The central idea of the passage is that

when attention is the product, apps are designed to hold us rather than help us finish (The passage argues that selling attention to advertisers shapes design toward holding users, not serving them.)

Why does the passage say a feature that helps people 'leave satisfied' might be discarded?

Success is measured by time spent, so features that reduce time spread less (Because success is measured by time spent, changes that make people linger spread, while ones that help people leave are discarded.)

As used in the passage, 'accumulate' most nearly means

build up into a larger whole (Tiny choices 'accumulate into systems,' meaning they build up into something larger.)

The Price of Your Attention: Level 4 Reading Comprehension Questions

Q: Which design features does the passage name as engineered to keep you scrolling?

Endless feeds, autoplaying videos, and timed notifications (The passage names them directly: "Endless feeds, autoplaying videos, and notifications timed to pull you back are not accidents." They follow naturally from measuring success by time spent.)

Many of the apps and sites people use every day cost nothing to open. This generosity has a hidden logic. The companies behind them do not sell a product to you; they sell you, or rather your attention, to advertisers. The longer you stay and the more often you return, the more there is to sell.

This arrangement quietly reshapes the design of the things we use. A tool built mainly to be useful would help you finish a task and leave. A tool built to capture attention does the opposite: it is engineered to keep you scrolling. Endless feeds, autoplaying videos, and notifications timed to pull you back are not accidents. They are the natural result of measuring success by time spent rather than tasks completed.

None of this requires bad intentions. Designers are simply responding to what they are rewarded for. If a small change makes people linger a few seconds longer, it spreads, while a change that helps people leave satisfied may be quietly discarded. Over millions of users, those tiny choices accumulate into systems that are very good at holding us and not always good for us. Understanding the incentive does not switch it off, but it does let you watch the machinery work and decide, more deliberately, how much of yourself to feed it.

Comprehension questions