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Do you think cigarettes and alcohol should be legal for sale to children? What about advertising specifically targeted at getting kids interested and hooked on

Do you think cigarettes and alcohol should be legal for sale to children? What about advertising specifically targeted at getting kids interested and hooked on cigarettes? What about child labor? Why not let just parents decide what's right for their kids? There's some behaviors of corporations interacting with children that are correctly regulated in the interest of the broader society we live in. It is completely valid to argue that social media specifically isn't harmful enough to regulate, but your comment amounts to snark that implies nothing should be regulated which is a pretty extreme Anarcho-capitalist position to blanket take.

vorpalhex 4y ago
Oddly enough, in most states it's legal for a parent to furnish alcohol to a minor. I remember being given a glass of wine or a beer occasionally growing up. I think this is something that my parents did to discourage underage drinking my making it boring (which worked, at least for me). That works because the parent is mediating.
voidfunc 4y ago
> 1. Do you think cigarettes and alcohol should be legal for sale to children? Yes. But age limits on them should still exist but be lowered (to say 13). Parents need to teach their kids how to responsibly enjoy vices. In general I think all vice laws should be purged from the books. > 2. What about advertising specifically targeted at getting kids interested and hooked on cigarettes? I'm okay with some limits on addictive advertising but I largely think it is parents responsibility to teach their kids how to properly evaluate purchases and understand what addiction is so they can avoid it. > 3. What about child labor? Depends on age, but I'm OK with kids working as young as thirteen in many capacities. Even younger kids can work in some more limited jobs. > 4. Why not let just parents decide what's right for their kids? Parents should be deciding what is right for their kids... they are _their_ kids. The government is too far abstracted away from families to know what is best for a kid.
- travisporter 4y ago
  Age 13? You can’t tell my 12yo what to do. I have every right to let them work in the coal mines. It builds character. /s Labor laws are ruining this country (Ron Swanson, parks&rec)
- hgomersall 4y ago
  So for some kids it might be ok to drink and smoke? Presumably a letter of parents' consent to take to the shop would also be too much restriction?
- leksak 4y ago
  And a lot of parents have no idea what is good/right for their kids. What's your solution there?
  - voidfunc 4y ago
    The government knows better? Please…
themacguffinman 4y ago
Okay but then you'd actually have to prove that advertising and social media rises to the same level of consistent harm with reliably addictive mechanisms as cigarettes and alcohol. You'd have to do, like, medical science and stuff, not just vague surveys that some teens get slightly lower self esteem peppered with a few irrelevant "I quit Facebook and I feel better now" anecdotes. A lot of people were so sure and so vocal that violent video games cause violent behavior, a "just so" theory that no one bothered to prove. History loves to rhyme.
- bigfudge 4y ago
  This work has been done and suppressed by the companies themselves (see multiple whistleblowers). Nobody else is in a position to access the data to do the studies.
stickfigure 4y ago
Social media is not in the same category as cigarettes and alcohol. Full stop.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]

vorpalhex 4y ago

Oddly enough, in most states it's legal for a parent to furnish alcohol to a minor. I remember being given a glass of wine or a beer occasionally growing up. I think this is something that my parents did to discourage underage drinking my making it boring (which worked, at least for me). That works because the parent is mediating.

voidfunc 4y ago

> 1. Do you think cigarettes and alcohol should be legal for sale to children? Yes. But age limits on them should still exist but be lowered (to say 13). Parents need to teach their kids how to responsibly enjoy vices. In general I think all vice laws should be purged from the books. > 2. What about advertising specifically targeted at getting kids interested and hooked on cigarettes? I'm okay with some limits on addictive advertising but I largely think it is parents responsibility to teach their kids how to properly evaluate purchases and understand what addiction is so they can avoid it. > 3. What about child labor? Depends on age, but I'm OK with kids working as young as thirteen in many capacities. Even younger kids can work in some more limited jobs. > 4. Why not let just parents decide what's right for their kids? Parents should be deciding what is right for their kids... they are _their_ kids. The government is too far abstracted away from families to know what is best for a kid.

travisporter 4y ago
Age 13? You can’t tell my 12yo what to do. I have every right to let them work in the coal mines. It builds character. /s Labor laws are ruining this country (Ron Swanson, parks&rec)
hgomersall 4y ago
So for some kids it might be ok to drink and smoke? Presumably a letter of parents' consent to take to the shop would also be too much restriction?
leksak 4y ago
And a lot of parents have no idea what is good/right for their kids. What's your solution there?
- voidfunc 4y ago
  The government knows better? Please…

themacguffinman 4y ago

Okay but then you'd actually have to prove that advertising and social media rises to the same level of consistent harm with reliably addictive mechanisms as cigarettes and alcohol. You'd have to do, like, medical science and stuff, not just vague surveys that some teens get slightly lower self esteem peppered with a few irrelevant "I quit Facebook and I feel better now" anecdotes. A lot of people were so sure and so vocal that violent video games cause violent behavior, a "just so" theory that no one bothered to prove. History loves to rhyme.

bigfudge 4y ago
This work has been done and suppressed by the companies themselves (see multiple whistleblowers). Nobody else is in a position to access the data to do the studies.

stickfigure 4y ago

Social media is not in the same category as cigarettes and alcohol. Full stop.

deleted 4y ago
[deleted]