University of British Columbia: Are you addicted to your AI chatbot? It might be by design. “AI chatbots can grant almost any request—a celebrity in love with you, a research assistant, a book character sprung to life—instantly and with little effort. New research presented at the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems suggests that this genie-like quality is fuelling AI […]

Associated Press: Social media can be addictive even for adults, but there are ways to cut back. “The companies that designed your favorite apps have an incentive to keep you glued to them so they can serve up ads that make them billions of dollars in revenue. Resisting the pull of the endless scroll, the dopamine hits from short-form videos and the ego boost and validation that come from likes […]

Neurologist reveals 3 simple tricks people can do right now to break nearly any bad habit

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://www.upworthy.com/neuroscientist-reveals-3-tricks-people-can-do-right-now-to-break-any-bad-habit

Mashable: Gambling online? Try turning off push notifications.. “While push notifications may be standard business practice these days, experts say they encourage people to spend more time and money gambling than they otherwise would, similar to other aspects of gambling app design.”

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/11/11/mashable-gambling-online-try-turning-off-push-notifications/

Addictive-like behavioural traits in pet dogs with extreme motivation for toys

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-025-18636-0

#HackerNews #AddictiveBehavior #Dogs #Motivation #Toys #PetResearch #CaninePsychology

University of Missouri: Can online games be an effective intervention to help adolescents reduce substance abuse?. “For adolescents struggling with substance abuse, traditional in-person interventions such as counseling are not always effective, and rural areas often lack access to these services. A researcher at the University of Missouri is thinking outside the box, aiming to help game […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/03/22/university-of-missouri-can-online-games-be-an-effective-intervention-to-help-adolescents-reduce-substance-abuse/

GW Today: Anti-Smoking Chatbots Provide Sound Advice—Most of the Time. “A new study from the George Washington University examining AI-powered chatbot responses to smokers seeking information about ways to kick the habit found that most of the chatbot responses followed sound public health advice. But some answers contained errors or were classified as misinformation, suggesting the need […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/02/15/gw-today-anti-smoking-chatbots-provide-sound-advice-most-of-the-time/

The Conversation: How to outwit gambling adverts by ‘inoculating’ people against them. “With gambling advertising showing no signs of abating, and gambling addiction an ongoing problem across the UK, it is vital that consumers are given tools to resist. Our recent research has found that a targeted approach using ‘counteradvertising’ videos can help people combat these persuasive […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/02/09/the-conversation-how-to-outwit-gambling-adverts-by-inoculating-people-against-them/

Psychology Today: Why Crypto Memes Hijack Your Brain, and How to Resist. “Meme coins, which are frequently promoted through viral social media campaigns, cater to this desire. According to research, anticipating a reward activates the same brain regions as the actual reward, resulting in a powerful feedback loop. This dopamine spike, which is associated with pleasure and motivation, can be […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/02/02/psychology-today-why-crypto-memes-hijack-your-brain-and-how-to-resist/

AFP: European watchdog takes aim at online gambling, gaming among youths. “Online gambling and gaming can cause depression and other mental health issues in young people, which the Council of Europe rights watchdog is trying to counter with a new project encouraging good policy and awareness raising. The 46-member bloc, which launched its project at the start of a two-day conference in Rome […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/01/29/afp-european-watchdog-takes-aim-at-online-gambling-gaming-among-youths/