Not Now, Ask Later: Users Weaken Their Behavior Change Regimen Over Time, But Expect To Re-Strengthen It Imminently

TL;DR

This study analyzes user behavior on a digital platform, revealing that users tend to weaken their commitment to challenging interventions over time but still expect to re-engage with harder ones soon.

Contribution

It provides empirical insights into how users' adherence to behavior change interventions evolves and their expectations for future engagement.

Findings

Users start with high-challenge interventions.

Over time, users prefer easier interventions.

Many expect to re-engage with harder interventions soon.

Abstract

How effectively do we adhere to nudges and interventions that help us control our online browsing habits? If we have a temporary lapse and disable the behavior change system, do we later resume our adherence, or has the dam broken? In this paper, we investigate these questions through log analyses of 8,000+ users on HabitLab, a behavior change platform that helps users reduce their time online. We find that, while users typically begin with high-challenge interventions, over time they allow themselves to slip into easier and easier interventions. Despite this, many still expect to return to the harder interventions imminently: they repeatedly choose to be asked to change difficulty again on the next visit, declining to have the system save their preference for easy interventions.