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⬅️ Previous capture (2023-01-29)
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While being on a train a few days ago, I saw a mother and her daughter, around 5-6 years old. Obviously, the daughter was holding a phone. Only a few minutes later to hear from it very loudly "clicks", and I kid you not she was playing a "kids game" with slots to win whatever you'd win in a kids game. Worse, her mother did not do anything about it. This isn't an isolated case, at least where I live.
It's horrible to think that even before reaching the age where you can freely choose and have a conscience we're subject to such addictions from birth. With the rise of smartphones and kids entertainment products, we've unleashed a whole another beast. For example, a popular kids entertainment producer was accused of making their musical videos very high-paced, it even had more changing angles than action movies! This is mesmerizing for kids, moms reported that their kids behaved like addicts or just became erratic and had ADHD-like symptoms.
Mobile games are another predatory category in which the youth is exploited by the game makers for profit. Usually it's easier to get kids to buy things than getting adults, so they insert made-up needs and the kid goes on to beg the parent to get X product. Mobile games are the most addictive category out of all video games, notable examples being Flappy Bird, Candy Crush, FarmVille etc. Although kids' games are supposed to be safer, they're not, game developers perfecting the same predatory game design by using A/B testing.
Parents should be more careful with their kids and their Internet usage overall, the environment we live in is constantly trying to grapple for their attention and to make them addicts before they even reach maturity. Parents should be the examples, although this is often not the case as they're also addicted to their mobile phones, and what can the child learn from that other than him applying the same pattern of thinking, retreating into the digital utopia.