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And some people are legitimately addicted and unable to stop despite their sincere desire. In many cases, companies engineer products and services to be as addi
by danhak 10y ago
And some people are legitimately addicted and unable to stop despite their sincere desire. In many cases, companies engineer products and services to be as addictive as possible. The techniques used by casinos, for instance, are well known.
This is not an argument for regulation, prohibition or anything like that. Merely a rebuttal to the falsehood that nobody is being "exploited" by such companies and that "value" is being created. In many cases value is being destroyed.
- koolba 10y agoAt the end of the day society has to decide, are we going to let people make there own decisions or are we going to decide for them? It might very from topic to topic (ex: tobacco vs. unhealthy foods), but it's one definitive answer per topic.
- danhak 10y agoRight, but as I stated above that debate is out of scope. I'm just disputing the notion that fostering addiction amounts to "creating value."
- goldenkey 10y agoAddiction can be to anything. Its all dopaminergic pathways. Maybe half the idiots arent smoking anymore, instead they are taking selfies. What you are really asking is whether many companies have built themselves into perverse incentive structures with use of dark patterns on their consumers. Absolutely.
- bko 10y agoI imagine those people with dependency issues that are using social networks to such an extent that it impacts their lives have deeper problems rather than just Facebook. Facebook probably benefits from heavy users, but every industry does (80/20 rule). I could be wrong, but I just don't believe that it can create those users through engineering their products. Although I do admit the service likely attracts those with addictive personalities. Honestly, there are a lot worse things one can be hooked to.