Though I have to admit, when Lex Luther said he could turn a sand pile into an atomic pile, I decided to become a super-villain.
1. There is an erosion of physical limitations on how much time you can spend on an activity on an "item". A comic book has fixed no. of pages, once you have finished, you need to get another physical comic book. It doesn't automagically keep adding pages as you keep turning.
2. Deliberate algorithm driven strategies to increase "engagement": the content of the comic book is fixed - you either like it or you don't. It doesn't change the content on the fly based on which turn of events you prefer. Offline video games had more "engagement" but it still was limited by the inbuilt branching of possibilities (which still could be a lot depending on the cleverness of the algorithm/engine - that is why people spent hundreds and thousands of hours on them even without them being MMPROGs). With the current set, the entire thing is driven to reel you in right from the get-go and keep you hooked as long as possible. That surely can't be a good thing for your health.
Comic books can be collected and read all over again. They don't magically disappear once read. Same with books: I've recently started my annual re-read of LOTR, that book has cost me hundreds of hours of my lifetime. Someone should be able to sue the Tolkien estate.
> That surely can't be a good thing for your health.
But isn't that the same line of argument we've seen with earlier "youth degradation scares"? Video games make you violent? Comic books make you unlearn reading? Rock music is satanic and turns your brain to mush? Reading leads to flight from reality?
When I was young, I always read my comic books again and again, mainly because I had a small collection - to the point I almost memorized them. But what you are re-re-re-consuming is still finite and it is upto your mind to discover new things and add the spice of imagination to keep it interesting.
> But isn't that the same line of argument we've seen with earlier "youth degradation scares"? Video games make you violent? Comic books make you unlearn reading? Rock music is satanic and turns your brain to mush? Reading leads to flight from reality?
A comic book presents a relatively static and limited window with tantalizing possibilities - that leaves a lot of legroom for your mind to wander and imagine things and be fascinated with them instead of immediately moving on to the next item on the infinite scroll. Regarding video games/rock music, I don't subscribe to the notions you mentioned. The main issue isn't what is that you are consuming (to be clear, that does matter) but are you consuming in moderation or is your brain overeating without digesting?
These statements were never proven empirically, while social media's addictive design and impact is at this point undeniably documented. That is the difference.
On further research, metastudies [1] tend to find out that there are tons of studies linking violent games to violent behaviour: "On the basis of this metaanalysis, we conclude that playing violent video games is associated with greater levels of overt physical aggression over time, after accounting for prior aggression."
Preventative measures never work. Mitigative measures should be how you enforce lessons. But everytime it's all about banning content, because sweeping it under the rug means kids won't try to dig, right?
Don't just say "GTA is bad don't play it". Explain what is bad about it (in very specific details), and why they should instead play something else until they get older. Don't treat it as if watching one act of violence or one sex scene will scar the kid for life. If they are old enough to go behind your back, they are probably old enough to be talked to about these topics. At least enough for them to understand why you disapprove.
> at least provide accurate information about age appropriateness with nuanced content warnings.
You say tomato, I say tomato?
Back in the drama around facebooks' internal studies a few months ago, AFAICT it was all hot air and very sad quality studies, I couldn't believe the hype.
Are there other better studies showing harm that haven't been publicized as much?
That language is important when determining how to sue a company.
If these things are so addictive, are there withdrawal symptoms? When I'm off the intertoobs for a few days (travelling) I suffer no withdrawal symptoms and don't miss it.
There is still a defined end state that encourage a break from consumption. How often do you finish a book and then immeadiately start reading from page 1 again.
Wasn't allowed to stay inside and read comic books, either.
At the time I was sure I was being abused, but in retrospect he had the right idea.
TV has always been optimized for engagement and programs are carefully scheduled to keep you watching.
Edit to add: The dad forcing his kid outside no longer stops them from staring at the screen all day.
Suing a company because one is too lazy to say "no" to the kids is deplorable.
They had to do it the old-fashion way and put explosions and women with cleavage on the cover instead.
demographic studies and market analysis wasn't invented in the 80's. Neither was clickbait nor color theory or other general psychology. There very much were psychologists to figure out what stories resonate with an audience, and economists optimizing the price per issue with the right cut-off point to engage you to buy the next one. Data scientists didn't exist the way they do now, but did the same thing; surveying a bunch of kids and figuring out what they liked and making content based on it.
None of this is new. advertisement is an art with centuries of refinement.
We are basically training ourselves with systems like these to press the lever again and again.
Even HN with the random element of 'will my submission/comment receive votes' works like a skinner box. And we don't even have notifications here.
Not sure if it is a good idea to train young people into these dopamine "shots". I remember how friends of mine spent all their pocket money on these collectible card games. Looking back these were my first encounter with the loot box principle.
The difference between those things and social media is that none of them were "always on, always available" corporate behemoths hiring legions of addiction experts and legions of marketing experts crafting powerful social networks and legions of lobbyists to stifle legislation.