Even before the pandemic, nearly three quarters of parents) were concerned about the use made of their children from their mobile phones and the harmful effects of these devices on them and their family relationships. But if kids can’t let go of these devices, it’s not really their fault or that of their parents. Whenever a parent tries to persuade their child to quit an online game or put away their device, it’s not so much the parent they’re up against, but the invisible army of behavioral specialists that make new technologies so addictive.
App and game creators rely on the knowledge of experts in persuasive designa field of study in psychology whose objective is to understand how to create technologies that are almost impossible to do without.
But caution is required when addressing children, as the psychologist Richard Freed and I explain it in our analysis ethical questions raised by persuasive design targeting children and adolescents.
persuasive design
To put it simply, we can say that, to alter our behavior, persuasive design combines behavioral psychology and technology). It is possible to summarize the principles at three key mechanisms which, combined, can cause someone to change their behavior: create a strong motivation, require little effort and frequently encourage the user to practice the activity concerned.
These principles can be used for productive and useful purposes, such as encouraging people to walk more or eat more fruits and vegetables. However, persuasive design is commonly employed with the aim of making them spend more time on an app or game. This exposes them to more advertisements and makes them more likely to make in-game purchases, which provides additional revenue for the app creator.
While prone to breaking the rules, teens are also heavily influenced by the digital behaviors of their parents.
Adults are also influenced by persuasive design. That’s why they spend hours watching series in streaming, browsing the news feed from their social networks et playing video games).
But because of the plasticity of their brains, children are particularly vulnerable persuasive design strategies. Children’s extreme excitement when they receive stickers or gifts – real or virtual – is because the ventral striatum, the pleasure center in the brain, is more responsive to dopamine), the satisfaction molecule, in children than in adults.
This excitement causes children to repeat their behavior to experience that satisfaction again, over and over again. In a 2019 survey on the time spent by adolescents on screens, three types of intensive users have emerged, all influenced by persuasive design: social media usersthe video game enthusiasts and those who watch streaming content.
Social signals of acceptance
Social networks like Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and Snapchat are designed to maximize the results of persuasive design. By offering “like” buttons and heart-shaped emoticons, these sites enable the reception of social signals of acceptance and approval, which greatly motivates teenagers. Scrolling through the pages of these sites requires minimal effort. Finally, applications regularly seek the attention of users by bombarding them with notifications and invitations.
Snapchat, for example, encourages its users to send “snaps” at least once every 24 hours to remains a Snapstreak mode (” Things are getting hot “). By fear miss reactions or updates from their friends, teens connect from more and more frequently) to social networks.
When it comes to video games, Fortnite lets players know they’re about to beat an opponent. This activates a cognitive phenomenon called « near miss ») (“near miss”), which encourages them to continue the game, because they were so close to victory that they have a chance of winning the next time. This is just one example of how persuasive design has evolved from the system of gambling for adults to the digital video games targeting children and teens.
Ethical issues
As a psychology researcher, I worry that psychologists help technology designers) to apply psychological principles that encourage children and adolescents to spend more time on an application, a game or a website.
At the same time, other psychologists are researching the dangers associated with these activities, including anxietythe depressionthe attention disorders et obesity. Still others have opened therapy centers to treat video game addiction and other mental disorders associated with excessive and problematic use of new technologies, such as anxiety and depression.
From my point of view, the principles of a field of research should not both generate a problem and work to solve it. The American Psychological Association, the largest professional association of psychologists in the United States, has a code of ethics which prohibits its members from harming or accepting any work that is harmful to the well-being of people, and reminds them to be particularly vigilant in their interactions with young people, who have not yet reached their full maturity .
I therefore believe that psychologists have an obligation to protect children from the influence of persuasive technology. Researchers who collaborate with social media and game developers may think they are just helping these companies create dynamic and engaging products. But they veil their face as to the many psychological risks involved in the use of such products.
Parents and their children are right to worry about how games, videos and social media are manipulating young minds. Psychologists could make the effort to explain to them how their brain develops, and how persuasive design exploits this process. It would help families stop arguing about screen time and realize that the biggest threat doesn’t come from electronic devices themselves, but from the companies that design those devices and apps to make us dependent.
Translated from English by Iris Le Guinio for Fast ForWord