# Professor Adam Alter discusses the addictive nature of dating apps

1 Faculty News August 31, 2016 ![Mic logo](/sites/default/files/styles/246w/public/assets/images/mic.jpg?itok=AyLpk5x4)>

Excerpt from [Mic](https://mic.com/articles/152423/want-to-finally-quit-hookup-apps-here-s-how-to-get-out-of-the-validation-vortex#.hqAsYihM5) -- "'Addiction always reflects an underlying psychological need that isn't met,' New York University's [Adam Alter](http://www.stern.nyu.edu/faculty/bio/adam-alter), author of the forthcoming book Irresistible: the Rise of Addictive Technology and the Business of Keeping Us Hooked, told me in an email. 'For some people, that need is social validation; for others it's confirmation that they're attractive; and for others still it might be a sense of mastery over the environment when they feel helpless or powerless.'"

[Read more](https://mic.com/articles/152423/want-to-finally-quit-hookup-apps-here-s-how-to-get-out-of-the-validation-vortex#.hqAsYihM5)