
If the internet is addictive, why don’t we regulate it? - jonbaer
https://aeon.co/essays/if-the-internet-is-addictive-why-don-t-we-regulate-it
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0xcde4c3db
In the US, I think there's a pretty strong First Amendment case against
regulating the actual "engagement" mechanisms as the author suggests. That's
assuming we could even come up with a sensible and effective set of
regulations in the first place.

It also seems weird to me that the author describes how advertising has shaped
this architecture, and then suggests that we tweak things at the browser and
website level, leaving the advertisers alone. Shouldn't there also be a
discussion about what ad networks are allowed to do in terms of the
collection, retention, security, (de)anonymization, and sale of user data? How
about punitive damages for networks that distribute ads with malware? Maybe if
we didn't let that sector run wild, it would have less influence over website
design.

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seltzered_
Haven’t read the entire article yet, but some interesting points on this topic
were brought up by evgeny morozov in this talk “come and forget”:
[https://www.cca.qc.ca/en/events/53642/come-and-forget-
with-e...](https://www.cca.qc.ca/en/events/53642/come-and-forget-with-evgeny-
morozov)

[https://youtu.be/f1yJ8eeI2js](https://youtu.be/f1yJ8eeI2js)

Skip about 28 minutes through for the internet parts. He largely encourages us
to open our minds beyond the good vs. evil thoughts on net neutrality and
cites earlier efforts of bringing computing in a more intentional way (e.g.
France’s minitel)

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phoe-krk
This title is very dangerous, since it implies that it's the Internet that
needs to be regulated and not the toxic enterprises that use it. It's like
regulating breathing in a classroom because some guy keeps on farting in it.

Internet by itself is not addictive; enterprises that abuse their users are.
They have to work like this, since their profit depends on how much attention
they can steal and therefore how many advertisements they can display and how
much data they can gather to further process and sell.

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JoeAltmaier
At some point, the addicts themselves have to be addressed. Sure, pushers are
contributing to the problem. But internet addiction was a thing before the
pushers found the internet. In fact, the first Internet Addiction diagnosis
was made at my local University Hospital about 20 years ago (I knew the
doctor).

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phoe-krk
They have a high chance of not being addicted to the Internet, but addicted in
general. The main question isn't what addicts are escaping _into_ but what
they are escaping _from_.

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kirRoyale
If the air is addictive, why don't we regulate it?

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thesmallestcat
We will win the War on Exercise.

