The Game of Pretending Not to Know You're Playing a Game Part III: The Architecture of Consent

How platforms engineered your willing participation in your own psychological imprisonment.

You've witnessed your own Stockholm syndrome. You've seen creators become optimization engines. But here's what chills the blood: none of this happened by accident.

Every notification that makes your pulse quicken? Designed. Every interface choice that feels intuitive? Tested on millions. Every moment of digital anxiety followed by relief? Engineered to create dependency.

The platforms didn't stumble into mass psychological control-they architected it. And they needed something more sophisticated than force. They needed you to beg for more.