4 ms·

There's something really sinister about watching a toddler utterly engrossed in someone unwrapping Kinder eggs, for hours. In the 90's, the internet involved mo

There's something really sinister about watching a toddler utterly engrossed in someone unwrapping Kinder eggs, for hours. In the 90's, the internet involved more than just slapping your palm against a screen and not blinking for the rest of the afternoon, and TV was in limited supply. Today, you never have to take a break if someone isn't there to teach you how, or even that you should.

benologist 9y ago
In the 90s we watched crap literally engineered to sell toys. http://www.retrodomination.com/master-of-your-universe-the-story-of-he-man/ http://www.retrodomination.com/master-of-your-universe-the-s...
- senko 9y ago
  In the 10s as well: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0418279/ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0418279/
- koolba 9y ago
  The difference I see is the addictiveness of on-demand. It's a constant drip of endorphins not unlike chain smoking or a morphine line. When we were children we had to wait till weekends to watch those special weekend shows. We had to wake up early to watch all of them. Hell we even had to pee or make a snack in the 3 minutes of commercials lest we miss the next segment! Nowadays you see kids watching all that crap all the time. Morning, noon, and night. Parents justify it as "educational content" or they just want some quiet time. But you have children literally sitting on the shitter for an hour watching an iPhone. I'm not expert on raising kids and I'm not saying my generation was perfect (far from it!), but that can't be good.
jansho 9y ago
That's why when I read literature on how to hook users more, I always get very cynical by the usual footnote on ethics. Please don't pretend, the principle of addiction itself is an extremely grey area and for more vulnerable audiences such as children, it's plain unethical.