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Australia widens teen social media ban to YouTube, scraps exemption

reuters.com

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Re: Australia widens teen social media ban to YouTube, scraps exemption

#421

Post by alt227 »

zippo_the_zippo wrote: post #255

YouTube Kids is exempt from the ban, this one should have been banned first because the sheer amount of smoothbrain content. Channels like cocomelon and AI-generated songs with weird visuals are played on infinite loop with a mobile stand holding the phone in front of the child's pram while the parents pay no attention- and the children are hooked onto it as if they are hypnotized. These videos in early stage of chil…

> These videos in early stage of childhood has a very strong impact on environmental awareness and vocabulary of the children.

I just managed to navigate the entire preschool age range without my children seeing a single cocomelon video on youtube. Its surprisingly easy, and makes me really wonder why people are complaining. Its as if they feel like they have to show these videos to their kids or something.

Dont people have a slop filter? Or are they just opening the youtube kids app and blindly handing their phone to a preschool child to watch whatever they want?

Re: Australia widens teen social media ban to YouTube, scraps exemption

#422

Post by [deleted] »

dpassens wrote: post #402
bfg_9k wrote: post #283

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So then block google/YT and call it a day? It's absolutely not Google's problem. This isn't a "real life" thing - it's not like there's a strip club with open windows next door to your house for your children to look into. We're talking about a computer/iPad/mobile phone - block YT at the DNS level or better yet, don't even give one to your kids. Problem solved. Other people shouldn't have to be punished with breache…

No, but the strip club is next to everybody else's house as well as schools.

[deleted]

Re: Australia widens teen social media ban to YouTube, scraps exemption

#423

Post by energy123 »

sien wrote: post #239
OhioMan2943 wrote: post #191

Adding some context which is sorely missing: Our government intends to spruik this at the UN and get other countries on board. Our government has said there will always be a non id method Youtube will still be accessible it is just the account making/usership which will be banned Posting my threaded comment higher up: I'm an australian who completed the esafety survey which helped guide this policy. I pushed for anon…

The case against social media is pretty weak. https://www.conspicuouscognition.com/p/the-case-against-soci... Meanwhile Australia has the largest per capita losses on gambling in the world. https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/australias-welfare/gambling Which the government doesn't care about. This may have something to do that people don't criticise the government when they are just losing their life's savings.

> The case against social media is pretty weak.

It's worth scrutinizing the philosophical mental model implicit in your opinion.

Do you wait for conclusive empirical evidence before doing anything? Or do you run an experiment in one country based on an informed opinion and see what happens?

I am more inclined to pursue the latter model for this question.

The case against youth social media makes logical sense, there is circumstantial evidence that it's having a negative impact, and I have enough experience with data to know how difficult it is to demonstrate that it's true empirically without a large-scale natural experiment like the one that's about to happen when this law passes.

A lack of evidence should not paralyze you on questions where conclusive evidence is very hard to assemble. Especially when action will create evidence.

Re: Australia widens teen social media ban to YouTube, scraps exemption

#424

Post by alt227 »

SilverElfin wrote: post #62

Why are so many countries like Australia, UK, EU, etc suddenly pro censorship. Aren’t these all liberal democracies? I would think these policies would be very unpopular. Is there some analysis of how this came to be normalized?

Think of the children!

Re: Australia widens teen social media ban to YouTube, scraps exemption

#425

Post by kdamica »

ElCapitanMarkla wrote: post #133

I don't really understand why Youtube won't let me create a profile, on my paid family account that I'm paying $29 NZD a month for, which lets me whitelist channels. I'm happy for my kids to have free access to certain channels on youtube, but the mind numbing shorts, and shit they find on random channels just does my head in. And it seems to be getting worse, I'm not sure if its that they are getting older and able…

Have you tried creating a YouTube Kids profile? What you’re describing sounds like what they already have. It is not the default but there is a setting that allows you to create a list of allowed channels. The setting is called “Approved Content Only”.

Re: Australia widens teen social media ban to YouTube, scraps exemption

#426

Post by [deleted] »

OhioMan2943 wrote: post #183
SilverElfin wrote: post #62

Why are so many countries like Australia, UK, EU, etc suddenly pro censorship. Aren’t these all liberal democracies? I would think these policies would be very unpopular. Is there some analysis of how this came to be normalized?

I'm an australian who completed the esafety survey which helped guide this policy. I pushed for anonymous temporary age verification tokens generated through a government app. Social media is undermining the fabric of our societies and destroying a whole generations emotional development. I support this- in part because I know those who want to get around enough or be private will always find a way, but it has a posi…

[deleted]

Re: Australia widens teen social media ban to YouTube, scraps exemption

#427

Post by alt227 »

OhioMan2943 wrote: post #343
protocolture wrote: post #321

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I see, props for admitting you are part of the problem. Next time dont do that.

I just want to share the other side for once.

As usual 'the other side' is exactly what we all knew it was.

It is people who dont understand technology getting frothed up by media scares into believing government promises about censorship.

> They have said repeatedly they will always ensure a non id method is ensured

And you believed them?

Re: Australia widens teen social media ban to YouTube, scraps exemption

#428

Post by jiggawatts »

OhioMan2943 wrote: post #226
jbarham wrote: post #223

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I pushed for anonymous temporary age verification tokens generated through a government app. Cute. Let's see the reviews for an existing Australian government auth app: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=au.gov.mygov.m... And the kicker is that the above app doesn't even need to exist since myGov could just use industry standard TOTP two-factor auth like the dozens of other services I use. Aussie politic…

I'm not saying aus government online portals and services aren't top tier dog shit- but doing an age token through mygov is the best approach, hopefully with enough pressure to make it non shit. The alternative is an acceleration of the negative cultural trends and atomisation we have now. You don't get to cry about the negative effects of social media but also cry about censoring it/protecting an impressionable popu…

> I'm not saying aus government online portals and services aren't top tier dog shit- but doing an age token through mygov is the best approach, hopefully with enough pressure to make it non shit.

This is a pure fantasy that you seem to recognise on some level.

You know all of the government apps are "top tier shit". You experience this, yourself, first hand. It's not some statistic, or report.

This, this is what any form of mandatory ID verification will be: shit. Top tier shit made by the most expensive consultancies using the cheapest possible outsourced Indian labour.

Source: First-hand experience working in the IT departments of the very same people that made MyGov ID.

Re: Australia widens teen social media ban to YouTube, scraps exemption

#429

Post by skeezyboy »

zippo_the_zippo wrote: post #255

YouTube Kids is exempt from the ban, this one should have been banned first because the sheer amount of smoothbrain content. Channels like cocomelon and AI-generated songs with weird visuals are played on infinite loop with a mobile stand holding the phone in front of the child's pram while the parents pay no attention- and the children are hooked onto it as if they are hypnotized. These videos in early stage of chil…

they said the same thing about books, "young people are hypnotised!" And I agree that it has an impact on vocabulary, it widens it. You learn to talk by hearing other people do it, and youtube is full of different accents and ways of talking. How many parents would take them outside to meet that many different people?
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