Dr. Laurie Santos speaks with Cass Sunstein about why people continue using social media even when it doesn’t make them feel better, highlighting the concept of a product trap.
Key Takeaways:
- The Product Trap Paradox: People say they’d pay almost nothing for social media, yet demand around $100 to give it up — a gap of twenty times that, by Nobel Prize-winning economic theory, shouldn’t exist.
- Collective Problems Need Collective Solutions: Because product traps are driven by social pressure, the most effective exits are shared ones — phone-free dinners, school phone bans, or group agreements that remove the cost of opting out alone.
- Time vs. Money Test: If you wouldn’t pay for something, it’s worth asking whether the hours you spend on it are truly worth it.
- Naming the Pattern Helps: Simply labeling a behavior as a “product trap” in the moment can create enough distance to step back from it.
The Happiness Lab explores the latest scientific research and shares surprising and inspiring stories that challenge how we think about happiness. New episodes usually air every Monday.
