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Australia: Kids under 16 to be banned from social media after Senate passes laws

abc.net.au

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Re: Australia: Kids under 16 to be banned from social media after Senate passes laws

#131

Post by isodev »

xp84 wrote: post #104

If you’re tempted to think “this isn’t worth it, too hard to enforce without affecting something else”… read “The Anxious Generation” by Jonathan Haidt. There is very real, irreparable harm being done to young people, and it merits trying to make it right, not just surrendering to it. Surely the problem of verifying a property of someone (the Boolean of “is over X age”) without sharing further details, is a surmounta…

Indeed, the challenge is already resolved in Europe by eID/EIDAS in a privacy respecting way, so the technology exists and it's already proven on a large scale.

Re: Australia: Kids under 16 to be banned from social media after Senate passes laws

#132

Post by voltaireodactyl »

xp84 wrote: post #104

If you’re tempted to think “this isn’t worth it, too hard to enforce without affecting something else”… read “The Anxious Generation” by Jonathan Haidt. There is very real, irreparable harm being done to young people, and it merits trying to make it right, not just surrendering to it. Surely the problem of verifying a property of someone (the Boolean of “is over X age”) without sharing further details, is a surmounta…

My issue with this idealistic and understandable perspective is that it completely ignores all historical precedent in the modern age. That is to say: if you think the government is going to use this as anything other than an opportunity to turn all those little dots on the GPS tracker into fully-authenticated names and profiles they can keep tabs on 24/7, I have a bridge to sell you.

And if you think the third parties they contract out the tracking to won’t sell that info/access for profit, I have some magic beans as well.

I support keeping kids protected. I’m just not naive enough to think the current governments of the world have any interest in achieving that goal while maintaining any semblance of privacy for their citizens.

Re: Australia: Kids under 16 to be banned from social media after Senate passes laws

#133

Post by BurningFrog »

akudha wrote: post #109
MichaelZuo wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isn’t that what the electorate desires? By electing personable but mediocore, sometimes even incompetent, MPs over the intelligent but aloof candidates. Someone or some committee, somewhere, still has to actually work out all the details, and if it’s not done in Parliament, because the average MP literally can’t grasp even half the agenda items, it has to be done elsewhere. Edit: And even that is probably being too o…

I started losing faith in democracy since Brexit. It is still better than other forms of governance, that seems like a low bar. People making “protest” votes without bothering to understand the consequences, single issue voters, young people who don’t even bother to vote, dumb/racist/misogynist voters… Democracy only works if voters take it seriously, only if media is at least reasonably honest/competent etc. Across…

Maybe we've gone full circle here, since internet discourse drives much of that angry shallow populism.

Re: Australia: Kids under 16 to be banned from social media after Senate passes laws

#134

Post by [deleted] »

tootie wrote: post #110

I know this is targeting social media but just pointing out that there is no evidence screen time is affecting kids development and pretty solid evidence that it doesn't have much effect at all. https://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/news-events/no-evidence-screen-time...

[deleted]

Re: Australia: Kids under 16 to be banned from social media after Senate passes laws

#135

Post by ocschwar »

xp84 wrote: post #104

If you’re tempted to think “this isn’t worth it, too hard to enforce without affecting something else”… read “The Anxious Generation” by Jonathan Haidt. There is very real, irreparable harm being done to young people, and it merits trying to make it right, not just surrendering to it. Surely the problem of verifying a property of someone (the Boolean of “is over X age”) without sharing further details, is a surmounta…

Frankly I want Australia to go ahead with this law so the rest of us can have a test case for it. If it works well we can copy it with tweaks. If not, then we know to seek other options.

Re: Australia: Kids under 16 to be banned from social media after Senate passes laws

#136

Post by tdb7893 »

owisd wrote: post #116
adventured wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Any and all kids in rural areas. Experience deprivation is a very real thing. I grew up in a desolate rural area, circa the 1980s and 1990s. The Internet - WebChatBroadcasting, ICQ, IRC, etc - was like a gift from the gods in the early 1990s. Cutting off young teens from access to the world via 'social media,' is a human rights violation.

The idea that social media is like a Meta commercial, all making new friends and video calls to smiling Grandparents, etc. is a fabrication, presumably one that a lot of HN folks have a vested interest in maintaining. Kids are lonelier now than they have ever been.

This has been one of the hard things to deal with working in tech. Tech has advanced so much but am I happier or more connected to people than my parents were at my age? Not really. I've had an existential crisis recently about what all this work I've been doing is for. Outside of work I've been using less and less tech and I think I've been happier (like today I have a physical cookbook and a couple handwritten recipes instead of using recipes on my phone).

Re: Australia: Kids under 16 to be banned from social media after Senate passes laws

#137

Post by Symbiote »

lukan wrote: post #96
tilolebo wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Right. Let's do the same for drugs. Irony aside, these platforms are addictive and polarizing by design. I doubt a little test will change anything.

You realize HN here is social media, too?

And HN even recognizes it can be addictive to some. See the "noprocrast" setting on your user settings page.

Re: Australia: Kids under 16 to be banned from social media after Senate passes laws

#138

Post by vanrysss »

BadHumans wrote: post #128

I'm torn here because I think there is very real harm being done with social media not just to kids but to adults as well but you should look at anything being "to protect the children" with extreme prejudice as it is likely just a power grab and way to reduce privacy. The saying "never let a good tragedy go to waste" comes to mind here.

[flagged]

Re: Australia: Kids under 16 to be banned from social media after Senate passes laws

#139

Post by brookst »

owisd wrote: post #116
adventured wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Any and all kids in rural areas. Experience deprivation is a very real thing. I grew up in a desolate rural area, circa the 1980s and 1990s. The Internet - WebChatBroadcasting, ICQ, IRC, etc - was like a gift from the gods in the early 1990s. Cutting off young teens from access to the world via 'social media,' is a human rights violation.

The idea that social media is like a Meta commercial, all making new friends and video calls to smiling Grandparents, etc. is a fabrication, presumably one that a lot of HN folks have a vested interest in maintaining. Kids are lonelier now than they have ever been.

Not everyone who disagrees with you is lying.

Re: Australia: Kids under 16 to be banned from social media after Senate passes laws

#140

Post by voidUpdate »

Eumenes wrote: post #122
asgerhb wrote: post #81

My thoughts immediately go to all the queer kids in rural areas who stand to be cut off from the only support networks they have.

[flagged]

"Recruiting Apparatus"? What do you mean by that?
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