I don’t think these corporations deliberately aimed their content at any age group. Kids are not ready for alcohol or cars or pron. Did the corporations care? Probably not. Would they have at one time? Yes, back when legislatures were answerable to their constituents.
OTOH:
I recall times when parents oversaw what their children consumed. They didn’t need to buy them smartphones or laptops, and they could have enforced rulse on their use. Parenting isn’t for everyone.
Instagram used this data to more effectively keep teens hooked on the app. For example, they’d show a girl who just deleted a selfie out of embarrassment more photos of attractive women, which she would then likely scroll through, attempting to internally figure out how she could become attractive like them. Coincidentally, the perfect time for Instagram to then serve an ad for a new skin cream, weight loss program, etc.
Dude… kids are fucking cows to milk… in Europe we have special protections for them bundled in GDPR because they are sooooooo good targets with soooooo much potential.
To give you some food for thought ; Microsoft is pushing their products as soon as schools so that kids are hooked. And they are far from being the worse….
Facebook specifically was aware that teenage girls were especially harmed by their algorithms, so naturally, instead of reducing that harm, they leaned into it.
Wouldn’t doubt it if they did market to kids. TV networks did it for decades, every Saturday morning, with no FCC challenges.
PBS had services for children as well. Were Bert and Ernie or Mr. Rogers ‘addictive’? I have no idea what YT for children is like, but I wouldn’t have handed my kids over to them to babysit without checking them out … frequently. Corporations exist for one purpose. Will government stop them?
“addiction in children’s brains”
I don’t think these corporations deliberately aimed their content at any age group. Kids are not ready for alcohol or cars or pron. Did the corporations care? Probably not. Would they have at one time? Yes, back when legislatures were answerable to their constituents.
OTOH: I recall times when parents oversaw what their children consumed. They didn’t need to buy them smartphones or laptops, and they could have enforced rulse on their use. Parenting isn’t for everyone.
“I don’t think these predators deliberately prey on the vulnerable” is one braindead take
Instagram intentionally targeted ads at teenagers specifically when they were identified as feeling low self worth or depressed. https://techcrunch.com/2025/04/09/meta-whistleblower-sarah-wynn-williams-says-company-targeted-ads-at-teens-based-on-their-emotional-state/
Instagram used this data to more effectively keep teens hooked on the app. For example, they’d show a girl who just deleted a selfie out of embarrassment more photos of attractive women, which she would then likely scroll through, attempting to internally figure out how she could become attractive like them. Coincidentally, the perfect time for Instagram to then serve an ad for a new skin cream, weight loss program, etc.
Dude… kids are fucking cows to milk… in Europe we have special protections for them bundled in GDPR because they are sooooooo good targets with soooooo much potential. To give you some food for thought ; Microsoft is pushing their products as soon as schools so that kids are hooked. And they are far from being the worse….
YouTube explicitly has a service for children and I’m sure Facebook discovery would prove they explicitly market for children.
Facebook specifically was aware that teenage girls were especially harmed by their algorithms, so naturally, instead of reducing that harm, they leaned into it.
Wouldn’t doubt it if they did market to kids. TV networks did it for decades, every Saturday morning, with no FCC challenges.
PBS had services for children as well. Were Bert and Ernie or Mr. Rogers ‘addictive’? I have no idea what YT for children is like, but I wouldn’t have handed my kids over to them to babysit without checking them out … frequently. Corporations exist for one purpose. Will government stop them?
So YouTube Kids and Facebook Discovery are the only platforms in question then?