Oh, my dear, if it’s the same, why do internal messages at Instagram and other such companies describe it differently? They know that they can tweak the algorithm to manipulate people, and especially children, into overusing their system. You can argue with us, but it gets absurd if you’re trying to argue that they don’t know what their own data tells them.
TV can’t do that. You turn on the channel or you don’t, that’s it. There’s no real time individual manipulation. Of course TV execs wish they had that power, but they don’t, so they didn’t get sued.
Now, is it actually addiction? That’s an interesting question. Some experts say no.
NewNewAugustEast@lemmy.zip 2 weeks ago
Yes its the same. How is it any different? They don’t describe it any differently. This is literally what entertainment is: get people to watch what they are doing. Get them to come back and do it again. This has been going on forever.
I am not trying to argue that they can get people to observe their entertainment, I am arguing that a person is responsible for their own actions.
In 1920’s they did tests with audience for retention.
In the 50’s they did television workshops to mainpulate and retain audiences, including developing persona’s with actors that would encourage people to mimick them and retain their loyalty to brands and products. They established strong pyschological connections with shows and sponsers. Cliff hangers would bring the audience back week after week, and would be tested to discover what worked and what didnt.
Look up “reason why” advertising, that used every day problems presented in radio and tv to engage, hook, and hold the audience, while repetitively delivering advertising and solutions. One company alone was creating 100 scripts a week, the exact concept of endless, engaging content to hold their audience captive.
Don’t forget the quiz shows, that manipulated the game and deceived audiences, driving engagement.
Nothing is new, they just now have the delivery method in the persons hands. The same research is used today to tighten the algorithm and keep people interested.
So TV can do that. Also, nothing has changed about walking away from it: you can turn off Instagram or TikTok. Same thing.
Is it worth talking about? Yes. Should people be aware that this is happening? Yes. Should people probably limit their screen time and go do something else? Yes.
So how do we help people understand that part? The corporation is just doing exactly what they always have done.
Maybe parents shouldn’t put devices in their kids hands from a young age and let them just watch whatever they want. No way a corporation could pass up that opportunity to place ads and create desire. Just like they always have.
You know what the difference was? In the 70’s the corps fought back. They hid their internal documents, they sued the government if their was regulations. And they won. They never had to reveal their internal documents (paper was better for a reason) and they didn’t have whistleblowers.