On top of this I always think about how kids are being primed for gambling when I see the kids toy aisle full of a hundred different gacha toy series. Yes, trading cards have been around forever but this is a whole other level.
And LaBubu, “blind box” where you don’t know which one you’re getting and to get a specific color have to repurchase. Why sell 1 to a kid when you can make them buy 150.to get the “special” one? Artificial scarcity and gambling at its finest. Set those endorphins up from a young age.
Imagine they were concerned about how addictive Diablo II was back in the day…
Blind boxes! That’s the name I was looking for. Exactly what I’m talking about. Last time I was in a Target there was an entire aisle full of those. I recently saw an Eevee blind box where you could get a figurine of any of the evolutions but you didn’t know which one until you opened it. $20 each I hate all this gambling.
Fuck the nyt.
Well duh. Watching any sport the past several years is awful. I can’t do it without the ability to skip ads.
It will take decades for people to care enough to change anything, just like cigarettes. Gambling will eventually be a huge issue, but the robber barons are in control. I grew up with Joe Camel ads in Sports Illustrated, and this is the same thing. Edit to add that it mentions this in the article, which makes sense.
Social media companies also sent notifications to children during the school day to get them to engage.
There are no consumer protections from things like this, really.
Jesus.