[phyzix5761]

Its great to have these opinions and I agree with some of them. But to force these beliefs on others through laws is crossing a line you will regret at some point in your life. That's because it sets the precedent for others to force their beliefs on you in the future through governmental force. Including things you may morally disagree with.

[Timon3]

Others are already forcing their beliefs on everyone else. The current state of laws isn't natural or god-given, it was constructed by humans. Leaving things as they are is not a neutral stance.

[majewsky]

> But to force these beliefs on others through laws is crossing a line you will regret at some point in your life.

Where did they argue for a policy solution?

[phyzix5761]

Their original post said, "I truly hope something is done about this." My interpretation is that they mean some policy gets created as its in direct response to the article.

[hiire]

Yes, I truly hope they do something about addicting design patterns, since they can be dangerous and people don't understand what they're getting into when they download, say, Instagram, for the first time.

People should at the very least be warned about the dark patterns that lead to addiction, just like we warn people who smoke with those big labels in cigarette boxes, or how alcohol is regulated to prevent minors from drinking. Education is also given in these matters at schools and kids get to learn about their effects early on, which doesn't mean that they aren't going to smoke or drink, but at least they are aware of what those things do.

These patterns of unlimited scrollable mindless short videos that give us large hits of dopamine constantly should be researched, talked about and regulated as we can already see the effects they're having on people who are addicted to them. Hell, you can't even open TikTok without watching a video, for example. If a friend sent you a message with their username and you're planning on following them, the second you open the app there's a hook waiting for you.

So, while I do partially agree on the fact that governments usually don't do a good job at regulating online stuff, I still think that this sort of thing should be regulated somehow. By giving kids proper education about the topic, warning parents about the dangers of early life exposure, and forcing these companies to change the way these patterns work to make the user aware of what they're doing at all times (schedules, forced time/video limits, another format that doesn't involve unlimited content a swipe away...). There are so many different approaches, some are simply informative, others are more extreme. We'll see how this is handled