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.
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.
This article doesn’t seem to support this conclusion at all 🤔
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.
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.