0111001001101011 01THE00101010100 0111001001101001 010PSYHOLOGY0111 011100OF01011100 010010010011010 0110011SILION011 01VALLEY01101001 ETHICAL THREATS AND EMOTIONAL UNINTELLIGENCE 01001001001110IN THE TECH INDUSTRY 10 0100100100KATY COOK 110110 0110011011100011 The Psychology of Silicon Valley “As someone who has studied the impact of technology since the early 1980s I am appalled at how psychological principles are being used as part of the busi- ness model of many tech companies. More and more often I see behaviorism at work in attempting to lure brains to a site or app and to keep them coming back day after day. This book exposes these practices and offers readers a glimpse behind the “emotional scenes” as tech companies come out psychologically fir- ing at their consumers. Unless these practices are exposed and made public, tech companies will continue to shape our brains and not in a good way.” —Larry D. Rosen, Professor Emeritus of Psychology, author of 7 books including The Distracted Mind: Ancient Brains in a High Tech World “The Psychology of Silicon Valley is a remarkable story of an industry’s shift from idealism to narcissism and even sociopathy. But deep cracks are showing in the Valley’s mantra of ‘we know better than you.’ Katy Cook’s engaging read has a message that needs to be heard now.” —Richard Freed, author of Wired Child “A welcome journey through the mind of the world’s most influential industry at a time when understanding Silicon Valley’s motivations, myths, and ethics are vitally important.” —Scott Galloway, Professor of Marketing, NYU and author of The Algebra of Happiness and The Four Katy Cook The Psychology of Silicon Valley Ethical Threats and Emotional Unintelligence in the Tech Industry Katy Cook Centre for Technology Awareness London, UK ISBN 978-3-030-27363-7 ISBN 978-3-030-27364-4 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-27364-4 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2020 This book is an open access publication. 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The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland Acknowledgements Books are—wrongly, in my opinion—attributed to one person. As I learned while writing this, my first book, they are in fact the result of the generosity and kindnesses of many, many extraordinary people. Here are a few of the friends and colleagues who helped the following pages become pages with actual words on them. This book, quite simply, would not exist without them. First and foremost, thanks are due to Dec Munro for bringing to my attention the fact that this book should exist and for believing I could do something so hard and exciting and scary. As ever, you are full of fantas- tic, utterly insane ideas and I love you tremendously. My thanks to my Centre for Technology Awareness family also cannot be overstated. First, to Anders Beier, whose support and presence made the last few years of research, thinking, and planning a lot less lonely. And also to Adam Daniel, who was the very first person to listen to my crazy ideas about the future and technology and not to look at me like I was crazy. Thank you both for being there every step of the way. I am forever indebted to my editors at Palgrave Macmillan, Grace Jackson, Joanna O’Neill, and Beth Farrow, who got excited about an idea, took a chance on it, and guided me kindly through the publishing process until it actually looked like a book. You are such intelligent, patient, wonderful women and I am so grateful to have worked with you. Many thanks are due to my truly wonderful colleagues, friends, and sounding boards: Machiel Klerk, Mary Lee Moser, Chris McNab, Myrsini v vi Acknowledgements Ouzounelli, Eliza Cubitt, Lavonne Cloke, Matt McStravick, Claudia Hergesheimer, and Brian Clack, as well as to my wonderful research assis- tant, Tom Rolinson. Many thoughtful conversations, ideas, and intro- ductions occurred as a result of their expertise, edits, and guidance and I am still in awe that I get to count each of them as friends. Particular thanks are due to Mia Mulch, for reminding me that to get where you need to go, sometimes you have to be brought kicking and screaming. Special thanks are also due to Gareth and Beth Davies, who spend their days making the world braver and more vulnerable. I don’t think I would have had the courage to pursue this project had our paths not crossed and I’m grateful every day that they did. Many thanks are due to Helen Lockett, who volunteered her editing expertise while in the throes of law school, and made the final product infinitely better with her insightful questions and ideas. And my deepest thanks also go to Celia Pool, who read and reread the manuscript with an excellent eye for detail and an uncommon level of support. I don’t expect I can ever adequately express my gratitude to Bruce Thomas and Rhio Ossola, who gave me the most beautiful writing space in the world. This book wouldn’t have seen the light of day for at least another year without your hospitality, generosity, and selflessness. Thanks, of a different but equally important kind are due to Jake Hamer, who so expertly put my hand back together at a rather critical writing time, and also to Erin Brooks, who helped me learn to use it again so I could eke out the last section. More than anyone, this book exists thanks to my mom, who consis- tently gives everything, asks for nothing in return, and is one of the best human beings I’ve ever met. I love you so much. I am humbled and grateful to everyone who took the time to tell me about their experience of Silicon Valley. It was an honor to hear your thoughts and opinions and to have been entrusted with your stories and I hope the following pages have done them justice. And finally, this book is built on the brilliant research of hundreds of journalists, academics, and authors. Your pursuit of truth, fearlessness in speaking truth to power, and belief that the world can be a safer, more just place was a source of constant inspiration. In a world of uncertainty and a fair bit of chaos, your work, above all else, gives me hope. Contents 1 Introduction 1 Part I Psychology 7 2 Identity 9 3 Culture & Environment 37 4 Myths & Stories 65 5 Motivation 95 Part II Impacts 123 6 Truth, Information & Democracy 125 7 Economic Inequality & Employment 167 vii viii Contents 8 Mental Health, Relationships & Cognition 197 Part III Next Steps 235 9 A Way Forward 237 10 Conclusion 291 Index 297 1 Introduction It is one of life’s more amusing truths that we very rarely find what we set out in search of—nor do we usually end up exactly where we meant to go. That is the case with almost everything in my life and, thankfully, it holds true for this book as well. Without realizing it, this work began taking shape in 2013. Like many people, I was becoming a little unnerved by the pace and scope of tech- nology—how untested it seemed, how omnipresent and seductive. I would watch toddlers glued to iPads, parents glued to smartphones, and the rest of us chained to one device or another. I wondered what the effects would be, 20 years down the line, when it might be too late to do anything about it. A psychology nerd at heart, I was particularly worried about how these shiny little black boxes might affect our mental health and wellbeing, while the romantic in me wondered how they would change our relationships. Two years later, my questions had snowballed dramatically. I ran a non-profit that looked at the effects of technology, co-founded awareness campaigns, and gave talks on any tech-related subject whenever I was able (despite a deep dislike of public speaking).