The Ross-Blakley Law Library recently announced that Jurimetrics Senior Article Editor, Brent Bihr placed first in for Exemplary Student Research. Bihr, a second year student, focused his award-winning paper on Dark Patterns, Warcraft, and Cybersex: The Addictive Face of Predatory Online Platforms and Pioneering Policies to Protect Consumers.
Speaking to Ross-Blakley Law Library, Bihr said “One lesson I learned from this process was that to be effective and creative in researching and crafting arguments, it helps to cast a wide net. As I was exploring my topic, I stumbled across comparisons between internet addiction and tobacco and opioid litigation. This led me to articles like A Sociolegal History of the Tobacco Tort Litigation, which helped me identify new arguments and defenses, and allowed me to draw parallels in my argument.”
Bihr started his research by reading about behavioral addiction theory, internet addiction, and how online platforms create an addictive experience. After building his basic knowledge, he looked into various psychology research, and journalism that provided him with a variety of sources about the addictive nature of online media platforms. Bihr also analyzed case law that had an effect on his topic, where he found many cases that were based on claims of negligence and intentional tort. He then shifted his discussion to reach additional causes of action, and legislative and regulatory solutions, where he read proposed legislation and press releases from members of congress who were supporting policies to curb internet addiction.