Every time you hear or see a notification, you know that there’s something new and unpredictable waiting for you—two qualities that we are hardwired to crave—and your brain releases dopamine, motivating you to reach for your phone to see what that thing might be. (Slot machines are a great example of the addictive power of anticipation: they could immediately reveal whether or not you’ve won, but instead you have to wait for the wheels to stop spinning.)
