attention
The limited capacity to select, hold, and act on information while other possible inputs compete for entry.
Glossary
Definitions for the manual.
These terms are practical handles. They are meant to clarify behavior without turning everyday difficulty into a diagnosis.
automaticity
Behavior that begins with little conscious deliberation because cues and repetition have made the action familiar.
autoplay
A design pattern that starts the next media item automatically, weakening the natural stopping point.
compulsive behavior
Repeated behavior that feels difficult to stop despite conflict with the person's stated intentions. This manual uses the term descriptively, not diagnostically.
decision friction
A deliberate obstacle that creates a pause before an action, such as logging in manually or moving a device away.
digital environment
The surrounding system of devices, defaults, alerts, shortcuts, interfaces, rooms, and routines that shapes technology use.
dopamine
A neurotransmitter involved in motivation, movement, learning, anticipation, and reward-related signaling. It is not a toxin to remove.
finite entertainment
Entertainment chosen with a visible endpoint, such as one movie, one album, or one planned game session.
infinite entertainment
Entertainment that keeps generating the next option, such as feeds, endless scroll, autoplay queues, and repeated refreshing.
low-stimulation floor
A minimum operating mode that reduces input enough to prevent a scattered day from collapsing completely.
novelty
New or changing information that naturally draws attention and can make repetition feel rewarding.
permission cascade
The thought chain where one unplanned action becomes permission for more: the rule is broken, so the day is treated as ruined.
persuasive design
Design intended to shape user behavior through prompts, friction, rewards, social cues, defaults, or timing.
reward anticipation
The motivational pull that can occur before a reward arrives, especially when the next outcome is uncertain.
rules of engagement
Concrete personal rules defining access, timing, format, and stopping conditions for high-risk activities.
stopping condition
The event, time, quantity, or boundary that marks a session as complete.
task initiation
The act of beginning a task, especially when the task is slow, ambiguous, difficult, or emotionally loaded.
trigger
A cue or state that tends to start a behavior, such as boredom, fatigue, conflict, waiting, or a notification.
variable reward
An uncertain reward pattern in which the next attempt might produce something interesting, reinforcing repeated checking.
vulnerable window
A predictable time or situation when automatic digital use becomes more likely.