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- cross-posted to:
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Then we’ll go back to blaming it on the drugs and the rock and roll music.
And videogames.
And D&D
And jazz music.
And waltzing.
And books.
And books
Especially those by CS Lewis and JRR Tolkein.
It’s a valid question, but the people asking it never seem to understand why social media is damaging for young people. They never seem to understand that designers are literally taking cues from the gambling industry to create addictive apps and algorithms, or that the brains of teenagers are still developing and are therefore much more vulnerable than an adult’s. It’s not just a moral panic about porn or cyber-bullying or kids doing something new their parents don’t understand and it’s not hypocritical for parents to want their children off social media while continuing to use it themselves. I think once you understand the technological aspect then it becomes clear that there is a problem here that needs addressing.
What if it’s not?? 🤔
Honestly, this is the question people should be asking in response. I totally get the gut reaction against censorship, but I don’t think anyone would agree that Facebook, Xitter, etm. are innocent, neutral parties in all of this.
Part of the issue (as the article points out) is that those companies have been allowed to essentially craft people’s internal narrative, often amplifying our worst impulses and inclinations—all in service of making the black line go up for investors.
So is banning social media for teens the correct path forward? Maybe in the short term, but until we direct the governance to the companies creating the problems in the first place, we’re almost certainly going to have this conversation again in the future.
Part of parenting is censoring the world for your child’s developing brain.
I feel like we are talking about cholesterol in eggs again.
The problem with that analogy is that eggs are what they are. Chickens and farmers aren’t choosing to make eggs with certain levels of protein, fat, and cholesterol.
Meanwhile social media is what the various companies make of it. Social media itself isn’t necessarily the problem, it’s that the companies that wield it have malicious intent (read: capitalism), and humanity in general is clearly too stupid to control itself such that we can consume it in a healthy way.
The punishment shouldn’t fall upon the consumers, it should fall upon the manufacturers who have both the power to make a positive change and the knowledge that their current actions are detrimental.
I hear what you are saying. But as a parent myself I let my kid get familiar with tech. I think it’s far easier to know it early and keep going with it. So he watches dumb shorts on YouTube. Or is on discord to game with his friends. But he doesn’t do it at school and when it’s time to put the phone away he does. I don’t think he’s addicted to it. I don’t think it’s that harmful. Anymore than any other thing.
What leads me to the egg comparison is that it’s back and forth on if it’s good or bad. Depending on who is measuring or what they are measuring.
What if social media is too profitable for me to care about the younger generations?
The real issue is we need to protect everyone from the extreme violation of privacy and psychological manipulation that has become endemic in our online culture. It is not just social media. It is also Google, Microsoft, and Apple.
This is why when the government goes after Tic Toc to protect children it is so hollow. It is a scapegoat for the industry. Only the system is so corrupt it can’t even sacrifice the lamb anymore. It is has become a lip service to a problem so large it will likely be the defining point for the new millennium.
We need real privacy protections yesterday. The government should have broken these companies up a decade ago. Everyday we normalize this behavior it is putting profits above human dignity.
This article doesn’t seem to support this conclusion at all 🤔
Then it won’t exactly be the first, “Teens are [doing thing]! It’s horrible and we have to stop them!” overblown moral panic in the past century. (It’ll suck for some teens who don’t fit in with the people they’re required to associate with in meatspace, but that’s another thing that’s always been true.)
Except social media is a bane for kids, even moreso than for adults.
It’s a shit show.
