Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Utah is first US state to limit teen social media access

bbc.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

131–140 of 719 posts

Re: Utah is first US state to limit teen social media access

#131

Post by veec_cas_tant »

hayst4ck wrote: post #111
veec_cas_tant wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hopefully this is hyperbole. Seems a bit extreme to hope the government legislates away industries because you don't want to handle the parenting yourself.

I would love it if you would state what you think the viewpoint opposite yours is and then try to defend it, then explain why that defense is wrong. > legislates away industries because you don't want to handle the parenting yourself. What are your thoughts on pharmaceutical/heroin legislation? What are your thoughts on making it illegal to advertise unhealthy food to kids? How do you feel about the idea of product p…

> I would love it if you would state what you think the viewpoint opposite yours is and then try to defend it, then explain why that defense is wrong.

Sorry, I don't know what this means.

> What are your thoughts on pharmaceutical/heroin legislation? What are your thoughts on making it illegal to advertise unhealthy food to kids? How do you feel about the idea of product placement in children's TV shows? How do you feel about letting pharmaceutical companies directly market to children?

The comment this chain is replying to was about tech companies not offering their services at all in Utah. I'd think, for the most part, I'd be against most regulations that basically say "to protect the children, we will ban X for everyone". I'm sure there are exceptions though.

> ...rest of the comment

I agree, the government can act to improve the outcomes for children and I didn't state anything to the contrary. Rather, I believe that gleefully accepting or cheering on a ban of all technology, for both adults and children, that the government might believe causes harm to children is quite unfortunate.

Re: Utah is first US state to limit teen social media access

#132

Post by anon291 »

lotsofpulp wrote: post #47
gjsman-1000 wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We as a society have decided you need an ID for alcohol, and ID for marijuana in the states where it is legal, and so forth. We know that social media can be just as habit-forming, addictive, and dangerous to mental health; especially among teenagers. I see no reason why society should not extend ID requirements to certain times of night.

An important difference being the ID’s purpose being just to prove your age during for that transaction, not provide a mechanism to create a permanent record of your behavior.

Large numbers of states actively monitor (via swiping IDs) your alcohol purchase history. Many states have entire bureaus whose job it is to keep this information.

Re: Utah is first US state to limit teen social media access

#133

Post by jmathai »

chiefalchemist wrote: post #100
jmathai wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a parent, restricting social media is one of the most effective tools I think we have to promote well being. The things you mentioned are also problematic but I can limit social media access and when I do my kids are better off.

My point is, blaming SM and only SM is a (false) oversimplification. There are systematic societal issues getting a free pass because of our collective willingness to buy into a distraction that the cause is SM. Just because adults have normalized the baggage of negativity and lack of progress doesn't mean the kids aren't feeling beyond the lies. FFS, any reasonable adult should be feeling pain and distraught at this…

I agree SM isn't the only issue.

But I also don't think my teenagers are nearly as concerned about climate change and the world they are inheriting as they are living up to the life social media says they should have and feeling inadequate being unable to attain it.

Re: Utah is first US state to limit teen social media access

#134

Post by Spivak »

MBCook wrote: post #68
falcolas wrote: post #62

Is it a bad time to mention that sites like stack overflow, discord, sub stack, medium, Reddit, hacker news, GitHub, YouTube, and so forth have the same traits - the same identifying markers - as what we consider traditional social media sites? How the bill defines social media: 10) (a) "Social media platform" means an online forum that a social media company 160 makes available for an account holder to: 161 (i) crea…

Just more of the unintended consequences we all know will come from this.

There won’t be any. Look, it’s fun to imagine these shitty lawmakers getting bit by their own laws applied to the letter but that’s not how it will go. The law will only ever be enforced against social media platforms they see as threatening their ability to shelter their kids.

I think it says a lot about any politician that pushes for laws that are meant to be selectively enforced.

Re: Utah is first US state to limit teen social media access

#135

Post by hackernewds »

kyleblarson wrote: post #67

If the US government had control of an app in China or Russia used by tens of millions of impressionable young people do any of you really think they would not take advantage of that to tip the scales and slowly affect political opinions and other outcomes?

How is that relevant to the Utah declaration?

Re: Utah is first US state to limit teen social media access

#136

Post by MBCook »

barbazoo wrote: post #66
paxys wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If the state has total control over every aspect of their citizens' lives they can model the population into any perfect utopia they desire. I'd still not like to live in that world.

Isn't this the opposite though? They're not telling people how to live their lives. They're taking away the power Facebook has over many people's lives so people might enjoy their lives in more social and healthy ways again.

They’re also taking away the support some marginalized people may get from social networks (eg LGBT, uncommon religions for the area) that their local community doesn’t provide/discriminates against/their parents hate.

Social networks, for all their faults, are not pure evil. They can be beneficial for some people.

Re: Utah is first US state to limit teen social media access

#137

Post by staunton »

yieldcrv wrote: post #114

Its always crazy to me how proponents and opponents never address each other’s points. They just talk past each other saying their own completely unrelated points. A: “But what about kids in abusive households that get cut off from communication” B: “We have tools to ensure kids safety that requires actively using our social network already” that’s a frustrating way of having a conversation

You're assuming they're trying to have a conversation...

Re: Utah is first US state to limit teen social media access

#138

Post by hackernewds »

throwayyy479087 wrote: post #83
falcolas wrote: post #62

Is it a bad time to mention that sites like stack overflow, discord, sub stack, medium, Reddit, hacker news, GitHub, YouTube, and so forth have the same traits - the same identifying markers - as what we consider traditional social media sites? How the bill defines social media: 10) (a) "Social media platform" means an online forum that a social media company 160 makes available for an account holder to: 161 (i) crea…

Yes, and a 13 year old should absolutely not use any of those services. Discord in particular has become known as “groomercord” for it’s open pedophilia.

What about YouTube? Lots of educational material there. Fits all of the points.

Re: Utah is first US state to limit teen social media access

#139

Post by hackernewds »

raincole wrote: post #103
holmesworcester wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I haven't read the bills yet but according to the article it applies to children under 18. 17-year-old me would have considered this draconian bullsh*t, for the same reasons I would now. (So does dad me, incidentally. My kid's messages have always been her business, not mine.)

I'm sure many of us wouldn't have been a programmer if we hadn't had access to SO/Github around 17.

GitHub is not being banned. Neither is SO.

Re: Utah is first US state to limit teen social media access

#140

Post by yieldcrv »

mrcwinn wrote: post #110

The Democrats have their own flaws certainly, but I’m having such a hard time finding a consistent ideology among conservatives. Free speech absolutism, mixed with parent choice, no choice for women, censorship for some kinds of speech, anti-regulation limited government but strong regulation of tech products. I just can’t square any of this.

Your cognitive dissonance comes from thinking this is a monolithic party platform thing.

This is a Utah thing, with burgeoning consensus in a couple other states.

Post reply on HN