I’m beating a dead horse here but if you don’t want your kids “addicted” to algorithms, stop focusing on technology and stat focusing on *their relationship to predatory design*.
Bias, propaganda, manipulation, influence, misleading or duplicitous design has ALWAYS existed. From the benign cliffhanger endings to the insidious gambling mechanics found in carnival games and casinos for hundreds of years, this isn’t new.
That does not excuse the way that modern technology companies in particular have been allowed to take advantage of these tools and our own psychological susceptibilities. But if we focus on the medium through which these things are being delivered, instead of the way these insidious designs actually work, we are treating a symptom and not an actual underlying problem.
This is not to give technology a pass, or pretend that certain parts of life aren’t more susceptible to this than others. But the last thing that a kid is going to connect with is feeling lectured at about why their phone is evil. But if they are used to us talking about predatory design in advertising, propaganda, commercials, food processing, AND technology, they’ll know that the conversation is focused on the underlying problem and not the delivery mechanism.
This can start simply and when kids are young, by talking about why cereal higher in sugar has cartoon mascots and is on a lower aisle, for example. If a YouTuber is talking about their wonderful vacation, ask your kiddo “why do you think they like this vacation so much? Why would they keep naming the exact name of this hotel over and over?”
Building in this inquisitive nature is key to helping them build critical thinking and literacy skills, and that will help them on a screen and off.
