How to Turn Kids Into Debt Slaves: Toymakers Busted for Data Mining Children - Polidicks

[url]http://www.activistpost.com/2016/09/turn-kids-debt-slaves-toymakers-busted-data-mining-children.html[/url] [QUOTE]There’s no better way to prepare kids for the future than through play. The lessons we learn during playtime as youngsters will stick with us through life. How else could we learn the rules of society and how we should appropriately work within those rules?[/QUOTE] Not if a good source but interesting none the less.

What's actually bad about recording the way people use their online services? Sure you can argue that it should be in the sign-up TOS to be totally upfront, but beyond that, what warrants this dramatic outcry? From my viewpoint it's like being mad at Amazon for recommending you products similar to ones you've frequently viewed in your browser. Is the cause of concern specifically that they're, in some cases, selling the collected data for [I]other[/I] companies to use?

I knew Mattel has been sort of hurting of a couple of years now. Doesn't really surprise me.

[QUOTE=bitches;51067481]What's actually bad about recording the way people use their online services? Sure you can argue that it should be in the sign-up TOS to be totally upfront, but beyond that, what warrants this dramatic outcry? From my viewpoint it's like being mad at Amazon for recommending you products similar to ones you've frequently viewed in your browser. Is the cause of concern specifically that they're, in some cases, selling the collected data for [I]other[/I] companies to use?[/QUOTE] I mean besides the fact these are kids.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with data mining user interaction, every single company is doing it, and they're doing it pretty much exclusively for the betterment of the user experience. Companies realized ~3-5 years ago that the best way to get money was to have happy customers- instead of forcing a product to customers, they're creating precision crafted products for existing niches. Through this method, the companies don't need to spend a lot on advertising, and get INCREDIBLE amounts of sales, while the consumers stay happy. Part of the product customization is to improve the actual experience itself as well- if Nickelodeon realizes that children are repeatedly getting shit on on a certain level, then quitting, they're gonna change that level. Data mining is simply observing how users interact. Mined data is used to improve those interactions. Data doesn't even have any identifying information, it's simply trends among millions/billions of users. [editline]18th September 2016[/editline] A data entry (for a video game) is going to look like [code] (user flow from page to page, before game) User Identifier: 0b8076d7875ab7fbe3ff0d445f1972bb Approx. Geo Cords (for region identifiers): (x,y,z); Average score: 4.51; Average rolling score: 6.12; Play time: 10.2; Total play time: 212.3; (misc data including favorite character, items on account owned, etc) [/code] This data is then fed into an enormous algorithm to determine how their game-play experience should go. It's in no way invasive.

The main issue is that COPPA doesn't allow it. There's already a grey line on data mining against data from people due to a fear of being tracked and mistrust on what information is being obtained, how it's going to be used, who will have access to it, is it personally identifiable (explicitly or implicitly), etc. Attach that fear to the data being collected from children and that's going to be a loud "absolutely not". Most of the time, nobody has to worry about it since there's so much of this data that those doing research aren't going to care as well as the information would be difficult to personally identify anybody, but a lot of people don't understand what's going on behind the scenes.

The idea is that the decisions you make during your childhood shouldn't have a huge impact on your adulthood. If you get into some fights when you're in elementary or middle school you shouldn't be immediately flagged as a potential criminal by big data when you turn 18. On the topic of toys and marketing toward kids, this has been ongoing for decades in the fast food industry, which is how they establish life long customers. A trip to McDonalds was a family night out when you were a kid, and when you become an adult it either becomes a family tradition or gives you warm memories. The problem is that marketing towards kids and using big data on them for when they become an adult doesn't build the best habits. With fast food it enforces poor eating habits, but with respect to toys I can't speak much on what issues could arise because its relatively new. While this isn't a super valid argument I think its creepy that a company would keep track of my childhood interests without my consent.

[QUOTE=Swilly;51067526]I mean besides the fact these are kids.[/QUOTE] That's not an argument. I'm asking you what kind of data is being collected and then for reasons why that specific kind of data is bad, not for soccermom zingers. [editline]17th September 2016[/editline] [QUOTE=RIPBILLYMAYS;51067658]The problem is that marketing towards kids and using big data on them for when they become an adult doesn't build the best habits. With fast food it enforces poor eating habits, but with respect to toys I can't speak much on what issues could arise because its relatively new. While this isn't a super valid argument I think its creepy that a company would keep track of my childhood interests without my consent.[/QUOTE] "Big data"? You need to explain what [I]kind[/I] of data for it to actually become a concern to anyone who isn't just reacting to a scary headline.

[QUOTE=bitches;51067481]What's actually bad about recording the way people use their online services? Sure you can argue that it should be in the sign-up TOS to be totally upfront, but beyond that, what warrants this dramatic outcry? From my viewpoint it's like being mad at Amazon for recommending you products similar to ones you've frequently viewed in your browser. Is the cause of concern specifically that they're, in some cases, selling the collected data for [I]other[/I] companies to use?[/QUOTE] We're fed up with it, basically, also some people...myself included...don't want those suggestions. We don't want to be told what to buy, even as a suggestion.

[QUOTE=bitches;51067802]That's not an argument. I'm asking you what kind of data is being collected and then for reasons why that specific kind of data is bad, not for soccermom zingers. [editline]17th September 2016[/editline] "Big data"? You need to explain what [I]kind[/I] of data for it to actually become a concern to anyone who isn't just reacting to a scary headline.[/QUOTE] Well first of all people like to keep their privacy. On a secondary note, targeted marketing can be problematic. There was a case where a teen girl was sent ads from Target for baby products and new moms. The mother was outraged and complained to target, but as it turns out, the girl was actually pregnant. [url]http://www.businessinsider.com/the-incredible-story-of-how-target-exposed-a-teen-girls-pregnancy-2012-2[/url] For one thing that's creepy, but you need to be [I]asked[/I] if you want to share this sort of data with marketers. Companies like targeted advertising because it does make people spend more, but a lot of people do not want to be targeted because they would prefer to keep their privacy and do their own research on products before they are told to buy stuff. With the case of kids, they are prime targets for marketers because habits (including spending habits) formed in childhood carry over into adulthood. Incentivizing kids to share data with companies takes power away from parents and can lead to cases like the one above.

[QUOTE=bitches;51067802]That's not an argument. I'm asking you what kind of data is being collected and then for reasons why that specific kind of data is bad, not for soccermom zingers. [/QUOTE] Because I think it sets a dangerous precedent. We already live with an internet of echo chambers were ideologies dangerously magnify in the presence of nothing else. Facebook prunes stories you dislike, so you grow used to a world that doesn't conflict with your world view, and thus never become challenged to grow. You shun social communities which you disagree with, and thus are never forced to engage in legitimate discourse with anyone other than those you agree with. You never learn how - or if you knew, you eventually forget. By allowing these companies access from childhood we risk allowing our children to be profiled to the extent that their entire worlds are catered to them before they even access it, whether this profiling is correct or not. Over the last several years the internet has become less of a thing which intuitively and arbitrarily can be explored and more of something which caters what will be displayed to what it thinks you will be interested in. This is both an intentional and inadvertent development, but it's existence is undeniable. It was developed through positive-feedback loops and focus group studies, and quiet, unquestioning assent on our part. Amazon knows what you tend to buy at the stores around where you live and personalizes it's suggestions based on those details. Target (I believe) outed a teenaged girl as pregnant through directed advertising before she or her parents knew. When me and you Google the exact same phrase in quotes, we see different things. More and more we live in a world of uncomfortable coexistence with digital ghosts which have massive and unknowable influence over what we are allowed to see through what was once supposed to be an objective window into the rest of the world. This influence has become so great that it impacts your life because what you learn and see really [I]does[/I] inform who you are.

[QUOTE=TestECull;51067934]We're fed up with it, basically, also some people...myself included...don't want those suggestions. We don't want to be told what to buy, even as a suggestion.[/QUOTE] Why do you have a problem with a company improving their product based on how its used? This is edge extreme.

[QUOTE=Map in a box;51068157]Why do you have a problem with a company improving their product based on how its used? This is edge extreme.[/QUOTE] Consumer rights? Once you buy the product you aren't obligated to help the company improve or sell their product or tailor their ads unless its formally disclosed or you volunteer for it. The issue in the article was that the kids were being tracked without consent.

[QUOTE=RIPBILLYMAYS;51068295]Consumer rights? Once you buy the product you aren't obligated to help the company improve or sell their product or tailor their ads unless its formally disclosed or you volunteer for it. The issue in the article was that the kids were being tracked without consent.[/QUOTE] Think about the possibility of an employee at one of these companies tracking these children. One who may have a thing for kids. Yeahh creepy.

[QUOTE=bitches;51067802]That's not an argument. I'm asking you what kind of data is being collected and then for reasons why that specific kind of data is bad, not for soccermom zingers. [/QUOTE] Oh I'm sorry, I didn't realize I'd have to paint a pretty picture of the fact since the advent of the god damn internet, discussion has gotten more and more into a fucking echo chamber and that's mainly due to three factors, human nature which is then magnified by the vast internent and ability to hide away in a single corner with no challenging opinions which is then magnified by corporate dickheads who need to know every little thing I look not because it helps user experience, but because what generates me the most [B]fucking money.[/B] I wouldn't want this kind of tracking for god damn adults but for children its even worse because they're lead to incredibly controlled, manipulative areas such as websites by major corporations whether its food, cartoons and or toys with little games that hang a biscuit infront of them. Now add on them trying to use that biscuit to lead to do things like, I dunno, [I]buy thousands in stupid addons on iOS and Android games designed to pull money from kids.[/I]

[QUOTE=Guriosity;51068301]Think about the possibility of an employee at one of these companies tracking these children. One who may have a thing for kids. Yeahh creepy.[/QUOTE] You're a fucking idiot. What are they going to do? "oh yeah, unit 5f17def7c4112344bc5b8f0a525404e4, who is between the age of 8-12, I bet you just LOVE playing miss muffin, don't you you slut. No wonder your average score is only 12. I'm gonna go hang out around the 10 square km approximation of your location until I find you".

[QUOTE=Map in a box;51068157]Why do you have a problem with a company improving their product based on how its used? This is edge extreme.[/QUOTE] This isn't about improving user end experience. Stop throwing this red fucking herring out into the world. You can easily do this via surveys and not discrete clicks that can be broken into and used for nefarious purposes.

[QUOTE=Swilly;51068328]Oh I'm sorry, I didn't realize I'd have to paint a pretty picture of the fact since the advent of the god damn internet, discussion has gotten more and more into a fucking echo chamber and that's mainly due to three factors, human nature which is then magnified by the vast internent and ability to hide away in a single corner with no challenging opinions which is then magnified by corporate dickheads who need to know every little thing I look not because it helps user experience, but because what generates me the most [B]fucking money.[/B] I wouldn't want this kind of tracking for god damn adults but for children its even worse because they're lead to incredibly controlled, manipulative areas such as websites by major corporations whether its food, cartoons and or toys with little games that hang a biscuit infront of them. Now add on them trying to use that biscuit to lead to do things like, I dunno, [I]buy thousands in stupid addons on iOS and Android games designed to pull money from kids.[/I][/QUOTE] You didn't answer the question at all. [editline]18th September 2016[/editline] [QUOTE=Swilly;51068332]This isn't about improving user end experience. Stop throwing this red fucking herring out into the world. You can easily do this via surveys and not discrete clicks that can be broken into and used for nefarious purposes.[/QUOTE] It's increasingly obvious you don't understand marketing at all. [editline]18th September 2016[/editline] Or big data

[QUOTE=Radical_ed;51068333]You didn't answer the question at all.[/QUOTE] Yes I did answer the question. This isn't good because its not being used to improve user experience. Its being used to sell more shit to kids by using highly manipulative bullshit that lies to them on a regular basis. [editline]18th September 2016[/editline] [QUOTE=Radical_ed;51068333] It's increasingly obvious you don't understand marketing at all. [editline]18th September 2016[/editline] Or big data[/QUOTE] Then explain yourself instead of giving half assed single responses.

[QUOTE=Swilly;51068338]Yes I did answer the question. This isn't good because its not being used to improve user experience. Its being used to sell more shit to kids by using highly manipulative bullshit that lies to them on a regular basis. [editline]18th September 2016[/editline] Then explain yourself instead of giving half assed single responses.[/QUOTE] [QUOTE=Radical_ed;51067544]There is absolutely nothing wrong with data mining user interaction, every single company is doing it, and they're doing it pretty much exclusively for the betterment of the user experience. Companies realized ~3-5 years ago that the best way to get money was to have happy customers- instead of forcing a product to customers, they're creating precision crafted products for existing niches. Through this method, the companies don't need to spend a lot on advertising, and get INCREDIBLE amounts of sales, while the consumers stay happy. Part of the product customization is to improve the actual experience itself as well- if Nickelodeon realizes that children are repeatedly getting shit on on a certain level, then quitting, they're gonna change that level. Data mining is simply observing how users interact. Mined data is used to improve those interactions. Data doesn't even have any identifying information, it's simply trends among millions/billions of users. [editline]18th September 2016[/editline] A data entry (for a video game) is going to look like [code] (user flow from page to page, before game) User Identifier: 0b8076d7875ab7fbe3ff0d445f1972bb Approx. Geo Cords (for region identifiers): (x,y,z); Average score: 4.51; Average rolling score: 6.12; Play time: 10.2; Total play time: 212.3; (misc data including favorite character, items on account owned, etc) [/code] This data is then fed into an enormous algorithm to determine how their game-play experience should go. It's in no way invasive.[/QUOTE] read the thread.

[QUOTE=FreakyMe;51068018]Because I think it sets a dangerous precedent. We already live with an internet of echo chambers were ideologies dangerously magnify in the presence of nothing else. Facebook prunes stories you dislike, so you grow used to a world that doesn't conflict with your world view, and thus never become challenged to grow. You shun social communities which you disagree with, and thus are never forced to engage in legitimate discourse with anyone other than those you agree with. You never learn how - or if you knew, you eventually forget. By allowing these companies access from childhood we risk allowing our children to be profiled to the extent that their entire worlds are catered to them before they even access it, whether this profiling is correct or not. Over the last several years the internet has become less of a thing which intuitively and arbitrarily can be explored and more of something which caters what will be displayed to what it thinks you will be interested in. This is both an intentional and inadvertent development, but it's existence is undeniable. It was developed through positive-feedback loops and focus group studies, and quiet, unquestioning assent on our part. Amazon knows what you tend to buy at the stores around where you live and personalizes it's suggestions based on those details. Target (I believe) outed a teenaged girl as pregnant through directed advertising before she or her parents knew. When me and you Google the exact same phrase in quotes, we see different things. More and more we live in a world of uncomfortable coexistence with digital ghosts which have massive and unknowable influence over what we are allowed to see through what was once supposed to be an objective window into the rest of the world. This influence has become so great that it impacts your life because what you learn and see really [I]does[/I] inform who you are.[/QUOTE] Fantastic post. I'd never really thought about this as a problem, but I know exactly what can happen when you're surrounded only by assenting opinions and cease to be challenged. As I recall, you and I both belonged to a group once in which that sort of thing ran rampant. We could see what it made of the people who were in too deep - grown men and women - disconnected from reality to such a degree that they could no longer function in society at large. Hell, that's a big part of the reason I ultimately washed my hands of that subculture. It's natural in a harsh world to want to find a safe space, surround yourself with people who don't judge your quirks too harshly, who agree with your point of view, who comfort you when you're upset. But eventually you begin to lose the big picture completely. You forget that to survive, one must adapt and overcome, and be prepared to face adversity. You forget that there are other points of view than your own, with individuals who have at least as much - if not more - life experience backing their conclusions up. You lose your tolerance for pain, fear and uncertainty. In short, to be socialized in a world with only views that are agreeable to you is to be made weak and pitiful. And this says nothing of the many questions that arise with regards to how people are being manipulated by targeted media.

With all the data mining these days, there is identifying information. Mined data is resold and transferred between so many major companies that it is entirely possible for companies to find out personal information. Maybe not what you call personal, but to people like me, it is. Let's take amazon for example. If I start buying different pantry items from them, they start a profile on me and suggest other things for me to buy. At the same time, they don't know if there are other things they can suggest to me, which is where some browser fingerprinting comes in. You do realize they record IPs right? Well in the vast amounts of information transferred/bought/passed around, there are automated processes in the background sorting through to see if your IP/browser fingerprint has popped up with a profile from other companies. This helps them build a stronger idea of what to suggest to buy. There have been cases where people have had such a profile on them, that the local stores around them that they had "bonus/reward/loyalty" cards with, that information such as recent purchases, what you buy the most/least, is passed on to other companies profiling. Why do people such as myself have to be considered paranoid or overdramatic to simply not want to be tracked? Why do we have to check an option in a browser, that is often outdated and not even followed by sites anymore, to not be tracked? When you shop on a website, by default, there should not be any sort of profile built of you. It comes down to the fact of these companies are tracking you as a user, and trying to get you to give them more money, and that's outright bullshit.

I don't understand what targeted ads have to do with echo chambers, stunted social development and safe spaces. To me all it translated into is seeing a lot of video game ads, are you saying that seeing an ad for Rainbow six is gonna make me close minded and not want to buy other games that aren't tactical shooters? Are the ads corrupting my morals and turning me into a corporate drone?

[QUOTE=ColdAsRice;51068466]I don't understand what targeted ads have to do with echo chambers, stunted social development and safe spaces. To me all it translated into is seeing a lot of video game ads, are you saying that seeing an ad for Rainbow six is gonna make me close minded and not want to buy other games that aren't tactical shooters? Are the ads corrupting my morals and turning me into a corporate drone?[/QUOTE] How old are you? How old are the kids being targeted for advertising? I rest my case.

[QUOTE=ColdAsRice;51068466]I don't understand what targeted ads have to do with echo chambers, stunted social development and safe spaces. To me all it translated into is seeing a lot of video game ads, are you saying that seeing an ad for Rainbow six is gonna make me close minded and not want to buy other games that aren't tactical shooters? Are the ads corrupting my morals and turning me into a corporate drone?[/QUOTE] Let's get hypothetical: You have a child which has a mild version of the personality trait which makes them susceptible to developing gambling and micro-transaction (impulse-related) purchase problems in the future. Without significant exploitation and stimulation, this would become background noise to their personality. The device correctly identifies this, suggesting games which are manufactured to provide that element as the sole element of game-play, because it knows it will be more profitable later on. It introduces a kiddie-version of micro-transactions, in which accumulated points are exchanged for 'combos' and 'specials.' This conditions their young and developing minds to accept that one must either [I]a)[/I] grind for a long period of time or [I]b)[/I] pay up to have fun, and that the latter is a lot more satisfying. Whether or not they are working with real money is immaterial. It's conditioning them to the notion that a game itself doesn't have to be particularly fun innately - it just has to provide a large and immediate reward sensation and an option to get it through an exchange of goods. This conditions them towards addictive behavior with time-based incentives and random bonuses awarded during play time, competing with everything in their life with the one personality weakness it has found to be most vulnerable. Fast forward. Your child is 15, and has no idea why the now classic games you enjoy don't have the option to pay to beat them, or provide infinite grinding potential in the meantime. The idea of a story-based or episodic game is completely alien, as all they have been exposed to is a positive-feedback loop set up to stimulate the one instance of effort/reward exchange that the company (or its software) has determined to be the most exploitable. You can't explain to them that spending money for combo moves is alien to you, because they cannot imagine anything else because the devices you trusted to help you educate and raise them were instead monitoring them for vulnerabilities that companies identified and exploited to use against them their entire lives.

[QUOTE=FreakyMe;51068493]Your child has a mild version of the personality trait which makes them susceptible to develop gambling and micro-transaction (impulse-related) purchase problems in the future. The device correctly identifies this, suggesting games which are manufactured to provide that element as the sole element of game-play. It introduces a kiddie-version of micro-transactions, in which accumulated points are exchanged for 'combos' and 'specials.' This conditions their young and developing minds to accept that one must either [I]a)[/I] grind for a long period of time or [I]b)[/I] pay up to have fun, and that the latter is a lot more satisfying. Whether or not they are working with real money is immaterial. It's conditioning them to the notion that a game itself doesn't have to be particularly fun innately - it just has to provide a large and immediate reward sensation and an option to get it. This conditions them towards addictive behavior with time-based incentives and random bonuses awarded during play time, competing with everything in their life with the one personality weakness it has found to be most vulnerable. Fast forward. Your child is 15, and has no idea why the now classic games you enjoy don't have the option to pay to beat them, or provide infinite grinding potential in the meantime. The idea of a story-based or episodic game is completely alien, as all they have been exposed to is a positive-feedback loop set up to stimulate the one instance of effort/reward exchange that the company (or its software) has determined to be the most exploitable. You can't explain to them that spending money for combo moves is alien to you, because they cannot imagine anything else because the devices you trusted to help you educate and raise them were instead monitoring them for vulnerabilities that companies will identify to use against them their entire lives.[/QUOTE] Again, good post. I can't seem to say anything today without sounding like an asshole.

The kind of information typically gathered by websites is how things are used so they know what to focus their efforts on. Of course targeting advertisings' goal is to increase profits, but if its something said person enjoys why stop them? A few people having gambling issues is no reason to inhibit promoting content I enjoy to me.

I'll throw my 5 cents out there, but I'm not a "mega corporation" or "big data", but I do own a website, and I can tell you what they're [I]probably[/I] doing with that "big data". Almost [I]every[/I] website you go on tracks you. Literally every one that runs a form of analytics software (the most common being Google Analytics). I use it on my website, and as a matter of fact, [URL="https://files.catbox.moe/v4catq.png"]even facepunch does[/URL]! Do you know what kind of data Google Analytics gives us? [URL="https://files.catbox.moe/s69ds2.png"]Behavior flow of our users[/URL], [URL="https://files.catbox.moe/ynlzq7.png"]Exit, Entry, and Average time spent on page data[/URL]. I can also see [URL="https://files.catbox.moe/ejjfla.png"]how people come to my site[/URL], [URL="https://files.catbox.moe/53lqge.png"]what you searched and made you click on my website[/URL], from [URL="https://files.catbox.moe/8h546u.png"]what website you clicked a link to[/URL] my website from (even Tor urls!). It also gives me the information on my demographics, like Age, sex, "interests", country, your language, OS, browser, if you're on mobile, it will tell me what the device name is that you're using (i.e. Samsung SM-N920V Galaxy Note 5). I can even break it down into individual [I]clients[/I], via [URL="https://files.catbox.moe/0mjmd2.png"]anonymous client IDs[/URL]. Radical_ed is pretty much spot on though. There's literally nothing [B]nefarious[/B] going on here. The ads you're being shown are algorithm generated, despite your tinfoil hat fantasies. There's no building of people deciding what advertisement to show you next. It's a computer making guesses based on your habits. Get over it. If you don't want to be tracked, [URL="https://www.google.com/settings/u/0/ads/"]disable ad personalization[/URL], [URL="https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/ublock-origin/cjpalhdlnbpafiamejdnhcphjbkeiagm?utm_source=chrome-ntp-icon"]install uBlock Origin[/URL], and grow up. Welcome to the Internet. I didn't even get into web server stats, [URL="https://files.catbox.moe/6ch5js.png"]which can tell a lot more[/URL], and will tell me stuff even if you have Adblock/uBlock. Also, as far as "identifying you when you grow up", yeah no. There's no "unique global internet identifier" for you. IP addresses get traded daily, and are only used to generate your "client ID" (afaik). Sorry if I sound upset, it's just kinda silly, the stuff you guys are saying :v

[QUOTE=FreakyMe;51068493]Let's get hypothetical: You have a child which has a mild version of the personality trait which makes them susceptible to developing gambling and micro-transaction (impulse-related) purchase problems in the future. Without significant exploitation and stimulation, this would become background noise to their personality. The device correctly identifies this, suggesting games which are manufactured to provide that element as the sole element of game-play, because it knows it will be more profitable later on. It introduces a kiddie-version of micro-transactions, in which accumulated points are exchanged for 'combos' and 'specials.' This conditions their young and developing minds to accept that one must either [I]a)[/I] grind for a long period of time or [I]b)[/I] pay up to have fun, and that the latter is a lot more satisfying. Whether or not they are working with real money is immaterial. It's conditioning them to the notion that a game itself doesn't have to be particularly fun innately - it just has to provide a large and immediate reward sensation and an option to get it through an exchange of goods. This conditions them towards addictive behavior with time-based incentives and random bonuses awarded during play time, competing with everything in their life with the one personality weakness it has found to be most vulnerable. Fast forward. Your child is 15, and has no idea why the now classic games you enjoy don't have the option to pay to beat them, or provide infinite grinding potential in the meantime. The idea of a story-based or episodic game is completely alien, as all they have been exposed to is a positive-feedback loop set up to stimulate the one instance of effort/reward exchange that the company (or its software) has determined to be the most exploitable. You can't explain to them that spending money for combo moves is alien to you, because they cannot imagine anything else because the devices you trusted to help you educate and raise them were instead monitoring them for vulnerabilities that companies identified and exploited to use against them their entire lives.[/QUOTE] This is a ridiculously oversimplified narrative to directly suit your claim that facebook games and ads are going to somehow shield away all interests a [I]freely functioning human[/I] is going to have. The big spooky hand of data mining isn't going to turn children into zombies. That's just absurd.

[QUOTE=Radical_ed;51067544]There is absolutely nothing wrong with data mining user interaction, every single company is doing it, and they're doing it pretty much exclusively for the betterment of the user experience.[/QUOTE] I'm no pinko tinfoil hat corporate conspiracist, and I understand you, but the only reason any company does anything is if it thinks it'll make it money. They only improve the user experience in order to mollify consumers.