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

Post by whimsicalism » Fri, Nov 29, 2024, 3:56 PM UTC

nozzlegear wrote: post #177

slibhb wrote: post #162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Governments should not be in the business of telling tech companies how to design software. Honest observers will look back on the anti-social-media movement as a moral panic. It isn't so much that social media is good, it's that the proper attitude toward new, scary things is to integrate them into your life in a healthy way rather than banning them. And if we should ban anything it's drugs and gambling, not tiktok

> Governments should not be in the business of telling tech companies how to design software. This sounds a lot like "Governments should not be in the business of telling tobacco companies how to design cigarettes." Social media use is a problem for developing brains. I'm not saying I like Australia's plan, but, like the person you're replying to, I like the spirit of it.

Post by whimsicalism » Fri, Nov 29, 2024, 3:59 PM UTC

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…

Post by whimsicalism » Fri, Nov 29, 2024, 4:03 PM UTC

lm28469 wrote: post #198

vidarh wrote: post #30

Guess Australia will get a lot of kids well-versed in VPN use.

According to recent studies kids don't know what a file or a folder is and can't even copy/paste anymore, I think we have a good margin.

Post by anneessens » Fri, Nov 29, 2024, 6:05 PM UTC

71bw wrote: post #428

anneessens wrote: post #341

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> In particular, for marginalized teens, social media represents a unique avenue to connect with teens in similar situations, which provides a significant support network. Thank you for bringing this up. I was one of those 'marginalised' kids who didn't relate to my real life surroundings so much. The internet was like an escape for me, where I was able to meet many close friends with similar interests on social medi…

>On a site like HN, I would have expected there to be much more people who also had the same experience as younger me with the internet and social media. The majority of people who actively engage in discussions here are from generations older than ours (I assume we are similar in age) and hence are mostly unable to relate to our experiences.

Post by qball » Fri, Nov 29, 2024, 6:12 PM UTC

kevinh wrote: post #144

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…

The Anxious Generation is poorly researched pop science book that people believe to be true because it feels intuitively right to them.