The British politician, Zack Polanski, has apologised for a social media post he published this week. The Tweet criticised the Metropolitan Police for the way they arrested a man suspected of stabbing two Jewish men in Golders Green, London. To be fair to Mr Polanski, he did not write the critical post. Instead, he just re-tweeted what someone else had published. Following a highly unusual and extremely critical written rebuke from the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, Mr Polanski apologised for sharing a post “in haste”.
He is not the first person to share material online in a hurry. He won’t be the last. Indeed, you may have regretted acting on impulse on social media. Mostly, it has little consequence beyond embarrassment or a minor hit to your personal reputation. However, as in the case of the Green Party Leader, it can have potentially serious consequences.
Human beings find it very difficult to stop impulsive urges, though. The classic “Marshmallow Test” showed that we struggle to delay gratification. Children were offered one marshmallow immediately, or, if they waited, they could have two. Waiting proved difficult for many. Their desire for instant gratification meant they ended up with half of what they could have achieved by waiting a few minutes. It is a neat demonstration of how difficult delay can be, especially when the reward is sitting right in front of us.
I saw this in a meeting this week. One of my colleagues jumped into the conversation, made a comment, and later had to retract it, clearly having reflected on it. The initial impulsive comment was their immediate emotional response. I can’t criticise them, because I’ve done the same. And so have you…!
You and I have probably also acted on impulse in online shops. A recent report on e-commerce shows that 70% of US shoppers make impulse buys. According to the Detroit-based consultancy, Invesp, 54% of Americans admit to spending more than $100 on an impulse purchase. At the same time, half of them regret what they did. Their emotions got the better of them. Indeed, according to Google, impulse buying has become “the norm”. That’s why, almost 15 years ago, I explained how online stores can tap into that to drive even more impulse purchases.
The fact is, businesses are making money because our self-control is easier to bypass than we like to admit. We don’t think, we just act like the children who wanted the marshmallow. However, they did not have the Internet. Nowadays, much of our impulsive behaviour appears to be connected to modern technology.
We no longer have to wait to find things out. You can get instant information, instead of having to get the bus to the library only to find the book you need is out on loan, and you’ll have to wait a fortnight. In those “olden days”, we were more patient, perhaps. Several studies suggest a link between Internet use and impulsivity, although it is not always clear whether the Internet makes us more impulsive or whether impulsive people are simply drawn more deeply into online life.
It is all connected to that neurological rascal, dopamine. This is involved in reward, anticipation, and motivation, making it central to many of our online habits. Recent research has identified the concept of “dopamine scrolling,” in which people keep scrolling through online content in search of the next tiny reward. British researchers discovered back in 2010 that dopamine is linked to impulsive behaviour. Once our brains learn that another click, scroll, or purchase might lead to a reward, it becomes tough to resist the impulse.
The fact is, the Internet gives our impulses more opportunities to escape. So what can we do to avoid blurting out inappropriate things in meetings, posting damaging Tweets, or buying things we don’t need? The answer is hidden within the marshmallow test itself. The children who waited and were rewarded with two marshmallows were the ones who distracted themselves from the situation. Years ago, when we went to meetings with pen and paper instead of laptops, we all did that by doodling. Doing things like this that break the boredom are essential for reducing the risk of acting on impulse. If you find yourself being more impulsive than you would like, just distract yourself for a moment by counting backwards from 10. That gives your brain enough time to stop reacting and start thinking. It gives the impulse a chance to fade before your finger, mouth, or credit card does the damage.
