The Attention Economy
How Apps Are Designed to Keep You Hooked
Vocabulary Match
Connect each term to its meaning
Pair the app-design language with the idea it describes.
Word / Phrase
Inferred Meaning
Scenario Signals
Spot the design tactic
Read each mini-situation and select the clearest explanation.
An app suddenly compliments your glasses and shows you a $2 glasses accessory. The message feels too specific to be random.
You close a video app, but a message appears: 'Are you still there?' Ten seconds later, you open it again.
After thirty minutes, the app asks, 'Are you sure you want to continue?' before showing more videos.
You never reach the bottom of the feed. New posts keep appearing, so there is no obvious moment to stop.
The app learns that you like crime documentaries and fills your feed with similar clips before typical sources even report updates.
The design is so obvious that even a tired user can see the company is exploiting a weakness in our brain.
Token Tray
Place the right term in context
Drag a token into each sentence, or tap a token and then tap a blank.
A red unread badge is a small Choose term that makes you feel you should check the app immediately.
Asking 'Are you sure you want to continue?' adds Choose term because it creates an extra step.
If a company uses our fear of missing out, it is exploiting a human Choose term.
When the manipulation is obvious and clear, it is Choose term.
A Choose term learns what you watch and predicts what will keep you watching.
Choose term removes the pause between videos, so one clip easily becomes ten.
The main Choose term is convenience versus control: the app is easier to use, but harder to leave.
Checking, refreshing, and scrolling without really wanting to is Choose term use.
Mastery Check
Finish the attention-design review
Make the final matches and check whether the key concepts are clear.
Word / Phrase
Inferred Meaning
Lesson complete
You practiced the core attention-economy vocabulary and identified common app-design tactics in context.