Banning social media use for teens is the 2024 version of “video games and rap music make kids angry”.
Guess what, your kids can handle it.
Discussion
Not sure man look at gen Z, not the only factor of course
Need more video games and angry rap music
Well, they're already back to banning books and specific topics in schools.
I know I can't handle it. I don't think it's necessarily safe for a healthy mental state if you are on it 24/7.
I am concerned for the kids born into it. I had to quit it in 2020 for my own mental health. And even here on Nostr I try to limit my time to just posting my daily drawings. I don't get to go on it until I've done something productive.
Video games are more of an escape of the real world, while social media are a severe distortion. With the filters, FOMO, 2 second trends.
I think Nostr doesn't have as much distortion because there is no algorithm or ads.
Although I have to clarify the government should stay out of our lives. Its up to the individual to figure all this out.
It should be the parents responsibility not the government.
I think the biggest problem with teen and pre-teen social media use is with predators targeting them, and manipulating them into unsafe circumstances. Kids are nowhere near as sophisticated as they like to believe, and many of them are susceptible to grooming and manipulation. I don't think they should be banned from using it, but I think it would behoove the parents to proactively teach their kids about the dangers and how to handle various types of interactions, and to stay engaged with what their kids are doing on social media.
I dunno, I think it might genuinely be worse and a lot of them can't actually handle it 😅
Not to say banning it is the answer, either.
I've been meaning to read The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt and maybe develop a better informed opinion on the matter haha