Addictive mobile applications: a perspective from neuroscience

Abstract

Statistics report that an adult spends between 3 to 4 hours a day using cell phones and social networks, which, to obtain their income, deliberately design platforms that can keep users in front of the screen, increasing the frequency of visits to these websites. This article attempts to give a perspective on the effects of advertising and marketing on people's behavior, especially in terms of addictive reactions related to mobile applications. Based on the techniques developed by neuromarketing and studies based on neuroscience -such as the attitudinal reaction of the brain to certain stimuluss-, we seek to decipher the behavior of users and customers, and the impulse that leads them to buy or use a product or mobile application. Thus, tools are proposed to avoid falling into the already known dependence and addictive behaviors in front of the new forms of digital communication.