A group of psychologists is calling on the American Psychological Association to condemn the tech industry鈥檚 鈥渦nethical鈥� use of persuasive psychological techniques to keep children online.
Sixty psychologists signed a to Jessica Henderson Daniel, the president of the APA, on Wednesday in order 鈥渢o call attention to the unethical practice of psychologists using hidden manipulation techniques to hook children to social media and video games.鈥�
The practices, they write, drastically increase the amount of time that children spend online, which is 鈥減utting their emotional well-being and academic success at risk.鈥�
Their targets are members of their own profession, who are routinely hired by big technology firms to make products more attractive to their users through 鈥減ersuasive design,鈥� a field of research that takes advantage of what psychologists know about how people act in order to change their behaviour.
Megan Owenz, a psychologist at Penn State Berks and a co-author of the letter, told 麻豆影视 Channel that persuasive design can be used to enhance people鈥檚 lives and to effectuate positive change, such as helping someone to quit smoking or to lose weight.
But parents and children are largely unaware of persuasive design鈥檚 dark side and the way in which it 鈥渃apitalizes on children鈥檚 developmental vulnerabilities鈥� in order to hook them to sell digital products, she said. Neither parents nor children are ever offered an opportunity to provide informed consent to these tactics, she added.
For instance, the letter says that psychologists help technology firms design social media sites with the inherent need for social acceptance that is common among young girls in mind. Many video games, it says, feature a reward-based structure because psychologists are merely exploiting 鈥渢he inherent development drive in preteen and teen boys to gain competencies.鈥�
Facebook Messenger Kids, a spinoff of the company鈥檚 messenger app that is specifically designed for children as young as six, has badges, masks and activities because psychologists knew that those features would help make it 鈥渢he most interesting thing kids want to be doing,鈥� Owenz said.
An on technology and social media found that the constant use of digital devices is associated with higher stress levels, and that many parents are concerned about the possible negative health outcomes associated with their kids鈥� increased screen time.
The psychologists are calling on the APA to better educate parents, who often blame themselves when their attempts to get their kids to cut back on screen time fail.
鈥淭he reason is not because there鈥檚 something wrong with your kid or necessarily wrong with you as a parent,鈥� Owenz told 麻豆影视 Channel, 鈥渂ut rather because it was designed by psychologists not to be turned off.鈥�
