They need to be informed there are options that do not involve giving their information and their children's information to shady vendors.

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Gigachad 4 hours ago | parent | next [-]

Are there? Because we have had the last 15 years to see it isn’t working. Theres also the issue of peer pressure, it’s incredibly hard for one parent to say no to social media when every other kid has it and all the parties are arranged on Facebook. Right now telling your child they can’t have social media is crippling their ability to have a normal social life.

Banning it outright means parents have a strong foundation of “no you can’t have it, it’s illegal” and all of their peers will instead organise on private messaging apps instead.

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Bender 4 hours ago | parent [-]

That's why I suggest starting with really small children, kids that will be 13 by 2032. Starting with teens is a non starter regardless of how it is attempted in my opinion. It was a very long time ago but I recall being a teen. I could not be locked out of anything. Starting with small children is much easier and when they prove that they are mature and responsible enough then the floodgates open.

	▲	pluralmonad 3 hours ago \| parent [-]
		You are advocating parenting kids. So many others seem to want "policy" to raise peoples kids for them. That is a fools errand. And personally, I could not care less what some bureaucrat thinks is alright for my children or any others. Simply not their decision to make.

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paytonjjones 4 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

It's a collective action problem.

The psychological impacts come from secondary network effects. The studies suggest that taking social media away from just your kid doesn't do anything, because the culture wherever they go will still be driven by it.

So the only way I can protect my kids from it is to pass laws to force other parents' hands.

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pluralmonad 3 hours ago | parent [-]

It is not necessary to dump our kids into institutions to be raised by their peers. It is necessary that you don't make decisions for other peoples kids.

	▲	paytonjjones an hour ago \| parent [-]
		Whether you legalize social media or not (or smoking, or drinking, or riding in a car without a seatbelt), that's making a decision for other people's kids. Choosing parental liberty is still choosing. I sympathize with the libertarian impulse but for me, protecting my kids from other parents' poor decisions comes first.