FactoryTour
Hooked by Design: How Screen Addiction Gets Made
Read the film transcript
0:00Two hour tour… where are my children? Well… Ladies and gentlemen, watch your step… Here they are… your children! Here at, uh… Big Tech, we always want to start rewiring the child’s brain at the most vulnerable age. We mine our raw materials very young.
0:15Yes, and the key is to extract them when they are well-adjusted, innocent, and happy. The trifecta.
0:23We’ve developed a science-backed, highly addictive algorithm for our games and apps that hook and then hold. It’s like you’re going fishing… for children. It only takes seconds. We don’t really know how it actually works, but… it’s just impossible for them to look away.
0:43Adaline! Adaline! It’s me, Mommy!
0:47The “Depleter” siphons off basic childhood defects, such as joy, imagination, individuality. And we use techniques like doom-scrolling, endless comparison, and… it can link and put them in direct contact with predators… in their area!
1:05Rest assured… we pride ourselves on being an ethical, sustainable, and zero-waste company. So… every part of the child is consumed and used. Oh! Yeah… No… It’s a win-win for everyone. The children are contained… uhh… quiet… and the shareholders couldn’t be happier. Yeah… growth is steady… and the future really is bright.
Transcript from the film’s captions, lightly edited.
What hit home for you?
About the film
Big Tech runs a factory. The product is your kid’s attention.
Factory Tour is a short satire from Bark, made with award-winning independent filmmakers Double Edge Films. Kids go in one end of the line and come out the other boxed, scrolling, and ready to ship.
It’s absurd on purpose. But the business model is real: apps and platforms are built for screen addiction, keeping kids on screens as long as possible, because their attention is what gets sold.
The laws meant to protect kids online were written in 1998. Until they catch up, it’s on parents to step in, and on all of us to say this isn’t okay.
Which scene stood out to you?
Tap one.
Up next
More short films from Bark.
Behind the scenes
Titania Jordan, Bark’s Chief Parent Officer, on making the film (50 sec)
Read the transcript
0:00Mark… Action…
0:03I don’t think it’s a secret today how dangerous the internet is for kids.
0:06Ah ha ha ha ha ha!!!
0:11We’ve allowed our children to be exposed to truly terrible things without even realizing it. It harkens back to a time where pregnant women smoked cigarettes and drank alcohol. But it was just accepted.
0:22Here they are, your children!!
0:24We at Bark wanted to create three short films that reveal exactly what is happening to our children on these devices.
0:32These short films are for parents.
0:35It opens the door to a conversation and we have to take action… because the most vulnerable population our children are currently collateral damage.
Designed for kids. Built by parents.
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Further reading
20 sourcesThe films are satire. The reporting isn’t. What the companies knew, in their own documents and in court.