Retail Taught Us How to Hook Adults. Social Media Perfected It for Kids.

Retail Taught Us How to Hook Adults. Social Media Perfected It for Kids.

Social media is built to keep you right where you are. No company wants you leaving their app, so they design it that way. A pull-down refresh brings in new content. The scroll never ends. Why would it? If it ended, you’d stop. Add in likes, shares, and comments, and your brain learns to keep coming back for more. It’s designed to hook humans. And when kids are the users, it’s hooking kids.

What we often forget is this isn’t new. Retail figured this out decades ago.

Physical stores have long used psychological tactics to keep adults inside longer and spending more:

• Store layouts slow you down on purpose
• Lighting and color influence mood and attention
• Music controls pace and decision-making
• Scents trigger emotion and bypass logic
• Eye-level placement and checkout displays catch you when you’re tired
• Pricing strategies frame perception, not value
• Scarcity and “best seller” labels create urgency and FOMO

None of this was accidental. Retail environments were engineered to influence behavior.

• Social media took those same ideas and digitized them.
• Instead of store aisles, we have infinite feeds.
• Instead of end caps, we have algorithmic recommendations.
• Instead of checkout candy, we have notifications.
• Instead of lighting and scent, we have dopamine-driven rewards—likes, shares, comments, streaks.

And unlike a store, there is no closing time.

That reality is now at the center of a landmark trial that just began in Los Angeles.

A 20-year-old woman is suing Instagram (Meta) and YouTube (Google), arguing that these platforms were intentionally designed to be addictive to children—and that those design choices contributed to her depression and suicidal thoughts. This is one of thousands of similar cases across the country, but it’s among the first to reach a jury.

According to Reuters, attorneys for the plaintiff point to internal company documents suggesting these platforms knew exactly how features like endless scrolling, engagement rewards, and algorithmic amplification would keep young users locked in. The case isn’t really about content. It’s about design.

For years, the conversation has focused on “screen time.” This moment forces a different question:
What happens when developing brains spend hours inside environments intentionally engineered for engagement?

Just as adults struggle to resist retail tricks, kids are navigating far more powerful versions—built for constant feedback, comparison, and emotional pull. And unlike adults, their brains are still developing impulse control, emotional regulation, and identity.

What Parents Can Do

You don’t need to panic—but you do need to parent with awareness.

• Talk about design, not just time. Help kids understand how platforms try to keep them engaged, not just how long they’re on them.
• Create natural stopping points. Set tech rules around time, place, or purpose so there’s an “end of the aisle.”
• Delay social media when possible. Younger brains are more vulnerable to reward-based systems. Waiting matters.
• Reduce passive scrolling. Encourage creation, communication, or intentional use over endless consumption.
• Model it yourself. Kids notice when adults are also stuck pulling down to refresh.

Retail taught us how to influence adults.
Social media refined it.
Our kids are growing up inside it.

Awareness is the first layer of protection.
 

~ Ryan