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Norway set to become latest country to ban social media for under 16s

bloomberg.com

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Re: Norway set to become latest country to ban social media for under 16s

#11

Post by insane_dreamer »

benj111 wrote: post #2

Is there any evidence for all this? This sums up my understanding of the current situation ( https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/understand-the-im... ) That isn't anywhere near definitive. Further it seems to me, this will just allow the tech companies to assume there are no kids, and remove the protections currently available. Yes there is an issue of quantity, but it seems that we should be focussing on soci…

yes, plenty of studies of the effect on mental health. whether it's "definitive" is a matter of debate (and opinion). as a parent of teens/preteens, I 100% support this just like I support banning the sale of cigarettes to minors. And if future research definitively shows that social media is not generally harmful, then it can be allowed and no harm done -- meaning that it's not like the ban deprives them of some essential need.

It's not even so much the social media itself, but it's the companies controlling social media, who push every lever to try to increase engagement. It's not unlike the cigarette companies back in the day, trying to make them as addictive as possible, with ads everywhere, getting it movies so it's cool, etc.

If we had no-ads, paid subscription social media accounts, no endless scrolling, where social media companies revenue was not tied to time spent in the app, where you only see from people you follow, that would be a whole different conversation.

Meta/ByteDance/Snap/YouTube have f*ed it up, and this is why we can't have nice things.

Re: Norway set to become latest country to ban social media for under 16s

#12

Post by noworriesnate »

ozgrakkurt wrote: post #7
benj111 wrote: post #2

Is there any evidence for all this? This sums up my understanding of the current situation ( https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/understand-the-im... ) That isn't anywhere near definitive. Further it seems to me, this will just allow the tech companies to assume there are no kids, and remove the protections currently available. Yes there is an issue of quantity, but it seems that we should be focussing on soci…

Seriously. I see at least one baby with a phone in hand every time I go out. This is 100% an education issue and they don't understand how harmful that can be to their child's brain. Governments are focusing on banning things because some reason but real solution is education and support imo. Similar issue with school shottings. Government wants to ban guns or put controls on schools but they don't invest enough on m…

Making it illegal will raise awareness about how addictive social media is, i.e. it will educate people

Re: Norway set to become latest country to ban social media for under 16s

#13

Post by hmokiguess »

deadbabe wrote: post #5

Knowing how kids are, they will just snicker and skirt their way around these bans anyway thinking they are some super bad ass. This is mostly symbolic.

I'm okay with that, I remember the "cool kid" at my school who smoked cigarettes and I see today how he turned out later in life. Doesn't mean everyone will do it.

Re: Norway set to become latest country to ban social media for under 16s

#14

Post by pj_mukh »

ozgrakkurt wrote: post #7
benj111 wrote: post #2

Is there any evidence for all this? This sums up my understanding of the current situation ( https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/understand-the-im... ) That isn't anywhere near definitive. Further it seems to me, this will just allow the tech companies to assume there are no kids, and remove the protections currently available. Yes there is an issue of quantity, but it seems that we should be focussing on soci…

Seriously. I see at least one baby with a phone in hand every time I go out. This is 100% an education issue and they don't understand how harmful that can be to their child's brain. Governments are focusing on banning things because some reason but real solution is education and support imo. Similar issue with school shottings. Government wants to ban guns or put controls on schools but they don't invest enough on m…

"This is 100% an education issue"

It is not. Most parents I know have seen what it does to their kids, but have zero childcare. I have a white-collar remote job and can police my kids. If I was dual-parent working class, I don't think I'd be able to pull it off. I'm glad these laws are getting on the books, so at least the peer pressure of a classroom can get to a good majority of kids.

The kid with the iPad at the restaurant is just saliency bias ("I see it everywhere!"). This is not that different from blaming parents for sending their kids to school hungry or for their kids getting abducted or some such.

Social media is a vortex with a very strong societal pull.

Re: Norway set to become latest country to ban social media for under 16s

#15

Post by avocabros »

deadbabe wrote: post #5

Knowing how kids are, they will just snicker and skirt their way around these bans anyway thinking they are some super bad ass. This is mostly symbolic.

The ability to enforce a law doesn't mean it shouldn't be a law. No law is followed and enforced 100%.

Re: Norway set to become latest country to ban social media for under 16s

#17

Post by insane_dreamer »

deadbabe wrote: post #5

Knowing how kids are, they will just snicker and skirt their way around these bans anyway thinking they are some super bad ass. This is mostly symbolic.

> This is mostly symbolic.

sure, just like some kids sneak cigarettes; but the vast majority don't. I disagree that it's symbolic.

Re: Norway set to become latest country to ban social media for under 16s

#19

Post by rgblambda »

postexitus wrote: post #9
ozgrakkurt wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seriously. I see at least one baby with a phone in hand every time I go out. This is 100% an education issue and they don't understand how harmful that can be to their child's brain. Governments are focusing on banning things because some reason but real solution is education and support imo. Similar issue with school shottings. Government wants to ban guns or put controls on schools but they don't invest enough on m…

Why not sell cigarettes and alcohol to kids, but also educate them that it's harmful?

A VPN can't get around a cigarette and alcohol ban.

Perhaps children should be given locked down phones, with fines for parents who buy non child safe phones for their kids. It would take time for this to take effect but a social media ban would actually be effective at the end.

Re: Norway set to become latest country to ban social media for under 16s

#20

Post by Aurornis »

ozgrakkurt wrote: post #7
benj111 wrote: post #2

Is there any evidence for all this? This sums up my understanding of the current situation ( https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/understand-the-im... ) That isn't anywhere near definitive. Further it seems to me, this will just allow the tech companies to assume there are no kids, and remove the protections currently available. Yes there is an issue of quantity, but it seems that we should be focussing on soci…

Seriously. I see at least one baby with a phone in hand every time I go out. This is 100% an education issue and they don't understand how harmful that can be to their child's brain. Governments are focusing on banning things because some reason but real solution is education and support imo. Similar issue with school shottings. Government wants to ban guns or put controls on schools but they don't invest enough on m…

> Seriously. I see at least one baby with a phone in hand every time I go out.

Where do you live where this is normal?

I’m a parent who spends a lot of time going on walks and to parks with my kids most days of the week.

It’s rare for me to see kids with tablets or phones in their hands. When I do it’s kind of surprising.

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