Infinite scrolls and other features are classified as dark patterns, meaning it is a feature that is designed to engage the user as much as possible. The common denominator of all dark patterns are that they benefit the service provider or business at the detriment of the consumer. It helps being able to define what infinite scrolling does, because once you can recognize what a dark pattern entails, it will be much easier to spot and accordingly adjust your behaviors. Moderating your own behaviors when dealing with dark patterns is key.
Mobile games are notorious for this; the market for mobile games are flooded with "Log in everyday to get your dailies!" Initially I was enthralled by mobile gaming as a middle schooler. I got to play Clash of Clans in my classroom and away from my home computer. I am now in sophomore year of college. The novelty of mobile games wear off as soon as you realize that mobile games back then and still today are designed to monopolize your time. I like to think that mobile game developers do it because they are passionate about it, but their passion gets bogged down at their first gamedev job because of company politics and the fact that dark patterns make money.
Come to think of it, I really resonate with this author because dark patterns are everywhere. It is as if every single service provider is trying to monopolize your time. It happens with YouTube, computer games (notably Path of Exile), Discord, TikTok, Twitter, Instagram and so much more. Dark patterns are definitively not conducive to a healthy populace. Thinking of my own time as a finite resource really helps. Is this dark pattern worth my time? It is ridiculously easy to sink 8 hours of your time watching reality TV on YouTube. I would even go as far as to say that they are designed to keep the working and lower class poor. If anyone wants to inquire further about that statement, please reply.
4chan's website has this feature. Whenever you post a long thread and fail a CAPTCHA, all you need to do is click on [Start a new Thread] and hit ctrl + z. I am positive that almost every internet forum website has this feature. You can even hit ctrl + z on Discord and it'll undo your typing in the message box.
Yes. Take it from the guy who helped design the very software that targets you. Christopher Wylie worked for Cambridge Analytica and I recall reading from his book that psychographics are definitely taken into account when targeting people with political advertisements; I am sure that this applies to ads for consumer goods. In an excerpt in the book, the author discusses how there are 5 psychographic "categories" that are taken into account when selecting which ads to show to people.
"militarism" — guns and shooting, martial arts, crossbows, and knives
"violent occultism" — drugs, black magic, paganism
"intellectual activities" — singing and making music, foreign travel, the environment
"credulousness" — the paranormal, flying saucers
"wholesome interests" — camping, gardening, hill-walking
Individuals are also rated on openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism.
The idea is that with the massive amounts of data one produces from surfing the Web or even merely being online, the software can decide which ads to show to which type of person. Do they engage in "violent occultism" and "credulousness" such as unironically browsing and discussing ideas in QAnon forums? Well, they're probably likely to engage with and respond to political advertisements, so the algorithm feeds them political advertisements on the assumption that they will engage. (This is a cloudy example, but the idea remains. Data that is remotely useful will be used. This is Big Data.)
I think what is interesting to note is that in their research/experiments, they've specifically targeted the Incel community specifically for this reason. Demographically speaking, Incels are typically young adult males "who can't get laid" (verbatim) and are highly susceptible to targeted advertising. If you want to read more about this, there is a book written about how Cambridge Analytica helped Donald Trump win the 2016 US elections by Christopher Wylie. I highly recommend it.
Mobile games are notorious for this; the market for mobile games are flooded with "Log in everyday to get your dailies!" Initially I was enthralled by mobile gaming as a middle schooler. I got to play Clash of Clans in my classroom and away from my home computer. I am now in sophomore year of college. The novelty of mobile games wear off as soon as you realize that mobile games back then and still today are designed to monopolize your time. I like to think that mobile game developers do it because they are passionate about it, but their passion gets bogged down at their first gamedev job because of company politics and the fact that dark patterns make money.
Come to think of it, I really resonate with this author because dark patterns are everywhere. It is as if every single service provider is trying to monopolize your time. It happens with YouTube, computer games (notably Path of Exile), Discord, TikTok, Twitter, Instagram and so much more. Dark patterns are definitively not conducive to a healthy populace. Thinking of my own time as a finite resource really helps. Is this dark pattern worth my time? It is ridiculously easy to sink 8 hours of your time watching reality TV on YouTube. I would even go as far as to say that they are designed to keep the working and lower class poor. If anyone wants to inquire further about that statement, please reply.