Why do we keep coming back to Instagram or TikTok even when there’s no real need to? We seem to gravitate toward them whenever we’re bored. Such behavior can be easily explained through the Hook Model. Generally, this is a four-step process that transforms browsers into customers.

You’re triggered to act, be it by external or internal stimuli. Imagine seeing a notification pop up, clicking it, and the next moment finding yourself scrolling through the app. External triggers are powerful, but internal triggers make a real difference. Internal triggers are linked to the emotions you associate with the app. Perhaps, every time you feel bored, you open TikTok and watch funny videos. Or maybe loneliness nudges your finger toward X in search of interaction. Internal triggers prompt you to get back to the app without second-guessing it.

To make such an effortless connection between the product and emotion, everything must be easy. Take the iPhone’s instant camera access — you don’t even have to unlock your phone to take a photo. If users don’t have to put much effort into it, they are more likely to open the app purely on emotion.

The Hook Model also presupposes giving the user an unexpected reward. This action is addictive, since each time we get such a reward, our brain releases dopamine. Rewards can take different forms, including those of the Tribe, Hunt, and Self, with Tribe rewards also known as social rewards. They leverage our social validation needs, such as the likes on Instagram or upvotes on Reddit.

The rewards of the Hunt, on the other hand, come from our desire to get information. Even when we aimlessly scroll through X or Pinterest, we can still accidentally find some useful information. So that’s why our next doom-scrolling session becomes the hunt for resources. Lastly, the rewards of the Self derive from our wish to improve and develop through intrinsic gratification. Every time you level up in a video game or get a motivational message from Duolingo, the Hook Model makes you more addicted to that product.

All in all, as soon as you invest your time or effort into the product, you are more likely to return to it. And continuous change of these rewards makes you come back more and more regularly.