For Family Discussions:
Break the Hold of Persuasive Design
We recommend the article by Dr. Marc Burton in Medium (https://medium.com/@mbertin/hang-up-on-hate-click-here-to-recover-your-happiness-and-save-the-world-37c62ce9773a) about breaking away from the hold persuasive design has on us all and particularly our kids. Read it together as a family and then discuss the suggested strategies to fight the powerful and intentional attractions of the platforms we use and how to be aware of what is happening to us.
Social media platforms are designed with specific mechanisms to maximize user engagement and retention. This pervasive design is crucial for the platforms’ business models, which typically rely on advertising revenue. The more time users spend on the platform, the more opportunities there are to show them ads. Here are some key elements of how this design works:
- Infinite Scroll and Autoplay Features: Platforms often use infinite scroll and autoplay features to keep users engaged for longer periods. With infinite scrolling, there’s no natural stopping point, leading users to spend more time browsing. Autoplay, especially for videos, ensures that the next piece of content starts immediately after the current one ends, reducing the likelihood of users leaving the platform.
- Personalized Content Feeds: Algorithms curate personalized feeds based on user behavior, preferences, and interactions. These algorithms analyze what you like, share, and spend time on, and then show more of such content to keep you engaged. This can create a filter bubble where users are primarily exposed to content that aligns with their existing beliefs and interests. An echo chamber is constructed.
- Push Notifications: Notifications are used to draw users back to the platform. These can be alerts about new content, reactions to posts, messages from friends, or reminders about events. They exploit the human psychological need for social interaction and validation.
- Likes, Comments, and Shares: The ability to like, comment on, and share content creates a social feedback loop. Receiving likes and comments can trigger the release of dopamine, a neurotransmitter associated with pleasure, reinforcing the behavior and encouraging more frequent platform use.
Conversation Tips for Parents to Defuse
the Draw of Persuasive Design
From Jean Rogers at the Children’s Screen Time Action Network: screentimenetwork.org
Setting clear expectations, particularly with screen time, isn’t a complete solution to countering persuasive design, but it certainly helps in averting some potential disputes. Informing children beforehand, either earlier in the day or the previous night, about their screen time allowance for the day – focusing on the positive aspect, such as “you’ll get an hour of screen time after completing your homework and chores,” rather than framing it negatively – positions screen time as a reward. In some households, discussions even extend to planning the entire week, identifying days when activities like sports, hobbies, and family engagements mean less screen time, and others where there might be an opportunity for a bit more screen indulgence. My approach is always to converse with children as equals, trusting that they are capable of understanding our rationale, even if they might initially disagree.
Ohio Families Denied Ability to Control Access for their Kids
NetChoice, a leading tech industry group, has gone to court over implementation of Ohio’s Social Media Parental Control Act set to become effective this month. As it has across the country, NetChoice has sued Ohio, and a temporary injunction has been granted. The law requires social media platforms to get the written approval of parents for their children, 16 and younger, to access the sites. Unite for Safe Social Media is sorely disappointed, failing to understand why parents cannot be parents in the face of unfiltered content that has led to a mental health crisis among 12-18 year girls.
Inspiring Families to Join Forces for Healthy Social Media Use
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