This report examines the persuasive design features and strategies common to many popular digital products and services used by children. It considers the impact of persuasive design on children’s social, mental and physical development, and how the digital world can be redesigned to ensure children’s rights are recognised, respected and upheld. The most commonly used persuasive design strategies are those deployed in service to the ‘attention economy’ - a system where revenue is generated by monetisting engagement. The costs to children, who in the report call for fairer treatment, are palpable. They include personal anxiety, social aggression, denuded relationships, sleep deprivation and negative impacts on education, health and wellbeing. At the same time, the modus operandi of the tech sector – excessive data surveillance made possible by persuasive design - raises ethical, moral and legal questions. Since this report’s initial publication in 2018, lawmakers and regulators around the world have begun to address the risks created by the design of digital platforms popular among children and young people.
This report examines the persuasive design features and strategies common to many popular digital products and services used by children. It considers the impact of persuasive design on children’s social, mental and physical development, and how the digital world can be redesigned to ensure children’s rights are recognised, respected and upheld. The most commonly used persuasive design strategies are those deployed in service to the ‘attention economy’ - a system where revenue is generated by monetisting engagement. The costs to children, who in the report call for fairer treatment, are palpable. They include personal anxiety, social aggression, denuded relationships, sleep deprivation and negative impacts on education, health and wellbeing. At the same time, the modus operandi of the tech sector – excessive data surveillance made possible by persuasive design - raises ethical, moral and legal questions. Since this report’s initial publication in 2018, lawmakers and regulators around the world have begun to address the risks created by the design of digital platforms popular among children and young people.
- addictive design digital well-being