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They don't really have any interest in social media as we use them. It's likely there will be some other new form of social media, probably something more metaverse like Roblox or Minecraft.

As a kid, I remember we had these things on TV and people would dial on phones just to have messages show up on TV. It seems kind of the same with Gen Alpha and YouTube. There's all these things like Discord, but they feel more like being lonely in a group.

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tra3 5 days ago | parent | next [-]

> They don't really have any interest in social media as we use them.

This seems misleading, even if it's true. My kids keep asking for TikTok/Instagram etc access. Because their friends have these apps.

Seeing certain messaging will them have a similar impact that it does on older individuals.

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muzani 4 days ago | parent | next [-]

We give them access. They get bored of it because their friends aren't on it. They will swipe on TikTok, but it's missing the social aspect.

When is the last time you met anyone younger than 20 on Instagram? I'd be skeptical on that alone. Reddit and Discord still have teenagers, and those are the ones I would watch.

Influencers do exist in their lives but they seem exclusively from YouTube and Roblox. These tend to funnel into Discord and... wikis?

Things that went viral with my kids in 2024: Sprunki, The Amazing Digital Circus, Fundamental Paper Education. These are not popular on IG, FB, Twitter, TikTok, so I assume these platforms aren't popular with kids either.

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more_corn 4 days ago | parent | prev [-]

Yeah, I find it completely implausible that kids wouldn’t have interest in social media. Perhaps the OP is using a very restrictive definition that excludes TikTok and instagram.

	▲	muzani 4 days ago \| parent [-]
		I meant as we use them. Exclusionary of the [HN crowd]. I don't think most of the ones we use market to children anyway. And social networks rely on a network effect to be useful. They will certainly find a way to socialise on the internet, but unlikely in the form we're used to. I'm saying it's like giving antibiotics to viruses; most of the solutions we have will be ineffective because the next generation will be doing something different. Many kids will have Roblox and learned to interact in worlds with others without texting, posting, or commenting. If you play mobile games, most even disable typing because of toxicity/language/app store restrictions, and they rely on emoting to communicate. There's one way stuff like this, which don't resemble most of today's social media: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1070710/Kind_Words_lo_fi_... I wouldn't be surprised if a new app emerged where they'd poke each other without typing any words. Those are the ones I'd watch out for.

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thom 3 days ago | parent | prev [-]

Our kids play Roblox but we don’t let them chat or add friends. They just have FaceTime on in the background while playing with school friends. Seems fun to me, and none of them appear to have become demented.