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The Tech Industry's War On Kids (curry.com)
Long-time Slashdot reader RoccamOccam summarizes an article now circulating on the web sites of several schools:
Child and adolescent psychologist Richard Freed writes, "...parents have no idea that lurking behind their kids' screens and phones are a multitude of psychologists, neuroscientists, and social science experts who use their knowledge of psychological vulnerabilities to devise products that capture kids' attention for the sake of industry profit. What these parents and most of the world have yet to grasp is that psychology—a discipline that we associate with healing—is now being used as a weapon against children."
Stanford psychology researcher B.J. Fogg, has developed the "Fogg Behavior Model", which he claims is a well-tested method to change behavior and, in its simplified form, involves three primary factors: motivation, ability, and triggers. Describing how his formula is effective at getting people to use a social network, the psychologist says in an academic paper that a key motivator is users' desire for "social acceptance," although he says an even more powerful motivator is the desire "to avoid being socially rejected."
Ramsay Brown, the founder of Dopamine Labs, says in a KQED Science article, "We have now developed a rigorous technology of the human mind, and that is both exciting and terrifying. We have the ability to twiddle some knobs in a machine learning dashboard we build, and around the world hundreds of thousands of people are going to quietly change their behavior in ways that, unbeknownst to them, feel second-nature but are really by design."
Stanford psychology researcher B.J. Fogg, has developed the "Fogg Behavior Model", which he claims is a well-tested method to change behavior and, in its simplified form, involves three primary factors: motivation, ability, and triggers. Describing how his formula is effective at getting people to use a social network, the psychologist says in an academic paper that a key motivator is users' desire for "social acceptance," although he says an even more powerful motivator is the desire "to avoid being socially rejected."
Ramsay Brown, the founder of Dopamine Labs, says in a KQED Science article, "We have now developed a rigorous technology of the human mind, and that is both exciting and terrifying. We have the ability to twiddle some knobs in a machine learning dashboard we build, and around the world hundreds of thousands of people are going to quietly change their behavior in ways that, unbeknownst to them, feel second-nature but are really by design."
As long as they don't come to your house and shoot you then "War" is a misnomer. More like persuasion.
Learn to make your own decisions, based on your own solid research and genuine needs and wants, rather than based on what some shiny! glowy! display tells you. And better learn it fast, before you become a broke string puppet.
This is related to learning not to fall for spanish prisoner scams a.k.a. advance fee fraud. IOW, facebook et al. are the next-gen nigerian royalty.
Sadly weâ(TM)ve been engineering how people think and act as long as religion and human society has existed. Hopefully this will be used to improve peopleâ(TM)s lives and not make them better sources of unquestioning obedience and monetary donations.
Why would we think this is only happening to kids? The adults are the ones with the money...
a big part of the establishment realizes that the white males are being radicalized by white populist politics on the internet...the alt-right memes and forums etc..this scares the establishment...so there is concerted campaign to scare parents about how the internet can hurt kids...so that the parents keep white kids away from the internet long enough for the establishment to flood america with enough third worlders so that the white vote is meaningless...it's all about propping up the ponzi economy with immigration so that the corporations can keep making money.
eat shiat and bark at the moon
I haven't seen that domain since Adam Curry was a VJ on MTV!
moral panic
Won't somebody think of the children!!
You think it has more impact? On Slashdot?
By the way, calling something a "war on..." is usually in the same league as adding "-gate" to something: A weak attempt to make something sound interesting and scandalous that nobody would otherwise give 2 fucks about.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
Fortnite attracts kids like flies with the cartoonish look, competetive gameplay and humoristic side parts (dancing, skins,etc.)
But in reality those kids are used as a direct way to get into their parents pockets. This is the real way to success in 2018 imho. Get the kids addicted and make the parents pay for their addiction.
Most capitalists are sick ****s who'd sell your children to pedophiles if it meant they could make a 'legal' taxable profit out of it.
You mean compared to pedophiles who make a legal non-taxable profit? Pretty much every religious and quasi-religious group (be they Nazis or SJWs) makes indoctrination of children from the earliest possible age one of their top priorities.
The creatures outside looked from Alt-Right to Antifa; but already it was impossible to say which was which.
I stopped reading after that.
Islamic Extremist Kids. Fixed that for you.
Corporations putting profit before moral isn't news - Big Tobacco still earns billions every year by turning children into addicts.
But it is somewhat new that people of the same profession now warn the public about their colleagues being only after your money... as if we didn't know that already.
The novel "If this goes on" by Heinlein (you can only get it as part of the "Revolt in 2100" collection book) explores the consequences of psychological manipulation of this sort being implemented throughout society for political and economic propaganda. Read the book and you will be convinced that anybody engaging in such behavior must be treated as an enemy.
... a multitude of psychologists, neuroscientists, and social science experts ...
Well one of those is a scientist. The other two are frauds.
He was more right than even he realized. I wish, now more than ever, that he still had access to a hardware store and a post office.
Thankfully, those sorts of motivators aren't very effective on nerds. Social rejection rarely motivates a nerd to change his personal hygine habits, for example.
No, it's not bad to make software people like to use, it's bad to use it for evil. What's the real motivation behind people that don't like easy to software; is it jealousy?
Communists did nothing wrong.
Clearly you're not a responsible parent if you allow your kids to use social media, and you should lead by example by not using it yourself either. In fact take away their smartphones and give them cheap dumbphones that are only good for voice and text messages while you're at it, their grades will likely go up.
Televangelists have used this stuff forever, making loads of cash.
All the trans shit coming out aimed at kids is absolute insanity - I recognize that some poor souls grow up very confused, I'm aghast that anyone is encouraging it. If I've got to choose between religion and "gender confirmation therapy" then I'd rather my kids be crusading for Jesus and/or Muhammad than mutilating (and then killing) themselves.
And that's all sick too but the article in question was talking about corporations making monetary gains off children. And don't get me started on pedophiles, you ever been to prison. Do you have any idea how much protection child molesters receive from the state? Their own individual cells, their own private showers. And if a prisoner even has the gall touch one that prisoner will be Ad Segd 6 months minimum.
Like I said this is the society we've created for ourselves.
Science finally learns what conmen, priests, pastors, and charlatans, have known for millennia!!! Woot! Woot! Go Science.
Man, I hate it when the gubrrment puts a stop to my lynch mobs :(
This is what happens when someone thinks of the children.
This is not the "Tech Industry"'s war on kids, it's the Marketing Industry's, the propagandists, the people shapers. It's not even new, Vance Packard was warning about this in the 1950s, and he wasn't the only one. The marketers they've had over 60 years since then to refine their techniques.
The tech - smartphones, internet, whatever - is just a new tool that they've adopted and twisted to their purposes. Unfortunately, it's a very effective tool for them - made even more effective by decades of habituating people to ubiquitous propaganda.
Marketing is one of the greatest evils ever to be invented. A crime against humanity - and should be prosecuted and sentenced as such.
The lame quality of this post, and the lame quality of responses to it, remind me how far Slashdot has slid down the slippery slope.
The 'Tech Industry' is made of human beings ... many of whom are nothing to write home about. This is not a revelation, nor something anyone can do anything about, short of running a million volts through them.
"You must try to forget all you have learned. You must begin to dream." -- Sherwood Anderson
I figure we ban tobacco and / or alcohol for anyone who is considered a minor due to their addictive qualities.
May as well throw smartphones / social media into that mix as well.
Would certainly solve the industry trying to appeal to kiddos through their smartphones problem.
Children and tweens don't earn a place in the world; they're given money, food and shelter where pushing a button on a computer is separate from reality (See: War games, 1983). Adults are slightly more aware of what they're losing but this can be excused by god, duty, or a war on ...
If the production of content based on analysis of consumer behavior can be cast as "war", then nothing can mean anything.
your thin skin doesn't make me a troll
I'm more worried about the education system's war on independent thought.
Film at 11.
In the case of Lynch mobs, when it comes to pedophiles you're absolutely right I support them.
ngger is banned for numerous reasons.
The ad industry has ALWAYS used psychological tricks to attract kids to their products. Nothing new here. . .
Come on, buddy... a little CSS would go a LOOOONG way.
"parents have no idea that lurking behind their kids' screens and phones are a multitude of psychologists, neuroscientists, and social science experts who use their knowledge of psychological vulnerabilities to devise products that capture kids' attention for the sake of industry profit."
We all know this is happening, but there's very little you can do about it.
And before you jump on your high horse, I went to school with kids who had parents that tried to protect them from TV, McDonalds, Coke etc (the parenting horrors of the 70's) and those kids had no friends. So the options are lose/lose. Be socially isolated, or be manipulated by big business. The latter is less bad in my opinion as a parent.
I'm guessing the click bait title was to show that social engineering also works on children who are over 18? Lets face it, what controls that average child controls the average adult.
Don't worry, this is working as intended. You see, "critical thinkers" AKA Adults AKA "people who make responsible informed decisions" are lousy consumers. We do not want those around. We want emotional responders who scream "ME WANT!" and hand over their credit card. Remember "a fool and his money are soon parted" is not a saying it is a business plan... you just need to make sure you have as many fools as possible.
We want the emotional mob who can be controlled with bread and circuses.
That said, lets cut some more education budgets so we can give more tax breaks to the wealthy.
We have the ability to twiddle some knobs in a machine learning dashboard we build, and around the world hundreds of thousands of people are going to quietly change their behavior in ways that, unbeknownst to them, feel second-nature but are really by design."
Vernor Vinge predicted this in 2006 in Rainbows End. Turns out he was optimistic: he predicted it for 2025. He called it the YGBM, an acronym for Ya Gotta Believe Me. He characterized it correctly: as a weapon.
Hugo and Locus Award winner for 2007. Good book.