Social media, video games, YouTube—they’re designed to be fun, right? Sure. But they’re also designed to trap you. Tech companies don’t just hope you stay on their platforms… they engineer them to be addictive. In this episode, Joey Mascio exposes The Hooked Model from Nir Eyal’s Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products and reveals how apps and games use triggers, variable rewards, and investment cycles to keep you scrolling, tapping, and playing. Drawing from Jonathan Haidt’s The Anxious Generation, Joey shows you exactly how tech is affecting your brain—and how to break free before you get reeled in.

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My gamified mindset training app for teens, Sidekick to Hero, is available now! Go to www.sidekicktohero.com to start a two-week free trial.

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Follow me on Instagram! www.instagram.com/sidekicktohero

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Joey Mascio is a teen confidence coach and motivational speaker. He helps teens eliminate self-doubt, manage emotions, develop social skills, and achieve their goals. He was a middle school teacher and counselor for 7 years, a former Disneyland performer, and an experienced improv comedian. He uses his Masters in Education, Bachelors in Creative Writing, and two professional life coach certifications to teach powerful resilience tools and strategies to teens through humor and stories.