Among my favorite developer acronyms is GUI. It’s fun to say, short, easy to remember, and quickly references the thing a digital designer is most likely to be working on, the Graphical User Interface. Spelling it out takes a whole three syllables, so those in the industry lovingly pronounce it with two instead — gooey. Without getting into the nuances of website or interface design, the purpose of every decision is to make the interface intuitive. It should be easy to navigate and interact with. Since most screen devices now combine images and icons with text, the term isn’t as necessary as it once was. But the primary design objective remains the same: Create a strong GUI, and users are more likely to stick around.

Stickiness, Defined

On the other hand, stickiness, at least with regards to online content, is defined as “a user’s willingness to return and prolong his or her visit (Chiang & Hsiao, 2015).” Social media has mastered the art of stickiness. Likes on Facebook, for example, have proven to trigger the brain's reward system and release dopamine. Positive association encourages users to revisit regularly, which can lead to a compulsive and addictive use of social media use (Hilliard, 2025). Johann Hari wrote an entire book, Stolen Focus, on the invasive techniques of social media and its effects on our collective attention. Can stickiness do more harm than good?

There’s no doubt that social media has the power to do good in our society. After the 2013 bombing at the Boston Marathon, the hashtag #BostonStrong was used over a million times to raise funds for victims and their families. Remember #movevember? Social media became a direct channel to collect donations for those affected by prostate cancer (Baker, 2012). The list of examples for social media driving positive change continues to grow.

Too Sticky?

However, I think it’s possible for online content — even for public good — to be considered overly sticky. For all the success of YouTube phenomenon MrBeast, for example, some users have expressed fatigue with his content. How is that? MrBeast has accumulated almost 400 million YouTube followers, and his videos regularly reach millions of views. That’s some incredibly stick content. Plus, his videos seem altruistic in nature, even though research indicates that altruism is not a significant factor in sharing content (Chiang & Hsiao, 2015). His most recent video is titled, “Watch This Video to Feed 1 Person in Need.” Despite all this success, MrBeast’s online challenges have become somewhat formulaic and predictable. There have also been concerns made online about delivering on his exaggerated promises. These days, it doesn’t take long for content to feel less refreshing.

Make it Gooey

Which is why I advocate for activists and content creators to pull a page from the interface designer’s playbook — Make it gooey, not sticky. Instead doing the expected thing, even if it worked in the past, strive for an interesting angle. Our brains lose interest with familiar metaphors (Patel, 2020). Science also posits that users are more likely to engage with fresh content. When others zig, zag. The challenge to create original content is undoubtedly more challenging, but it’s also more rewarding when a unique solution has been discovered. Gooey content has the potential to attract new audiences, keep their attention long enough to do good and make positive changes, and invite them back at an appropriate time. 

References

Baker, R. (2012, November 1). Brands play key role in Movember Marketing. Marketing Week. https://www.marketingweek.com/brands-play-key-role-in-movember-marketing/ 

Chiang, H.-S., & Hsiao, K.-L. (2015). YouTube stickiness: The needs, personal, and environmental perspective. Internet Research, 25(1), 85–106. https://doi.org/10.1108/intr-11-2013-0236 

Hilliard, J. (2025, March 14). Social Media Addiction. Addiction Center. https://www.addictioncenter.com/behavioral-addictions/social-media-addiction/#:~:text=The%20phenomena%20of%20social%20media,from%20purchases%20through%20BetterHelp%20links.&text=Get%20professional%20help%20from%20an,Take%20the%20Quiz

Patel, N. (2020, April). How to craft sticky content that your audience drools over. neilpatel.com. https://neilpatel.com/blog/how-to-craft-sticky-content-that-your-audience-drools-over/

Shinde, R. (1435, June 14). 3 social media campaigns that changed the world. GetAssist. https://www.getassist.com/3-social-media-campaigns-that-changed-the-world/