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Casey Newton
Casey Newton
@caseynewton@mastodon.social  ·  activity timestamp 13 hours ago

The walls are closing in on infinite-scroll feeds and other addictive design mechanics. I wrote about how lawyers and regulators may have finally found a way around Section 230 https://www.platformer.news/social-media-addiction-trial-eu-tiktok-investigation/

But they are arriving at the fight in a weaker position than usual. In a polarized world, their failures around child safety are increasingly the one thing that partisans of every stripe can agree on. Regulators are no longer impressed by the bare minimum. (They have teenagers of their own now, and all the screen-time battles that come with them.)

I don’t know which trial or regulatory action will be the one that finally forces major changes to social platforms for teenagers. But it seems increasingly clear that change is in fact coming. And for the first time, some subset of users will find that the feed they are scrolling through suddenly comes to an end.
But they are arriving at the fight in a weaker position than usual. In a polarized world, their failures around child safety are increasingly the one thing that partisans of every stripe can agree on. Regulators are no longer impressed by the bare minimum. (They have teenagers of their own now, and all the screen-time battles that come with them.) I don’t know which trial or regulatory action will be the one that finally forces major changes to social platforms for teenagers. But it seems increasingly clear that change is in fact coming. And for the first time, some subset of users will find that the feed they are scrolling through suddenly comes to an end.
But they are arriving at the fight in a weaker position than usual. In a polarized world, their failures around child safety are increasingly the one thing that partisans of every stripe can agree on. Regulators are no longer impressed by the bare minimum. (They have teenagers of their own now, and all the screen-time battles that come with them.) I don’t know which trial or regulatory action will be the one that finally forces major changes to social platforms for teenagers. But it seems increasingly clear that change is in fact coming. And for the first time, some subset of users will find that the feed they are scrolling through suddenly comes to an end.
Platformer

Why the infinite-scroll childhood may be coming to an end

A lawsuit that begins in LA this week, along with a new investigation into TikTok by the European Commission, could change social apps forever. PLUS: AI ads at the Super Bowl and in ChatGPT
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Jeff Atwood
Jeff Atwood
@codinghorror@infosec.exchange replied  ·  activity timestamp 13 hours ago

@caseynewton it's not the infinite scroll feed that's the problem, it's the "if it bleeds, it leads" mentality. Who would object to an infinite scroll feed of amazing cat and dog pictures? Why can't we treat the disease instead of the symptoms? Learninate me on this one, Casey Newton!

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Jeff Atwood
Jeff Atwood
@codinghorror@infosec.exchange replied  ·  activity timestamp 13 hours ago

@caseynewton also of note: our 3 kids (16, 13, 13) have actively rejected most digital "social" stuff. They love YouTube (and I don't mean the weirdo parts) and vastly prefer in-person or really positive team multiplayer games (roblox, minecraft, etc). Maybe it's the not the children who are wrong, but us?

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TAL
TAL
@tal@mastodon.social replied  ·  activity timestamp 4 hours ago

@codinghorror just a friendly heads-up Jeff... mine were like that, at those ages too... It's not necessarily guaranteed that things will stay that way

- a regretful dad who wished he hadn't felt quite so superior to the addiction engineers

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ValorZard
ValorZard
@valorzard@mastodon.gamedev.place replied  ·  activity timestamp 12 hours ago

@codinghorror @caseynewton I’ve noticed this with my own friends
Most people I know I feel like use discord way more than proper social media

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