[dougdonohoe]

Duolingo makes it hard to ignore - the whole app is gamified. It's like ignoring water while swimming in the ocean. Yes, you can turn off notifications, but sometimes they were helpful.

I think gamification triggers some innate feature of our brain, just like TikTok or Reels or mobile games, etc. It is designed to be hard to ignore.

[jghn]

This may be part of it. I refuse to use the app. I use the website only.

It sends me daily reminder emails, which I use as a reminder to do it if I have a chance, otherwise I ignore them. It flashes up a bunch of crap after I complete a lesson that I just mindlessly click through. Which could be the league stuff you mention but I ignore it.

> just like TikTok or Reels or mobile games

Fair, I have the same question about those. It boggles my mind that people fall for the gamification of those too. Or even back in the day stuff like badges in StackOverflow. If one doesn't care, one doesn't care.