Sticky without the tricks

Retention is one of those words that sounds clinical until it's your problem.

You build something useful, ship it, and watch people use it once and disappear. Meanwhile, Instagram and TikTok have people locked in for hours a day without even trying. Or rather — by trying very hard, in ways they'd rather not talk about.

It makes me wonder how much of product room conversation is really about attention and psychology. We all know the algorithms are designed to hook people. Infinite scroll, autoplay, notification timing, variable reward loops — these aren't accidents. They're borrowed from slot machines and dressed up in clean UI.

But here's the thing that sits with me: is it possible to build a product that people genuinely want to come back to — without planting a psychological bomb in their brain? Can you earn loyalty through usefulness and craft instead of manufactured addiction?

I don't have the answer. But I think the question matters. Because right now, "sticky" usually means "manipulative," and I'd like to believe there's another way.

Inspired by this piece on why we can't stop doomscrolling.