A good benchmark would be your tendency to make purchases based on emotions, and also your tendency to make impulse purchases.
I volunteered in several marketing positions for educational non-profit organizations and university clubs, and read books about marketing and advertising to try to improve at my job.
A great deal of advertising tactics rely on emotional appeal first (e.g. identifying a human need or fear–like the want to belong, the want to find a good romantic relationship, the want to save time or money, the want to look smart–then selling a product or service as a solution. Another common tactic is to reduce friction to make a purchase, to make impulse purchasing easier (e.g. one-click purchases, very visible purchase buttons). A third is to use other high-pressure or manipulative tactics (e.g. a countdown timer to get a discount, or offering free gifts or books to make a purchase).
You're likely to reduce the effectiveness of these advertising tactics on you by being aware of them (though there's a high chance they still have an effect). Besides knowledge from reading about advertising, good habits to reduce ad effectiveness include: delaying purchases, especially large ones, by writing them on a list and seeing if you still want them after a month; avoiding regular, small purchases of ~$20 because they add up; and holding yourself to a personal budget, where impulse spending comes at the cost of other life goals (e.g. setting up an emergency fund, saving to afford a vacation with a loved one, or pursuing educational training).
>The only thing I haven't found a solution for is billboards and radios and TVs playing in places that I have no control over.
This might sound silly, but I deliberately train my eyes to avoid looking at advertisements on posters whenever I take public transit (not completely successful, but it does reduce exposure).
For radio advertisements, that's what the 'over-priced in ear headphones' are for (admittedly a luxury and not a necessity as I could achieve the same effect with earplugs or cheap, noise-isolating earphones, but I enjoy the high-quality music).
TVs are the most difficult because they easily catch attention due to the moving picture. I also try to avoid looking at them like billboards when I go to the gym (plenty of TVs) and turn off the display whenever using the treadmill, but it's a conscious decision I make before walking in.
Also, for what it's worth, I don't think the value of iPhones are overstated by advertising. I purchased my first one after reading a book by an academic about the lack of privacy in technology. It was a suitable option for a phone that's relatively private while working with relatively easy setup (versus most Linux phones). So, iPhone usage may reduce the effectiveness of targeted ads by collecting less data to use for advertisers.
If you install and adblocking app on the iPad, your son can see fewer ads (e.g. AdGuard, AdBlock) on these games. Alternatively, you could set up Pi-hole on a Raspberry Pi to block ads across the network.
This isn't something you need to explain to people here. It's like responding to someone's comment about unpleasant weather by suggesting that they could wear different clothes.
The ease of access of today's distractions leads me to disagree.
It's so easy to take out your phone to check a social media app, or open a tab on your laptop to a social media website like Reddit, versus turning on a radio or getting up to turn on the TV.
A comic book doesn't fit in your front pocket, but a phone does; there's just so much less friction for distraction today.
And still, very few people read social media till they sleep deprived themselves. Very few people end up yelling at everyone around when something does not work out in game. Both of these are fairly common for gamers, but computer games are always defended here.
So yeah, it is pure moral panic, except about something average HN commenter does not think he do.
Tiktok is the most accessed web resource in 2022, with only a small number of people using it. Worst of all, it is the teenagers that lose their lives there. A grandma playing candy crush - sad but not a societal problem. Teenagers that miss out on school, or young moms that don't anymore look at their kids, or young workers that can't focus - enormous societal problem.
Computer games have had a counter-backlash for the past few decades against moral panics such as they cause violence. But with the advent of loot boxes and the like, the new angle of addiction and games might turn that tide. The old inapplicable moral panic has come and gone, and one based on more easily-quantifiable reality will give way to a more broadly acceptable moral panic.
As for your point on social media, the past year’s spate of articles on revenge sleep procrastination would seem to refute that suggestion.
The drawbacks of accessible computing (e.g. shortened attention span, low-quality media consumption) are vastly outweighed by its potential to allow people social mobility and learn new skills they wouldn't have otherwise.
If I were born in an era before computers and the internet, it's unlikely I would have experienced the best works of classical music and hip hop; explored poetry and the great classical books; and taught myself professional skills and improved academically with access to textbooks and online lecture courses.
I suppose it's possible I could have looked for real-life pockets of communities where these are celebrated, went to a physical library, and asked for help at a community college. But more likely, I would've just copied what my family and peers were doing when I was younger and missed out on so much growth, because of a lack of connection to people passionate about these things that the internet provided.
I volunteered in several marketing positions for educational non-profit organizations and university clubs, and read books about marketing and advertising to try to improve at my job.
A great deal of advertising tactics rely on emotional appeal first (e.g. identifying a human need or fear–like the want to belong, the want to find a good romantic relationship, the want to save time or money, the want to look smart–then selling a product or service as a solution. Another common tactic is to reduce friction to make a purchase, to make impulse purchasing easier (e.g. one-click purchases, very visible purchase buttons). A third is to use other high-pressure or manipulative tactics (e.g. a countdown timer to get a discount, or offering free gifts or books to make a purchase).
You're likely to reduce the effectiveness of these advertising tactics on you by being aware of them (though there's a high chance they still have an effect). Besides knowledge from reading about advertising, good habits to reduce ad effectiveness include: delaying purchases, especially large ones, by writing them on a list and seeing if you still want them after a month; avoiding regular, small purchases of ~$20 because they add up; and holding yourself to a personal budget, where impulse spending comes at the cost of other life goals (e.g. setting up an emergency fund, saving to afford a vacation with a loved one, or pursuing educational training).