Black bear spotted in downtown Fort MyersHot and dry Monday afternoon before isolated storms pop up this evening
FORT MYERS Black bear spotted in downtown Fort Myers A Florida black bear had been spotted in downtown Fort Myers early Monday morning. FWC is responding to relocate the bear.
WINK NEWS Hot and dry Monday afternoon before isolated storms pop up this evening On Monday morning, the weather is starting mild and humid with temperatures in the upper 60s and lower 70s.
FORT MYERS Caught on Camera: Firefighters respond to dumpster fire at FGCU San Carlos Park Fire District responded to a dumpster fire Sunday afternoon.
FORT MYERS FGCU students affected by Covid celebrate first commencement ceremony Graduation is a right of passage from school to the real world, but for these students, reality hit them in 2020.
PUNTA GORDA Motorcycle crash leaves 1 dead One person has died after a motorcycle crash in Charlotte County.
LEE COUNTY Lee Deputies work to track down transient sex offenders who fail to register WINK News Anchor Corey Lazar goes on patrol with Lee County Deputies in search of transient sex offenders who don’t register.
National Hurricane Preparedness Week: Know your risk Hurricane season starts on June 1st, but the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has designated the week of May 5 through May 11 as National Hurricane Preparedness Week. Each day, Meteorologist Lauren Kreidler will be highlighting ways to stay prepared ahead of this year’s hurricane season.
Southwest Florida The Weather Authority: Stay alert – chance of showers and storms on Sunday Hot, humid, and more rain for parts of Southwest Florida on Sunday.
CAPE CORAL What we learned about Cape Coral’s water crisis after a ride along On Friday, WINK News got to ride along to see just what people are doing that could be wasting water.
The Weather Authority: A wet Saturday evening as storms move through Southwest Florida A rainy Saturday evening across much of southwest Florida.
FORT MYERS Lee Health Touch-A-Truck event educates families on Trauma Awareness On Saturday morning, sirens were ringing to celebrate Lee Health Trauma Center’s 30 years of service and to provide the public with trauma education and prevention methods.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA (CBS) CDC says bird flu viruses “pose pandemic potential,” cites major knowledge gaps Bird flu continues to appear to pose a “low risk to the general public” for now, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says. But the agency’s scientists ran into roadblocks investigating a human case of this “pandemic potential” virus this year, they said in a new report.
DOWNTOWN FORT MYERS Bay Street Yard set to open in late May A new place to hang out in Downtown Fort Myers is opening this spring.
Aetna agrees to settle lawsuit over fertility coverage for LGBTQ+ customers Aetna has agreed to settle a lawsuit that accused the health insurer of discriminating against LGBTQ+ customers in need of fertility treatment.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA WINK Neighborhood Watch: Robbery, Pawn Shops, and Child Porn This week’s segment of Wink Neighborhood Watch features an armed robber, fraud at a pawn shop, and possession of child pornography.
FORT MYERS Black bear spotted in downtown Fort Myers A Florida black bear had been spotted in downtown Fort Myers early Monday morning. FWC is responding to relocate the bear.
WINK NEWS Hot and dry Monday afternoon before isolated storms pop up this evening On Monday morning, the weather is starting mild and humid with temperatures in the upper 60s and lower 70s.
FORT MYERS Caught on Camera: Firefighters respond to dumpster fire at FGCU San Carlos Park Fire District responded to a dumpster fire Sunday afternoon.
FORT MYERS FGCU students affected by Covid celebrate first commencement ceremony Graduation is a right of passage from school to the real world, but for these students, reality hit them in 2020.
PUNTA GORDA Motorcycle crash leaves 1 dead One person has died after a motorcycle crash in Charlotte County.
LEE COUNTY Lee Deputies work to track down transient sex offenders who fail to register WINK News Anchor Corey Lazar goes on patrol with Lee County Deputies in search of transient sex offenders who don’t register.
National Hurricane Preparedness Week: Know your risk Hurricane season starts on June 1st, but the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has designated the week of May 5 through May 11 as National Hurricane Preparedness Week. Each day, Meteorologist Lauren Kreidler will be highlighting ways to stay prepared ahead of this year’s hurricane season.
Southwest Florida The Weather Authority: Stay alert – chance of showers and storms on Sunday Hot, humid, and more rain for parts of Southwest Florida on Sunday.
CAPE CORAL What we learned about Cape Coral’s water crisis after a ride along On Friday, WINK News got to ride along to see just what people are doing that could be wasting water.
The Weather Authority: A wet Saturday evening as storms move through Southwest Florida A rainy Saturday evening across much of southwest Florida.
FORT MYERS Lee Health Touch-A-Truck event educates families on Trauma Awareness On Saturday morning, sirens were ringing to celebrate Lee Health Trauma Center’s 30 years of service and to provide the public with trauma education and prevention methods.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA (CBS) CDC says bird flu viruses “pose pandemic potential,” cites major knowledge gaps Bird flu continues to appear to pose a “low risk to the general public” for now, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says. But the agency’s scientists ran into roadblocks investigating a human case of this “pandemic potential” virus this year, they said in a new report.
DOWNTOWN FORT MYERS Bay Street Yard set to open in late May A new place to hang out in Downtown Fort Myers is opening this spring.
Aetna agrees to settle lawsuit over fertility coverage for LGBTQ+ customers Aetna has agreed to settle a lawsuit that accused the health insurer of discriminating against LGBTQ+ customers in need of fertility treatment.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA WINK Neighborhood Watch: Robbery, Pawn Shops, and Child Porn This week’s segment of Wink Neighborhood Watch features an armed robber, fraud at a pawn shop, and possession of child pornography.
(AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana) Children’s advocates want the American Psychological Association to condemn the tech industry’s practice of using persuasive psychological techniques to keep kids glued to their screens. The advocates, citing research that links excessive use of social media and video games with depression and academic troubles, say it’s unethical for psychologists to be involved in tactics that risk harming kids’ well-being. Skeptics say the research is inconclusive, and they note that psychologists have been involved in other industries’ marketing and advertising for decades. The group seeking intervention includes 60 U.S. psychologists, researchers, children’s advocates and the Children’s Screen Time Action Network, a project of the Boston-based Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood. The network was publishing a letter Wednesday to the American Psychological Association, coinciding with the association’s annual meeting in San Francisco. “There are powerful psychology principles and technology that are being used against kids in ways that are not in their best interests,” said Josh Golin, executive director of the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood. That technology uses computers to help figure out what motivates people and influence their online behavior. It’s built on age-old tenets of behavioral psychology that marketers and advertisers have long used to get people to buy their products. The difference is smartphones are ubiquitous and unlike human marketers, they don’t get tired, said B.J. Fogg, a behavioral scientist at Stanford University who has been called the technology’s pioneer. Fogg said he has aimed to use persuasive tech to enhance people’s lives. But he also said he has long warned that it has a “dark side,” including potential loss of privacy and the potential for encouraging behavior that isn’t in users’ best interests. The letter to the psychology association cites a recent study that found that teen girls who spend a lot of time on digital devices, including on social media, are at risk for depression and suicidal behaviors. That study couldn’t show whether depressed girls might be more prone to using social media than other teens. The letter also notes evidence that some teen boys overuse video games “at the expense of obtaining real-world competencies,” including college educations and jobs. “Families don’t understand why their kids are so strongly attracted and pulled to these devices,” said Richard Freed, a Walnut Creek, California, psychologist who signed the letter. He said the World Health Organization’s decision in June to declare excessive video gaming an addiction shows that the problem is real. Under Fogg’s model, technology can change a person’s behavior by tapping into hard-wired motivations, simplifying the activity and getting people to perform it with a “well-timed” trigger. That could mean an app prompting a person to go running or it could be an alert persuading someone to spend more time on social media based on their innate desire to win acceptance and avoid social rejection. It’s not just the big tech firms. BuzzFeed reported Tuesday, based on a confidential company memo, that founders of a startup recently acquired by Facebook boasted of using a “psychological trick” — custom social media profiles and mysterious calls to action — to get high schoolers to download a polling app. Facebook later shut down the app. In job postings, big tech companies have sought psychologists and people with psychology training for research into user experiences. Microsoft’s Xbox user research division is led by psychologists. Amazon looks for hires who “geek out over user research, psychology, ethnography.” Google’s preferred qualification for some positions includes a doctorate in experimental psychology. “We strive to learn and understand our users’ needs, behaviors, and emotions to yield insights that inform product strategy and guide the design of the experiences we create,” says one Google job posting online this week. Facebook and Google didn’t return requests for comment Tuesday on whether they use psychological persuasion techniques to build digital products for children. Microsoft, Apple and Amazon declined to comment. This year, those companies have promoted better digital well-being amid rising concerns about kids’ digital distractions. The Internet Association, an industry trade group, said its member companies endeavor to create safe and positive online experiences. “This is an important conversation, and the internet industry remains committed to developing and sharing best practices, partnering and collaborating with experts, and developing resources and programs that will ensure positive online experiences,” the association’s Noah Theran said in the statement. Apple is introducing new tools meant to make its iPhone less addictive after two major shareholders earlier this year called on the company to curb smartphone addiction among children. Facebook, YouTube and Microsoft have introduced similar tools. The American Psychological Association has no policy on using psychological research to develop persuasive digital technology. But in a statement responding to the advocates’ letter, association CEO Arthur Evans Jr. said the group “is concerned about the increasing amount of time children are spending on digital devices.” He said the association is examining psychology’s role in technology development, and that an association committee will discuss the letter and whether to recommend any action. ___ O’Brien reported from Boston. Follow AP Medical Writer Lindsey Tanner on Twitter @LindseyTanner. Her work can be found here . ___ The Associated Press Health & Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Children’s advocates want the American Psychological Association to condemn the tech industry’s practice of using persuasive psychological techniques to keep kids glued to their screens. The advocates, citing research that links excessive use of social media and video games with depression and academic troubles, say it’s unethical for psychologists to be involved in tactics that risk harming kids’ well-being. Skeptics say the research is inconclusive, and they note that psychologists have been involved in other industries’ marketing and advertising for decades. The group seeking intervention includes 60 U.S. psychologists, researchers, children’s advocates and the Children’s Screen Time Action Network, a project of the Boston-based Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood. The network was publishing a letter Wednesday to the American Psychological Association, coinciding with the association’s annual meeting in San Francisco. “There are powerful psychology principles and technology that are being used against kids in ways that are not in their best interests,” said Josh Golin, executive director of the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood. That technology uses computers to help figure out what motivates people and influence their online behavior. It’s built on age-old tenets of behavioral psychology that marketers and advertisers have long used to get people to buy their products. The difference is smartphones are ubiquitous and unlike human marketers, they don’t get tired, said B.J. Fogg, a behavioral scientist at Stanford University who has been called the technology’s pioneer. Fogg said he has aimed to use persuasive tech to enhance people’s lives. But he also said he has long warned that it has a “dark side,” including potential loss of privacy and the potential for encouraging behavior that isn’t in users’ best interests. The letter to the psychology association cites a recent study that found that teen girls who spend a lot of time on digital devices, including on social media, are at risk for depression and suicidal behaviors. That study couldn’t show whether depressed girls might be more prone to using social media than other teens. The letter also notes evidence that some teen boys overuse video games “at the expense of obtaining real-world competencies,” including college educations and jobs. “Families don’t understand why their kids are so strongly attracted and pulled to these devices,” said Richard Freed, a Walnut Creek, California, psychologist who signed the letter. He said the World Health Organization’s decision in June to declare excessive video gaming an addiction shows that the problem is real. Under Fogg’s model, technology can change a person’s behavior by tapping into hard-wired motivations, simplifying the activity and getting people to perform it with a “well-timed” trigger. That could mean an app prompting a person to go running or it could be an alert persuading someone to spend more time on social media based on their innate desire to win acceptance and avoid social rejection. It’s not just the big tech firms. BuzzFeed reported Tuesday, based on a confidential company memo, that founders of a startup recently acquired by Facebook boasted of using a “psychological trick” — custom social media profiles and mysterious calls to action — to get high schoolers to download a polling app. Facebook later shut down the app. In job postings, big tech companies have sought psychologists and people with psychology training for research into user experiences. Microsoft’s Xbox user research division is led by psychologists. Amazon looks for hires who “geek out over user research, psychology, ethnography.” Google’s preferred qualification for some positions includes a doctorate in experimental psychology. “We strive to learn and understand our users’ needs, behaviors, and emotions to yield insights that inform product strategy and guide the design of the experiences we create,” says one Google job posting online this week. Facebook and Google didn’t return requests for comment Tuesday on whether they use psychological persuasion techniques to build digital products for children. Microsoft, Apple and Amazon declined to comment. This year, those companies have promoted better digital well-being amid rising concerns about kids’ digital distractions. The Internet Association, an industry trade group, said its member companies endeavor to create safe and positive online experiences. “This is an important conversation, and the internet industry remains committed to developing and sharing best practices, partnering and collaborating with experts, and developing resources and programs that will ensure positive online experiences,” the association’s Noah Theran said in the statement. Apple is introducing new tools meant to make its iPhone less addictive after two major shareholders earlier this year called on the company to curb smartphone addiction among children. Facebook, YouTube and Microsoft have introduced similar tools. The American Psychological Association has no policy on using psychological research to develop persuasive digital technology. But in a statement responding to the advocates’ letter, association CEO Arthur Evans Jr. said the group “is concerned about the increasing amount of time children are spending on digital devices.” He said the association is examining psychology’s role in technology development, and that an association committee will discuss the letter and whether to recommend any action. ___ O’Brien reported from Boston. Follow AP Medical Writer Lindsey Tanner on Twitter @LindseyTanner. Her work can be found here . ___ The Associated Press Health & Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.