Michaeleen Doucleff

And some people have a really hard time stepping away from a device when they're in this state.

And Natasha realized that apps on phones can sometimes trigger this same machine zone state.

So she started to analyze the design of apps, social media, games in the same way.

So the first ingredient is solitude.

You use the app alone.

It's just you and the screen.

This is important because it removes social cues for stopping.

When we use an app by ourselves, we have trouble noticing if we're actually enjoying what we're doing or even realizing when what we're doing is hurting us in some way.

So you're saying it's the presence of other people that

helps pull us out of that machine zone state.

That's right.

And this, Emily, is real people, not virtual people.

Studies have found that when kids use screens all alone in their bedroom, they're more likely to stay on the app even when it prevents them from going to sleep or interferes with their homework or friendships.

It's what I call bottomlessness.

There's just seemingly endless photos, endless videos, endless comments to read, endless levels to reach on games.

And as Natasha points out, all this content appears automatically.

There's no natural stopping point.

So as you're scrolling, you may have a little thought in your head like, hmm, maybe I should go to sleep, right?

But then another outrageous video pops up in your feed.

Exactly.