It’s not you. Phones are designed to be addicting.

Editorial Analysis

The 3 design elements that make smartphones so hard to put down, explained by Google’s former design ethicist. \n\nCheck out Christophe's video on how designers find inspiration in nature: http://bit.ly/2DDIQAL\n\nRead Ezra Klein's full interview with Tristan Harris: http://bit.ly/2og5v0H\n\nSubscribe to our channel! http://goo.gl/0bsAjO\n\nToday’s phones are hard to put down. Push notifications buzz in your pocket, red bubbles demand attention, and endless distractions sit at your fingertips. It can feel impossible to pull away from. But that’s kind of the point. When people talk about the “attention economy,” they’re referring to the fact that your time and attention are the currency on which today’s applications make money. Because apps profit off of the total time you spend on their platform, there’s a strong incentive to use psychological tricks to keep you endlessly hooked. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Tristan Harris, who runs Time Well Spent, is working to create a world where platforms can more honestly respect their users’ time. \n\nBy Design is a new Vox video series about the intersection of design and technology, hosted by Christophe Haubursin. Stay tuned for more, and check out Christophe's most recent work exploring design in our Vox + 99% Invisible collaboration: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJ8cMiYb3G5fHjUoTiRuJVucCLxYJliQ_\n\nVox.com is a news website that helps you cut through the noise and understand what's really driving the events in the headlines. Check out http://www.vox.com \n\nCheck out our full video catalog: http://goo.gl/IZONyE\nFollow Vox on Twitter: http://goo.gl/XFrZ5H\nOr on Facebook: http://goo.gl/U2g06o