• Ilandar@aussie.zone
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    2 months ago

    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.

    • Telorand@reddthat.com
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      2 months ago

      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.

  • Doomsider@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    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.

  • muzzle@lemm.ee
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    2 months ago

    What if social media is too profitable for me to care about the younger generations?

  • nyan@lemmy.cafe
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    2 months ago

    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.)

    • BearOfaTime@lemm.ee
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      2 months ago

      Except social media is a bane for kids, even moreso than for adults.

      It’s a shit show.