Well a big chunk of the reason I jumped on here was precisely because there was supposed to be no censorship.
Ahh I remember when my kids were that helpful XD
then I got a lot of help from my well meaning outlaws whom I asked to come and babysit/spend some time with the kids while I was working from home when they were younger but for whatever reason they decided they were going to come over and clean instead and kept sitting the kids down in front of the tv instead of letting them help because "we just want to get it done" and don't get me wrong I'm grateful for the cleaning help as I always struggle with that but the kids going through a period of being resentful and angry about the fact they have to clean/do chores was a hard one to fix
They are actually helpful.
they grew up and will at least do their chores and stuff but I still have to mental load for everyone which irks me no end because I'm not really any better at keeping on top of anything
I've had many similar conversations with middle child especially as she's the one on social media the most. It got to a point where "messing up the algorithms" is a joke ("bro watching this video really messed up my recommendations" or in my case "Spotify didn't have a clue before and has even less of a clue now") and she readily admits to being super easily influenced "I saw this ad for doughnuts and NOW I REALLY WANT DOUGHNUTS" "damn you're easily manipulated" "I KNOW" (not quite how the conversation went but that was the gist of it, and she made doughnuts in the air fryer).
there is far too much we don't know, to be too confident in what we think we do know.
My kids and their friends are all at the age where this is a problem, perhaps on a different tangent to what you were writing about. They know a hell of a lot about marketing and other manipulative tactics, but may think that they know so much more about it than they actually do and thus may not realise when they are falling for something that they've missed because they think they know everything there is to know about it.
Hell we're probably at that age where this is a problem but hopefully we at least recognise it x_x
I know some adults who never became helpful.
Do you see yourself in your daughter at that age, or was it just different for us back then, without this level of digital manipulation?
For every one they catch, 20 techniques slip through their mesh. It is like a magicians trick, showing the "trick" to draw attention, whilst the real thing is happening out of sight.