Can a law make social media less 'addictive'?

61–62 of 62 posts

Re: Can a law make social media less 'addictive'?

#61

Post by robertlagrant » Tue, Jul 02, 2024, 8:36 AM UTC

makeitdouble wrote: post #54

kelnos wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't buy that. Once kids are around 10 or maybe even as late as 12 or so, sure, if they aren't connected via whatever social media or messaging platform their peers are using, there will be severe social consequences. But a 3-year-old doesn't need to be watching things on a tablet at the dinner table. A 7-year-old doesn't need "access to modern tools", at least not unfettered, whenever-they-want access. I also don…

You're giving me the "we grew fine even if X and Y" argument, and there is no real measure of how fine average people actually are. My parents grew with no TV, no internet and not that much radio either, and boy they aren't fine. They have other skills, but they're also really bad at understanding what's happening in the world today. What's neither in their local paper nor facebook feed could as well not exist, and t…

I think you're focusing purely on educational uses of phones, when you could have a locked-down tablet for that. Phones do far more than that, and it's definitely not all positive.

Re: Can a law make social media less 'addictive'?

#62

Post by makeitdouble » Tue, Jul 02, 2024, 11:47 AM UTC

robertlagrant wrote: post #61

makeitdouble wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're giving me the "we grew fine even if X and Y" argument, and there is no real measure of how fine average people actually are. My parents grew with no TV, no internet and not that much radio either, and boy they aren't fine. They have other skills, but they're also really bad at understanding what's happening in the world today. What's neither in their local paper nor facebook feed could as well not exist, and t…

I think you're focusing purely on educational uses of phones, when you could have a locked-down tablet for that. Phones do far more than that, and it's definitely not all positive.

It's the same situation though. The more powerful the tool, the better upside you get, and the worse potential outcome there is.

I get you want me to focus on the downsides, and I offer you to look at the upsides. We do that balancing act for any tool or resource: does pool have positive effects that are worth the drowning risks ? Does letting kids walk the city alone let them do things that outweight the potential of getting run by a car or getting kidnapped ? etc.

I am definitely in favour of having kids as independent as possible and get them accustomed earlier than later with the tools they'll be using as adults.

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