Brussels is going head-to-head with social media platforms to change addictive design.

BRUSSELS — Doom scrolling is doomed, if the EU gets its way.

The European Commission is for the first time tackling the addictiveness of social media in a fight against TikTok that may set new design standards for the world’s most popular apps.

  • jagermo@feddit.org
    5·
    16 hours ago

    Yes, it could be better. But its also parents who need to get their shit together. I know so many who park their kids in front of tablet, phone or pc - not for a breather or a short distraction, but as the standard way to entertain kids.

    Because they fear that the kids might be bored. But boredom is good, it gets creative juices flowing. However, you have to be hard and tell nagging kids no, and that is hard

    If kids have been inducted to immediately get a phone whenever they whine a bit, there is not much school can do.

    • LukeZaz@beehaw.orgEnglish
      4·
      15 hours ago

      That’s still a separate issue. Infinite scroll is scarcely ever used in a good way, and is almost always used to encourage addictive behavior; something which affects adults just as much as children. Even on the rare occasion that it isn’t being implemented as an engagement tool, it still often ends up being one anyway. It’s a dark pattern and little else.

      As far as I’m concerned, banning infinite scroll could easily be a very good thing, and I’m in favor.

      • TehPers@beehaw.orgEnglish
        2·
        2 hours ago

        Infinite scroll is scarcely ever used in a good way

        Just to clarify, we’re only talking about mainstream social media here, right? Those are the only platforms they’re considering here, and more specifically, only TikTok right now.

        “Infinite scroll” is also how you can scroll up in your chat log and see more messages. It’s how you can open logs for a VM online and see logs going further and further back. It’s how you can search for a video on YouTube and keep scrolling down (past the inevitable pile of shit) until you find it.

        On social media platforms, and in particular not in a chat interface, it can be toxic.