Hooked Summary: Habits Formula Simplified

Nir Eyal author of Hooked talks about how we have become slaves to the most popular gadget in the world which is a smartphone, how companies like Apple and Facebook are entering our brains, and what we can do to get out of it.

The thing is I read Atomic Habits by James Clear before Hooked, which means, this book didn’t give me anything new but yes, I did get another perspective from the Nir Eyal.

I think Atomic Habits is to date one of the best book ever written on human behavior, so read it, if you haven’t already.

Favorite Quotes From Hooked by Nir Eyal:

“Habit-forming products often start as nice-to-haves (vitamins) but once the habit is formed, they become must-haves (painkillers).”

“Companies who form strong user habits enjoy several benefits to their bottom line.”

Hooked Summary

The book focuses more on business and how companies like Facebook, Google, Twitter, and even Apple are making us addicted to their product. Even after knowing that, watching Instagram Reals for hours won’t add value and still, we will open the app again and again.

These companies are providing free platforms but in the background they’re making billions from you.

Nir Eyal has shared tons of examples that will open your eyes, to how we all are becoming slaves of social media.

Here I’m sharing with you five fundamental questions for building effective hooks: Use this, if you’re running a business.

1. What do users really want? What pain is your product relieving? (Internal trigger)
2. What brings users to your service? (External trigger)
3. What is the simplest action users take in anticipation of reward, and how can you simplify your product to make this action easier? (Action)
4. Are users fulfilled by the reward yet left wanting more? (Variable reward)
5. What “bit of work” do users invest in your product? Does it load the next trigger and store value to improve the product with use? (Investment)

Now, let me share with you some of the lessons which I have learned from this book.

Products and Habits

We all know what Apple Ecosystem is,

If the user is using iPhone for years then he or she will have AirPod, Macbook, iPad, and more accessories made by Apple because Apple makes everything works simultaneously.

So the result is, those users don’t want to buy products from brands like Samsung or even Google.

If we go deeper into Apple, they also have one app called iMessage which is kind of a big deal in the USA. In India, most of the users are using Android because iPhones are very expensive in India compared to the USA.

So you can see that Apple is making you stay with them by connecting everything, so you don’t buy any other product from another company.

The same goes for Facebook too, they own Whatsapp which is very popular in Asian countries, Instagram which is used by everyone, and Facebook which is still used by some users.

In short, companies are creating habits and if you go inside one or two times then it will be hard to come out. It won’t be impossible but hard.

Rewards You Can’t Say No To

Whether you have noticed or not, we’re seeing vertical videos everywhere,

It all started with Tik Tok after that, Instagram came with Reels, and in the end, YouTube launched YouTube Shorts…

Earlier, when you want to watch videos, you use to search on YouTube or Subscribe to any of the YouTube channels. In short, it was your choice to watch something or not.

Now, with vertical short videos, you don’t have a choice, algorithms will decide what kind of videos you love to watch and you will scroll until you find the video you like and the same will happen again and again.

These are the reasons, I don’t consume vertical short videos, I create them for other people.

The end story is, that you will spend 5 minutes scrolling to watch the 30-second video and after that, again, you will repeat the same and if do this five or six times, your mind will make a habit out of it.

Questions to Ask to Yourself

Everything seems simple right, you just have to stop scrolling but it’s not that easy…

Let me just throw some questions and make sure you answer them,

• Does the product I’m using is making any difference in my life
• Do I need this product

Let’s say, you’re watching p*rn,

Now, ask yourself, whether watching porn will make any difference or not?

On the other hand, ask another question, Does using a smartphone will make any difference or not?

Now smartphones can be used for creating content for YouTube, and Instagram, or to do your office work or you can also use them for entertainment.

In the same way, watching p*rn on a smartphone is not bad but watching porn every day will create a habit and it will be hard to quit.

In short, you have to decide what’s bad and what’s good while how much to consume.

Hooked by Nir Eyal Review

If you have already read the Atomic Habits then it doesn’t make any sense to read Hooked and if you haven’t then go read the Atomic Habits.

In short, if you want you can skip the hooked…

Buy the Hooked Book