I’m asking for public policy ideas here. A lot of countries are enacting age verification now. But of course this is a privacy nightmare and is ripe for abuse. At the same time though, I also understand why people are concerned with how kids are using social media. These products are designed to be addictive and are known to cause body image issues and so forth. So what’s the middle ground? How can we protect kids from the harms of social media in a way that respects everyone’s privacy?
I think a good middle ground would be minor regulation and education. Forbid places like Instagram, for example, from recommending beauty ads if a person is consuming content that may indicate that they are insecure about their bodies. Then ensure that teens/young adults know what tricks social media use to garner engagement, be mentally addictive etc so they can make more informed choices.
You could also regulate smartphone sales. Only dumb phones until you hit 18 or so. It wouldn’t keep them off message boards but it could help with social media. Maybe restrict social apps from working on tablets to close a loophole.
Regulating smartphone sells feels like overkill imo. It’s one of those things where it’s up to the parents and, unfortunately, it means that there will be kids with phone but that’s all you can do really.
I do like the idea of restricting social media apps. My parents did the same thing when I was growing up. It didn’t really work because I managed to work around it. But, it’s the thought that counts lol.
The restricting apps would have been for all of those device types instead of by age to make it simpler and less intrusive.
Regulating smartphones is overkill but honestly would make it a lot simpler and be less invasive.