Technology

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White, a 65-year-old former insurance investigator who lives alone in Burlington County, New Jersey, spent the year she retired traveling — dining in Dubai, sipping cocktails by the sea in Montego Bay, Jamaica, or strolling among monks in Kathmandu, Nepal.

These design strategies, collectively referred to as "dark patterns," because of their potential to manipulate user behavior, pair with the power of parasocial relationships that viewers develop with influencers, who also encourage their fans to spend generously.

While lawmakers are catching up with manipulative design tactics in applications and websites — California recently banned some dark patterns in an update to the state's digital-privacy legislation — the regulatory framework overseeing how companies use such elements is still limited.

Greg Dickinson, a professor from St. Thomas University's College of Law in Miami, said it's easier to regulate firms that use dark patterns to create obstacles to unsubscribing from a service — similar to how the popular diet app Noom settled a $56 million lawsuit for doing just that.

There was J-Hop, a baseball-cap-clad thirst-trapper who often showed off his tattoo sleeves; PrettyBoyAli, an influencer known for throwing comedic insults at his opponents and hyping up his gifters with a signature booming, baritone voice; and Rick Brown, a 54-year-old former tech executive who streamed from exotic locations in Thailand and created digital portraits of other streamers as he battled them.

To help wean herself off, she switched to tapping on the battle screen, sending a flurry of tiny heart emojis fluttering up the side of the feed at no cost or buying roses, the cheapest TikTok gift.

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