacy
Persuasive technology
Where is all this persuasive technology taking us?
© 2024 Khan AcademyTerms of usePrivacy PolicyCookie Notice

Where is all this persuasive technology taking us?

Google Classroom
As algorithms become better at changing your behavior, companies make more money.

Where is all this persuasive technology taking us?

When thinking about persuasive technology, it is helpful to compare it with products built on non-persuasive technologies like Zoom or Notes. These products serve as tools that support you in achieving your goals, rather than working to pull you toward their goals.
Unfortunately, an increasing number of technologies are leaning on the power of persuasion. As algorithms become better at changing your behavior, companies stand to make more money.
A photograph of rolls of hundred dollar bills
The profit motive incentivizes companies to add persuasive technology to more types of apps. For example:
  • Many game apps use loot boxes. Loot boxes are mystery clicks (often costing real money) that yield random virtual rewards. They operate much like scratch lottery tickets and can easily become addicting.
  • Google Search uses a sophisticated algorithm to find the best matches for what you’re looking for. But what’s above those “best matches”? Paid ads, that look like search results, where advertisers compete to pull you away!
  • On Google Maps, advertisers can pay for their location to be a “promoted pin” on the map. So now, instead of simply offering users directions, Google Maps offers advertisers the ability to compete for your attention while you’re using the app for another purpose. They use factors like search/browsing history, interests, time of day, and demographics to choose what ads to show.
This image shows a google search for "doctor in los angeles." The first two results are shown and they are both ads that look like legitimate results: the first one is entitled "See a doctor online now--diagnosis & scripts in 15 min" and the second is entitled "Chat /w an online doctor now--chat with a doctor instantly."
Even a simple Google search for a doctor is optimized to feed us ads.
The reality is that very few apps exist only as tools. Under the guise of providing entertainment or information, or assistance with directions, persuasive features are designed to sell you to advertisers.
We are on a path to a technology environment where we are surrounded by powerful technology that’s competing to track, influence, and monetize us.

Go Deeper

  • On this episode of the Center for Humane Technology’s podcast Your Undivided Attention, Natasha Dow Schüll, author of Addiction by Design, discusses the stunning similarities between the design of gambling technology in Las Vegas and the persuasive technologies we use every day.
  • On this episode of Your Undivided Attention, AI expert Guillaume Chaslot, who worked on YouTube’s recommendation engine, explains how YouTube’s priority to keep us watching spins up outrage, conspiracy theories, and extremism.

Want to join the conversation?

Log in