How patterns are read
Readiness Methodology
Rooted Reality uses authored conversation prompts — not surveillance — to help families build digital judgment. When the app detects a pattern that merits attention, it surfaces a conversation card with open-ended questions tailored to your child's age. Every prompt shown to your family is listed here, verbatim. Nothing is hidden. If a prompt does not match your family's context, you can submit a correction directly from this page.
Contact & Trust
Patterns related to contact escalation, boundary testing, and trust manipulation. This area covers situations where someone online may be building inappropriate trust, testing boundaries, or escalating contact in ways that merit a parent check-in.
Patterns we look for
- Conversations that shift from public to private channels
- Requests to keep conversations secret from parents or guardians
- Patterns of escalating personal questions or boundary testing
- Contact from unknown adults or age-mismatched accounts
- Requests to meet in person or share personal information
Age-band differences
For younger children (6-9), prompts use concrete, simple language about specific situations. For teens (13-17), prompts encourage reflection and independent judgment. Younger children also need more successful interactions before the area is considered well-practiced.
Conversation prompts — what the app actually says
Ages 6-9
- ·“Did anyone online ask you something that felt strange?”
- ·“Would you want to tell me if someone you don't know tried to talk to you?”
- ·“Did anything happen today that made you feel uncomfortable?”
Ages 10-12
- ·“Has anyone online asked you to keep a conversation private?”
- ·“What would you do if someone you met online wanted to meet up?”
- ·“Did anything happen that felt different from how a friend would normally talk to you?”
Ages 13-15
- ·“What would you have done in that situation?”
- ·“Has anything like this come up with a friend's account?”
- ·“Is there anything about it that felt off?”
Ages 16-17
- ·“What do you think was going on there?”
- ·“How would you tell the difference between genuine and manipulative contact?”
- ·“Is there anything you'd handle differently next time?”
Compulsion & Reward
Patterns related to reward loops, time pressure, sunk cost, and compulsive engagement. This area covers situations where apps or games use psychological techniques to keep a child engaged longer than they intended.
Patterns we look for
- Reward mechanics that encourage extended play sessions
- Time-limited offers that create artificial urgency
- Sunk cost patterns that make it feel wasteful to stop
- Streak mechanics that penalize taking breaks
- Loot boxes, gacha mechanics, or variable-ratio reward schedules
Age-band differences
For younger children (6-9), prompts focus on concrete feelings about games and apps. For teens (13-17), prompts encourage recognition of design intent and self-regulation strategies.
Conversation prompts — what the app actually says
Ages 6-9
- ·“Did the game feel like it really wanted you to keep playing?”
- ·“Was there a moment it felt hard to stop?”
- ·“What would have made you want to take a break?”
Ages 10-12
- ·“Did the game feel like it was pushing you to keep playing?”
- ·“What would have made you want to stop?”
- ·“Was there a moment it felt hard to put down?”
Ages 13-15
- ·“Did you notice anything designed to keep you engaged longer than you planned?”
- ·“How do you decide when you've had enough?”
- ·“What made it feel rewarding — and was that on purpose?”
Ages 16-17
- ·“What techniques did you notice the app using to hold your attention?”
- ·“How do you balance enjoyment with the design's intent?”
- ·“Is there a difference between choosing to stay and feeling pulled to stay?”
Open Exposure
Patterns related to unfiltered content feeds, synthetic or AI-generated content, and age-inappropriate exposure. This area covers situations where a child encounters content they did not seek out, or content that may be misleading or fabricated.
Patterns we look for
- Algorithmic feeds serving age-inappropriate content
- AI-generated or synthetic media presented as real
- Unfiltered search results with disturbing content
- Exposure to content the child did not actively seek
- Deepfakes or manipulated media in social feeds
Age-band differences
For younger children (6-9), prompts ask about concrete feelings and specific things they saw. For teens (13-17), prompts focus on critical evaluation of content authenticity and algorithmic curation.
Conversation prompts — what the app actually says
Ages 6-9
- ·“Did anything you saw today feel weird or upsetting?”
- ·“Would you want to tell me about something you saw?”
- ·“Did the app show you something you didn't ask for?”
Ages 10-12
- ·“Did you see anything that surprised you or didn't feel right?”
- ·“How did you feel about what came up on screen?”
- ·“Was it something you went looking for, or did it just appear?”
Ages 13-15
- ·“How do you decide whether something you see online is real?”
- ·“Did anything come up that you weren't expecting?”
- ·“What would you do if you saw something that felt wrong or misleading?”
Ages 16-17
- ·“How do you evaluate whether content is authentic or synthetic?”
- ·“What stood out about what you encountered?”
- ·“Is there anything about the way it was presented that felt designed to manipulate?”
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