Raised to swipe, ready to bet: How prediction markets exploit kids’ digital conditioning
Source: Fortune ·
Prediction markets risk turning a childhood of digital rewards into an adulthood of betting. Young users need stronger safeguards.
From the source
Since the start of the year, young adults between 18 and 21 have traded an estimated $5.4 billion – that’s right, billion—on the Kalshi prediction market, according to a CNN analysis. Just to put that in perspective: That’s enough to buy an entire MLB franchise. Or 12,000 typical U.S. homes. Or more than 500,000 tickets to this year’s World Cup finals. All that cash involves people who are too young to legally gamble in most of the United States. It’s not surprising that young Americans have latched onto forms of online betting like prediction markets. These markets are the newest, sleekest escalation of a well-oiled digital machine that molds kids’ brains and keeps them hooked. As a co-founder of a nonprofit that works to address youth mental health and the harms of digital platforms–plus a mom of five kids and a former teacher – I’m concerned. Without change, prediction markets could supercharge mental health and addiction issues – fueling anxiety, depression, loneliness, financial…