Ulrik Lyngs is a Danish-born interdisciplinary researcher (psychology, anthropology, computer science) whose work focuses on attention, digital self-control, and the “attention economy”.
He holds a DPhil in Computer Science from the University of Oxford and is (as of 2025) a Research Fellow at Oxford and external post-doc at the University of Copenhagen. He is co-founder (with Maureen Freed) of the Reduce Digital Distraction (ReDD) Workshop / Project. - He describes himself as “passionate about using insights from the behavioural neurosciences to design digital technology that is sensitive to human limitations and biases, particularly in relation to attention and self-regulation.” - He is also involved in open research practices, reproducible workflows, and has interests outside academia (music, backpacking, meditation).
# Education & Early Career - BA in the Study of Religion & Psychology, Aarhus University (2007-2011) - MA in the Study of Religion & Psychology, Aarhus University (2011-2016) - MSc in Cognitive & Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Oxford (2012-2013) - DPhil (PhD) in Computer Science, University of Oxford (2016-2021) under supervisor Sir Nigel Shadbolt, thesis: *Examining the effectiveness of design patterns for digital self-control*.
# Research Interests & Key Themes Lyngs’s work sits at the intersection of: - the **attention economy** (how digital platforms, apps, and device design capture human attention) - digital self-control tools and design patterns (apps, browser extensions, interfaces) intended to help people manage focus, distraction, device use. e.g., his paper *The Goldilocks Level of Support: Using user reviews, ratings, and installation numbers to investigate digital self-control tools*. - exploring psychological and cognitive models (dual systems theory, self-regulation) applied to digital behaviour. e.g., *Self-Control in Cyberspace: Applying Dual Systems Theory to a Review of Digital Self-Control Tools*. - interface design, sense of agency, the impact of features like autoplay or infinite scroll on attention. e.g., *How the Design of YouTube Influences User Sense of Agency*.
## Notable Contributions & Awards - His 2024 MPLS Early-Career Social Impact Award at Oxford for the ReDD Workshop. - Publication of high-impact HCI / human-computer interaction papers exploring digital distraction and self-control. - Development and deployment of hundreds of workshops (ReDD) helping students/staff regain focus and manage device use. (More under the ReDD Project page.) - A portfolio of open-source tools (Safari browser extensions, etc.) for supporting digital self-control.
# Why He Matters Lyngs is significant for bridging rigorous academic research (cognitive psychology, HCI) with practical intervention (workshops, tools) to address the real-world problem of digital distraction and attention capture.
His work offers evidence-based design insights into the attention economy, and how to reclaim user agency within it.
For example: in *The Goldilocks Level of Support* he shows that digital self-control tools combining multiple design patterns (blocking, tracking, goal reminders) tend to get higher user ratings and are more effective.
# Selected Publications - Lyngs, U., Lukoff, K., Slovák, P., van Kleek, M., & Shadbolt, N. (2022). *The Goldilocks Level of Support: Using user reviews, ratings, and installation numbers to investigate digital self-control tools*. Int. J. Human-Computer Studies 166. - Lukoff, K., Lyngs, U., Zade, H., Liao, V., Choi, J., Fan, K., Munson, S., Hiniker, A. (2021). *How the Design of YouTube Influences User Sense of Agency*. CHI ’21. - Lyngs, U., Binns, R., van Kleek, M., Shadbolt, N. (2019). *Self-Control in Cyberspace: Applying Dual Systems Theory to a Review of Digital Self-Control Tools*. CHI ’19.
# Sources
- CV & details: ulriklyngs.com 
- Projects page: ulriklyngs.com
- ReDD Project website (co-founded): redd-project.org
# See
- ReDD Project (Reduce Digital Distraction)