Ive been saying the same shit about commercial advertisements for a decade. Corporations have been waging psychological warfare on all of humanity for a long ass time. Advertising should be illegal
Ask educators at any grade level, they have a front-row seat to how much damage social media use in combination with inadequate parenting has caused. Anyone suggesting otherwise at this point has a vested interest in denying it. SM is fundamentally altering the development of children’s brains, particularly their attention spans, emotional regulation skills, and their self image.
Elementary school teachers used to pull out the TV to watch Reading Rainbow, and my generation was glued to it instantly. Elementary school students today can’t sit through the first half of any given movie, and are having classroom-destruction-and-assault level meltdowns if they’re not allowed to have their iPhones/iPads on demand.
Many of these kids are on IEPs for behavioral issues because they’ve been conditioned to expect dopamine hits all day, every day, and have learned that exploding gets them exactly what they want. Parents don’t want to punish their kids in any respect because they’ve equated setting any boundaries with abuse, and schools are afraid of these parents because they have similar meltdowns when advised that their child’s behavior needs to be addressed.
These kids are progressing through school failing the majority of their classes, then entering community colleges and getting angry/overwhelmed because they lack fundamental skills and can’t focus. It’s a goddamn mess, and why I maintain that giving toddlers tablets and unfettered access to TikTok/YouTube/etc is child abuse.
Yes they are. The addictiveness of social media was deliberately created by tech companies to keep people hooked and scrolling so the companies can earn more ad revenue. There’s a reason why these companies employ behavioural psychologists, and it’s not for the health and well being of their users.
This has already been widely researched and proven, and several books written on it. Off the top of my head, Dopamine Nation, 21 Lessons for the 21st Century, and Stolen Focus all cover this topic to different extents.
I fully expect social media platform owners to take the same approach the fossil fuel and tobacco companies have been taking.
If I could go back in time and change the life trajectory of one person, it would be Edward Bernays. The tactics he pioneered and perfected are responsible for why tobacco was able to continue pushing a product they knew was harmful and why climate change was a "debate" and still is in certain parts of the world.
It always makes me feel like I'm going insane when I realize that so many people cling to social media as if that is the entire internet, but then I have to remember that for adults born after 2004, they do not know an internet that isnt dominated by social media or a world where everyone doesnt own and use internet connected smartphones constantly. This really is the only version of the world they know. Just like anyone born after 2024 wont know a world where 60-80% of adult cognitive and creative ability is outsourced to an a.i. chatbot.
Years ago I took a course on gamification. You often see this in a simplistic fashion with likes, points, etc; like here on reddit. I've been trying to spend my reddit points, but nobody will take them.
But, this is only the surface. You want to create addiction loops, and other tiny dark patterns.
For example, with most modern algorithms, it would be fairly easily to put the pictures, videos, etc, that you are most likely to click right at the top, sorted in order of likeliness.
But, that would mean you would go, in, see stuff, and out.
You need to hunt, there needs to be an element of randomness.
This is all very carefully crafted. They want you to scroll scroll scroll for you to find things of interest. They have fantastically smart people, and very well crafted algorithms to get this down to an art. Hide things too well, and you will give up.
We are hunter gatherers. If you drive to a farm, and buy some nice fresh fantastic tasting strawberries, it might be an OK experience, but not very memorable.
But, if you go there, sweat in the sun, get dirty, and pick your berries, it is far more memorable. We are only a handful of generations removed from our ancestors who lived like this. This is what we evolved to do.
These truly terrible evil companies are taking full advantage of our 50,000 years of recent evolution with 2026 technology.
We always are saying how a primitive society will do when encountering an advanced one. Well, this is most of humanity, right now.
A tiny advanced tribe of tech barons and their henchmen are exploiting the crap out of the bulk of humanity.
I see people neglecting their kids while scrolling useless crap, playing candy crush type games, etc. And then when their kids are trying to get their attention, handing over the same crack devices to shut them up.
I just read an article that President Assad played these same highly addictive games instead of minding to his own country. (maybe a good thing in the end).
I see little difference between using these highly addictive algorithms, and the cigarette (or even worse) industry.
This is not hyperbolic. If you want to see gamification in its near purified form, look at those slot machines. The new ones use all these sorts of algos boiled down into a nearly crystalline form. There's a reason those things dominate Vegas, etc. They use algos which overlap those used in social media to an extreme extent.
I do find things which are educational and helpful here on reddit, and youtube, etc. But, the bulk of my feed is fat people falling, dash cam videos, and basically "Ow! My Balls"
They shouldn't legally be able to sell a food/drink with 111% daily sugar, calories, carbs, etc. That "7 servings" thing is bullshit and we all know it.
kalasea2001 | a day ago
Yes
keepitcivilized | a day ago
Yeah. Like if anybody poses this fucking question, they are funded by the same companies to plant doubt.
Busterlimes | 23 hours ago
Yes, but is water still wet?
AlteredEinst | a day ago
"Are these things designed to exploit human psychology addictive?
Next up: Are casino owners out to get your money?"
theunbearablebowler | a day ago
They... they couldn't, could they? Would they?
What will I do if I can no longer trust the Casino Owners? HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO LIVE MY LIFE!?
Busterlimes | 23 hours ago
Ive been saying the same shit about commercial advertisements for a decade. Corporations have been waging psychological warfare on all of humanity for a long ass time. Advertising should be illegal
Comfortable-Cozy-140 | a day ago
Ask educators at any grade level, they have a front-row seat to how much damage social media use in combination with inadequate parenting has caused. Anyone suggesting otherwise at this point has a vested interest in denying it. SM is fundamentally altering the development of children’s brains, particularly their attention spans, emotional regulation skills, and their self image.
Elementary school teachers used to pull out the TV to watch Reading Rainbow, and my generation was glued to it instantly. Elementary school students today can’t sit through the first half of any given movie, and are having classroom-destruction-and-assault level meltdowns if they’re not allowed to have their iPhones/iPads on demand.
Many of these kids are on IEPs for behavioral issues because they’ve been conditioned to expect dopamine hits all day, every day, and have learned that exploding gets them exactly what they want. Parents don’t want to punish their kids in any respect because they’ve equated setting any boundaries with abuse, and schools are afraid of these parents because they have similar meltdowns when advised that their child’s behavior needs to be addressed.
These kids are progressing through school failing the majority of their classes, then entering community colleges and getting angry/overwhelmed because they lack fundamental skills and can’t focus. It’s a goddamn mess, and why I maintain that giving toddlers tablets and unfettered access to TikTok/YouTube/etc is child abuse.
tsoneyson | a day ago
Is the thing specifically designed to be addictive by a roundtable of psychology PhD's addictive? Tf are we doing here
CPNZ | a day ago
If they are not they are working 110% to make themselves addictive.
Aquilonn_ | a day ago
Yes they are. The addictiveness of social media was deliberately created by tech companies to keep people hooked and scrolling so the companies can earn more ad revenue. There’s a reason why these companies employ behavioural psychologists, and it’s not for the health and well being of their users.
This has already been widely researched and proven, and several books written on it. Off the top of my head, Dopamine Nation, 21 Lessons for the 21st Century, and Stolen Focus all cover this topic to different extents.
Vanillas_Guy | a day ago
I fully expect social media platform owners to take the same approach the fossil fuel and tobacco companies have been taking.
If I could go back in time and change the life trajectory of one person, it would be Edward Bernays. The tactics he pioneered and perfected are responsible for why tobacco was able to continue pushing a product they knew was harmful and why climate change was a "debate" and still is in certain parts of the world.
It always makes me feel like I'm going insane when I realize that so many people cling to social media as if that is the entire internet, but then I have to remember that for adults born after 2004, they do not know an internet that isnt dominated by social media or a world where everyone doesnt own and use internet connected smartphones constantly. This really is the only version of the world they know. Just like anyone born after 2024 wont know a world where 60-80% of adult cognitive and creative ability is outsourced to an a.i. chatbot.
LessonStudio | 22 hours ago
Years ago I took a course on gamification. You often see this in a simplistic fashion with likes, points, etc; like here on reddit. I've been trying to spend my reddit points, but nobody will take them.
But, this is only the surface. You want to create addiction loops, and other tiny dark patterns.
For example, with most modern algorithms, it would be fairly easily to put the pictures, videos, etc, that you are most likely to click right at the top, sorted in order of likeliness.
But, that would mean you would go, in, see stuff, and out.
You need to hunt, there needs to be an element of randomness.
This is all very carefully crafted. They want you to scroll scroll scroll for you to find things of interest. They have fantastically smart people, and very well crafted algorithms to get this down to an art. Hide things too well, and you will give up.
We are hunter gatherers. If you drive to a farm, and buy some nice fresh fantastic tasting strawberries, it might be an OK experience, but not very memorable.
But, if you go there, sweat in the sun, get dirty, and pick your berries, it is far more memorable. We are only a handful of generations removed from our ancestors who lived like this. This is what we evolved to do.
These truly terrible evil companies are taking full advantage of our 50,000 years of recent evolution with 2026 technology.
We always are saying how a primitive society will do when encountering an advanced one. Well, this is most of humanity, right now.
A tiny advanced tribe of tech barons and their henchmen are exploiting the crap out of the bulk of humanity.
I see people neglecting their kids while scrolling useless crap, playing candy crush type games, etc. And then when their kids are trying to get their attention, handing over the same crack devices to shut them up.
I just read an article that President Assad played these same highly addictive games instead of minding to his own country. (maybe a good thing in the end).
I see little difference between using these highly addictive algorithms, and the cigarette (or even worse) industry.
This is not hyperbolic. If you want to see gamification in its near purified form, look at those slot machines. The new ones use all these sorts of algos boiled down into a nearly crystalline form. There's a reason those things dominate Vegas, etc. They use algos which overlap those used in social media to an extreme extent.
I do find things which are educational and helpful here on reddit, and youtube, etc. But, the bulk of my feed is fat people falling, dash cam videos, and basically "Ow! My Balls"
Disastrous-Soup-5413 | 8 hours ago
Yes.
Ill_Mousse_4240 | a day ago
Lawyers will law!
Why aren’t food companies sued for excessive sugar and salt, something known to be harmful and addictive
YaMommasLeftNut | a day ago
I unironicaly support this.
They shouldn't legally be able to sell a food/drink with 111% daily sugar, calories, carbs, etc. That "7 servings" thing is bullshit and we all know it.
Soosietyrell | a day ago
Yes, it’s super addictive. I am 61 years old and I have been hooked on it off and on since 2008.
TsukasaElkKite | a day ago
Yes
Optimal-Hunt-3269 | a day ago
Yes, and reform section 230.
Reagalan | 21 hours ago
Your friends are online, your media and entertainment is online, other humans are online, and you're being social with them. It's that simple.
It's just giving you something you seek.
No more addictive than television, movies, books, or games.