The tech industry's use of persuasive techniques on children

Re:The tech industry's use of persuasive techniques on children by rosser on Monday August 13, 2018 @03:18PM (#17752801)

Of course it's true that most forms of media and entertainment have been subject to, "Won't someone THINK OF THE CHILDREN?!" responses from busy-bodies, fear-mongers, and others.

That in no way mitigates the fact that this medium is categorically different. None of newspapers, comics, D&D, TV, or any of those other things had immediate, real-time feedback adapted specifically to the individual user, and designed to weaponize the amygdala and dopamine responses to maximize engagement, at the cost of basically everything else.

Interactive tech brings a sea change in this phenomenon and its effectiveness. You can't meaningfully dismiss that, because it's predicated on the paltry shadow of what happened with non-interactive media.

EDIT: Consider, for example, the cohort of children whose early development screen time correlates profoundly strongly with their inability to hold a pencil. That's new. TV didn't do that. D&D didn't do that. Screens did.

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Re:The tech industry's use of persuasive techniques on children by malvosenior on Tuesday August 14, 2018 @11:30AM (#17758820)

I beg to differ. I think you're definitely overestimating the importance of individualization. TV has been doing all of these things for half a century. People will literally watch it all day and definitely become addicted.

Advertising has been "weaponizing the amygdala" for a century. It's designed to instill insecurity and envy.

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