Irresistible

Should the United States government intervene in internet addictions in the same way China has? What are the positives and negatives to such government intervention?

Given the seriousness and prevalence of the issue of behavioral addiction, is moderation—the solution Alter proposes—enough? Is abstinence required in some situations?

The last part of the book proposes that gamification be utilized for improving society rather than merely creating more addicted gadget and internet users. Do you think this is possible? Use examples from the text to support your answer.

Alter is a professor of marketing at New York University. How do you think being a marketing professor might have shaped Alter’s approach to writing this book? How might the book have been different if written by a history professor, literature professor, math professor, or computer software engineer?

Though he crafted his games with love, Shigeru Miyamoto wound up creating some of the world’s best-selling video games of all time. Should his games be considered predatory and addictive, or simply enjoyable? Use examples from the text to defend your position.

One solution Alter proposes to binge-watching television is to either quit watching an episode before the cliffhanger, or to quit immediately after the cliffhanger is revealed. Come up with three solutions to other behavioral addictions that employ a similar technique, and explain how those solutions work.

The concept of gamification has drawn many critics. After reading Chapter 12, do you think gamifying school would motivate students to learn?

Tetris is referred to as addictive in Chapter 7, but it’s later cited as a potentially therapeutic tool for post-traumatic stress disorder. Using examples from the text, do you think a game like Tetris is harmful or beneficial? Similarly, do you think a game like World of Warcraft is always harmful, or might there be beneficial uses for it as well?