IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 71

about the protection of the public from unwanted
and nonconsensual bombardment with undesired
information. Today, with some frequency, the public
finds itself a captive audience, and sometimes cannot
voluntarily avoid " attentional intrusions " -whether
deliberate, from advertising, or inadvertent, from
other people. Regulators, however, don't have a paradigm
for thinking about consumer harms that are not
deceptive or involve physical or financial harm, but
rather arise from the seizure of attention and consequential
cognitive impairments " [19].
Personal profile data, including behavioral patterns,
preferences, and interests, demographic data,
geolocation, and travel, is simply storage of the
potential to control attention. An app that seemingly
spontaneously shows a user a photograph of a past
holiday induces nostalgia, psychologically engineered
to trigger that attentional mental state, to sell
to advertisers or strengthen the bond between the
user and the app or device, to increase manipulative
leverage. Individual users are never fully informed of
what profile assemblers do with their data or to who
it is sold, and therefore hand the keys to their automatic
behavior and emotions to perfect strangers
who are at present largely unregulated.
There are three serious concerns raised by the
status quo.
First, the consent provided by users is not fully
informed as the final use of their data cannot be
determined at the time of consenting, limits cannot
realistically be set, and it cannot be policed by an
individual due to the skills and resources required.
Second, this attention theft poses a threat to an individual's
energy reserves and future. Keeping a person
locked in a cycle where their attention is enslaved by
digital media that prey on automatic behavior triggered
by fear, lack, or fake social bonding can result
in them sliding down the hierarchy and/or introduce
a glass ceiling that will prevent them from reaching
self-actualization and therefore happiness. This is
increasingly supported by research indicating that
the usage and addiction to digital entertainment and
social media cause and correlate with depression in
adolescents and adults [2], [8], [11] and poor academic
and therefore occupational outcomes [4]. The
third concern relates to harm. Healthy mood regulation
requires normal functioning of the prefrontal and
limbic brain areas: the prefrontal cortex is responsible
for conscious willed (not automatic) allocation of
attention resources and modulates the limbic system
June 2022
that " generates " negative emotions [6]. Compelling
evidence indicates that even " normal " smartphone
usage results in significantly impaired prefrontal functions
(attention, problem solving) [9] and damage to
the prefrontal brain strongly correlates with cognitive
impairment and social and occupation disability.
Deliberate attention manipulation that affects prefrontal
brain functions, therefore, risks mood disorders
that are strongly associated with impaired social
and occupational function and impaired conscious
cognition related to planning, problem solving, error
monitoring, and creativity.
In routine psychiatric practice, serious illness
resulting from internet gaming/smartphone addiction
is increasingly encountered, as well as common mental
health problems now complicated by these addictions
[1]. The World Health Organization is moving
toward including " gaming disorder " in the International
Classification of Diseases and Related Health
Problems (ICD11) by adding it to the proposed 11th
revision. While computer games have been around
for decades, social media, smartphones, and the internet
are relatively new but concerns and calls to recognize
internet/social media/smartphone addiction are
mounting and likely to succeed given the available
clinical evidence [14]. The threat is therefore real
while the scale in the long term can potentially be
vast as smartphone use becomes ubiquitous. As with
tobacco, it may take years before the full scale of the
problem becomes clear, but negative individual and
societal outcomes resulting from deliberate design for
addiction should come as no surprise to anyone.
Safe way forward
Should we not demand and expect the same safety
standards on apps and entertainment as on consumer
goods that require CE marking to affirm the good's
conformity with European health, safety, and environmental
protection standards? Should " medical grade "
consent be required before a user engages with an app
or media that can cause harm? By adopting medical
standards, we can set the age of consent at 16 and hold
parents and schools responsible for injury caused by
exposure and for the digital data collection on young
people in their care. What about developers and suppliers
of apps and media that deliberately engineer
addiction and manipulation, should we not hold them
liable for cognitive and emotional injury, as well as loss
of opportunity and energy that results from manipulated/addictive
use of their apps?
71

IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022

Contents
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - Cover1
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - Cover2
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - Contents
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 2
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 3
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 4
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 5
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 6
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 7
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 8
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 9
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 10
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 11
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 12
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 13
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 14
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 15
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 16
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 17
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 18
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 19
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 20
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 21
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 22
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 23
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 24
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 25
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 26
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 27
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 28
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 29
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 30
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 31
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 32
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 33
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 34
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 35
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 36
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 37
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 38
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 39
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 40
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 41
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 42
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 43
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 44
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 45
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 46
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 47
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 48
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 49
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 50
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 51
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 52
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 53
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 54
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 55
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 56
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 57
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 58
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 59
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 60
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 61
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 62
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 63
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 64
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 65
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 66
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 67
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 68
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 69
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 70
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 71
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 72
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 73
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 74
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 75
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 76
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 77
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 78
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 79
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 80
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 81
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 82
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 83
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 84
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 85
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 86
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 87
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 88
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 89
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 90
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 91
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 92
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 93
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 94
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 95
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 96
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 97
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 98
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 99
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 100
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 101
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 102
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 103
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 104
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 105
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 106
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 107
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 108
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 109
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 110
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 111
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 112
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - Cover3
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - Cover4
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_september2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_june2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_march2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_december2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_september2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_june2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_march2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_december2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_september2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_june2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_march2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_december2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_september2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_june2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_march2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_december2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_september2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_june2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_march2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_december2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_september2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_june2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_march2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_winter2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_fall2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_summer2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_spring2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_winter2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_fall2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_summer2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_spring2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_winter2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_fall2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_summer2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_spring2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_winter2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_fall2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_summer2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_spring2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_winter2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_fall2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_summer2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_spring2013
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com