9 ms·

I am convinced that no one will make any progress on this issue so long as they refuse to understand that their aren't a group of shadowy figures pushing for th

by XorNot 4mo ago

I am convinced that no one will make any progress on this issue so long as they refuse to understand that their aren't a group of shadowy figures pushing for this but rather a sizeable chunk of the general population, buoyed on by various moral outrage interest groups including a great many HNers who have been happily stoking the narrative that social media is the cause of every negative statistical ill. Who wants this? God damn everyone. And in so much as Facebook might do something with the data, what they really want is a legal moat of sufficient depth to drown possible competitors.

bluebarbet 4mo ago
In fairness (i.e. looking at the data with an open mind), social media does seem to be the cause of (or at least strongly correlated with) a bunch of ills.
- akmiller 4mo ago
  That's true but has anyone studied the good things that have happened from younger people being able to find community or other positive aspects? Either way the solution again is not age gating, it's real meaningful data privacy laws that if enacted would have a huge effect on many companies today.
  - XorNot 4mo ago
    How do data privacy laws address the significant number of voters who are being told and believe that social media use is causing issues for children and want something done about it? This is exactly what I mean: you've rocked up and started talking about something else entirely.
    - akmiller 4mo ago
      I think you misunderstood me, I'm saying strong (very strong) data privacy laws make age gating unnecessary. This solution has far reaching benefits across all age groups.
      - XorNot 4mo ago
        Okay: How? How do data privacy laws prevent a 14 year old from being cyber bullied online or consuming influencer content destroying their self-esteem? This is (in the most politically neutral way I can put it) what people who want social media age checks are talking about.
splitstud 4mo ago
[dead]

by XorNot 4mo ago

bluebarbet 4mo ago

In fairness (i.e. looking at the data with an open mind), social media does seem to be the cause of (or at least strongly correlated with) a bunch of ills.

akmiller 4mo ago
That's true but has anyone studied the good things that have happened from younger people being able to find community or other positive aspects? Either way the solution again is not age gating, it's real meaningful data privacy laws that if enacted would have a huge effect on many companies today.
- XorNot 4mo ago
  How do data privacy laws address the significant number of voters who are being told and believe that social media use is causing issues for children and want something done about it? This is exactly what I mean: you've rocked up and started talking about something else entirely.
  - akmiller 4mo ago
    I think you misunderstood me, I'm saying strong (very strong) data privacy laws make age gating unnecessary. This solution has far reaching benefits across all age groups.
    - XorNot 4mo ago
      Okay: How? How do data privacy laws prevent a 14 year old from being cyber bullied online or consuming influencer content destroying their self-esteem? This is (in the most politically neutral way I can put it) what people who want social media age checks are talking about.

splitstud 4mo ago

[dead]