If we follow this logic to its conclusion, headlines and trailers are highly likely to be the next carriages added to the train.
Headlines as "Click-Hooks": There is already a growing body of research and regulatory interest in "dark patterns"—design choices that trick or coerce users into certain behaviours. Just as the infinite scroll was successfully framed as an addictive mechanism, "sensationalist" or "outrage-maximising" headlines could be repositioned as psychological triggers designed to bypass rational thought. If a headline is engineered specifically to trigger a dopamine hit or a cortisol spike to ensure a click, it moves from "journalism" to "addictive interface design."
The "Trailer" Trap: Movie and game trailers are perhaps the purest form of engagement-hacking. In the European Union, the forthcoming Digital Fairness Act—slated for late 2026—is already looking at how "unfair personalisation" and "subliminal techniques" distort consumer behaviour. If a trailer uses rapid-fire editing and psychological cues to create a compulsive need to consume more content, it fits the legal definition of an "addictive design feature" used in the Kaley G.M. case.
Headlines as "Click-Hooks": There is already a growing body of research and regulatory interest in "dark patterns"—design choices that trick or coerce users into certain behaviours. Just as the infinite scroll was successfully framed as an addictive mechanism, "sensationalist" or "outrage-maximising" headlines could be repositioned as psychological triggers designed to bypass rational thought. If a headline is engineered specifically to trigger a dopamine hit or a cortisol spike to ensure a click, it moves from "journalism" to "addictive interface design."
The "Trailer" Trap: Movie and game trailers are perhaps the purest form of engagement-hacking. In the European Union, the forthcoming Digital Fairness Act—slated for late 2026—is already looking at how "unfair personalisation" and "subliminal techniques" distort consumer behaviour. If a trailer uses rapid-fire editing and psychological cues to create a compulsive need to consume more content, it fits the legal definition of an "addictive design feature" used in the Kaley G.M. case.
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