Do you grab for your phone every time it vibrates or dings? Have your grades suffered or have you lost sleep because of an event, a game, or staying online watching videos? 

Did you know that for game companies, social media, and youtubers to make money they rely on teenagers to buy and support them and they will do whatever it takes to get your money and keep your attention. 

In this multi-day course we will explore the psychology of how companies purposely create addiction in their customers for profit and what you can do about it. There is homework for this course as well as a quiz (from a reputable site). There is also discussion of other addictive behaviors, including other addictions, so that the students have the ability to discuss this topic well. We also know from studies that addictive behaviors can lead to other addictions later on. 

Day 1: The In Crowd: The psychology of "likes" and trends and the qualities that make social media and the internet so addictive.  How is addiction built into social media, the internet, and games? We will be talking about addiction in general including drugs and donuts to help students understand what addiction is. 

Day 2: Let's Play A Game: Click Bait and the immersive world of gaming. What's a problem and what's not when it comes to gaming and the internet? 

Day 3: Winning: Now that you know what tricks these companies use to get you to hand over your time and money what are some alternatives? How do people moderate and keep their usage under control? 

We realize that most students do not want to be in this class. They didn't choose this class and they will do whatever they can to get out of it. We try to make the content as engaging as possible but this isn't a fun class. We also rely a lot on student participation. This is an academic psychology class and is taught from an academic perspective.