Australia intends to set a minimum age limit for children to use social media, citing concerns about mental and physical health. The plan has sparked backlash from digital rights advocates who warn the measure could drive dangerous online activity underground.
I can appreciate the argument that’s being made to counter this. That enacting such rulings would drive the affected children to lesser known pockets of the internet. However I think that’s a red herring by the industry, since that always happens anyway.
A new platform pops up and people go try it. It’s only a matter of time before there’s a new Tiktok in town. They will spin up and die off faster than legislation can keep up. Seems to me the industry wants to keep the children for the data, and the revenue that comes with it.
Something does need to be done though. Our minds are becoming mushy tomatoes and social media is partly to blame. A better solution might be education of course, but I’m not sure what that would look like, or if it would be effective unless integrated into curriculums quite early on.
I can appreciate the argument that’s being made to counter this. That enacting such rulings would drive the affected children to lesser known pockets of the internet. However I think that’s a red herring by the industry, since that always happens anyway.
A new platform pops up and people go try it. It’s only a matter of time before there’s a new Tiktok in town. They will spin up and die off faster than legislation can keep up. Seems to me the industry wants to keep the children for the data, and the revenue that comes with it.
Something does need to be done though. Our minds are becoming mushy tomatoes and social media is partly to blame. A better solution might be education of course, but I’m not sure what that would look like, or if it would be effective unless integrated into curriculums quite early on.