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Would You Watch 45 minutes of Commercials

 How to Talk to Kids About the Feed Using Something They Already Understand


Start with this question.


What do you do when a commercial comes on?


They will tell you. They skip it. They look at their phone. They leave the room. They do anything except watch it.


Ask them why.


They will say something like it's just trying to sell me something. Or I already know what it wants. Or it's boring.


That is the whole lesson right there. They already have it.


Now ask them this.


What about the videos you watch on YouTube. The posts you scroll through. The content that shows up in your feed. Is any of that trying to sell you something.


They will probably say no. Or some of it. The ads obviously. But not the other stuff.


This is where it gets interesting.


Tell them that everyone on social media is selling something. They are just not all selling a product.


Some are selling a version of themselves. Look at my life. Look at how funny I am. Look at what I believe. They need you to watch because watching means they matter.


Some are selling a feeling. The video that makes you angry or scared or jealous was put there because angry and scared and jealous people keep watching. That is worth money to someone.


Some are selling belonging. This is my group. These are our values. Are you in or out. The sides need audiences too.


And the platform running all of it is selling your attention to companies you never see, every second you are on it.


Then ask them this.


If you knew a commercial was coming would you sit there and watch it.


They will say no.


Now you know what the feed is. Every single thing in it is a commercial for something. Some of them are just better at hiding it than others.


The ones that hide it best are the ones that keep you there longest.


That is not an accident. That is the design.



Then introduce the three questions as the remote control.


When something shows up in the feed, before they react to it, before they share it or feel it or believe it, three seconds.


Who made this. Not just what platform. Who decided you should see this specific thing right now and why.


Who benefits from my attention. Someone always does. Name them.


What do they want me to feel. Anger. Envy. Fear. Urgency. Name the feeling before it lands. A feeling you name is yours. A feeling that lands before you notice it belongs to whoever put it there.


That is the remote control.


You already know how to change the channel on a commercial.


Now you know how to change the channel on everything else.



Is Your Phone Using You? The five day audit for ages 10-14


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