There's this Calvin and Hobbes strip where Calvin's dad says that if we actually wanted more leisure time, we'd invent machines that did things more slowly, and I think about it all the time.
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I'm not hearing people scream to ban kids from Facebook and TikTok. I'm hearing people scream to ban kids from absolutely everything—search engines, video games, forums, Mastodon, Wikipedia, even their own computers.
That's not how you protect children from harm. That's how you *cause* terrible harm, to children and adults alike.
@argv_minus_one @camertron See that's just shitty and stupid. Everyone blaming "screens" for things again. Sigh.
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@argv_minus_one @camertron See that's just shitty and stupid. Everyone blaming "screens" for things again. Sigh.
@argv_minus_one @camertron "back in my day, the nerds got bullied and isolated, grew up to be either academics with like 2 friends ever, or hermits working a job where they never had to talk to anyone, and died alone, and we should absolutely go back to that." — boomers
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@argv_minus_one @camertron "back in my day, the nerds got bullied and isolated, grew up to be either academics with like 2 friends ever, or hermits working a job where they never had to talk to anyone, and died alone, and we should absolutely go back to that." — boomers
@argv_minus_one @camertron That said I 100% support dismantling Facebook and TikTok because fuck. that.
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@argv_minus_one @camertron Also:
One doesn't have to look far to see many instances of bullying on Facebook and TikTok the platforms did nothing to try to stop that led directly to teen suicides.
Why is it that whenever one kid is abusive toward another, so many people's first and only impulse is to punish the victim?
Because that's what's happening here. First a kid gets bullied at school, and then the government takes away Internet chat. The victim suffers the psychological torture of what is basically solitary confinement while the bullies walk free.
This is not right. This is what the baddies do.
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Why is it that whenever one kid is abusive toward another, so many people's first and only impulse is to punish the victim?
Because that's what's happening here. First a kid gets bullied at school, and then the government takes away Internet chat. The victim suffers the psychological torture of what is basically solitary confinement while the bullies walk free.
This is not right. This is what the baddies do.
@argv_minus_one @camertron It is not the fault of the victim, it is the fault of the perpetrators, but also the platforms bear responsibility by deliberately trying to drive engagement and doing nothing to report bullying or even try to stop it. They care only about money.
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@argv_minus_one @camertron It is not the fault of the victim, it is the fault of the perpetrators, but also the platforms bear responsibility by deliberately trying to drive engagement and doing nothing to report bullying or even try to stop it. They care only about money.
@argv_minus_one @camertron There comes a point where you have to say "this particular platform is harmful." I am not saying all platforms are harmful. But Facebook and TikTok and corporate social media? Ban them. Nuke them from orbit. No remorse. I don't think we should ban social media from kids, I think we should nuke these platforms, and I won't apologise for this stance. There are alternatives.
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@argv_minus_one@mastodon.sdf.org @camertron@ruby.social on one hand, I heavily relate, pretty similar situation for me. modern technology has enabled some truly wonderful things that couldn't have ever been achieved without it, the internet especially, and I'll forever be grateful to it for giving me a space where I could finally belong. makes me so mad to see people pushing for age verification to limit or outright ban minors from accessing these spaces, because all it will accomplish is further harm done to the kids like me. if children's safety was really what mattered to these people, they would be moving to regulate the platforms, not the users
on the other hand, I also kinda see calvin's dad's point. "efficiency" isn't really a concept that applies to social spaces and interactions, but so much of the culture surrounding these spaces (and the internet in general) is focused heavily on efficiency and productivity and profit to the exclusion of all else, and that drives social spaces to become hostile and dangerous by rewarding ever shortening attention spans and stoking outrage in the name of profit. tossing out that culture of efficiency would be hugely beneficial to everyone I think, especially the kids, because the world would be kinder and less polarized if everyone had more time (and desire) to thinkThe world has been unkind and polarized since our distant ancestors were fashioning clubs from fallen branches and using them on rival tribes. None of this is new. It has come and gone in cycles, and this is one of them.
Yes, that culture of “efficiency” should be tossed out in favor of a culture of calm cooperation. Fortunately, quite a lot of people agree with you, and that is exactly what seems to be slowly happening.
Maybe this time it'll be permanent.
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The world has been unkind and polarized since our distant ancestors were fashioning clubs from fallen branches and using them on rival tribes. None of this is new. It has come and gone in cycles, and this is one of them.
Yes, that culture of “efficiency” should be tossed out in favor of a culture of calm cooperation. Fortunately, quite a lot of people agree with you, and that is exactly what seems to be slowly happening.
Maybe this time it'll be permanent.
@argv_minus_one@mastodon.sdf.org @camertron@ruby.social and hey, if anything, I'd even argue the internet might even be one of the most vital components of that movement. and things tend to get worse before they get better
I look forward to slower days -
@argv_minus_one @camertron See that's just shitty and stupid. Everyone blaming "screens" for things again. Sigh.
Yeah. I remember when people were blaming Doom for the Columbine shooting. It was and remains absolutely baffling.
I played Doom. The player character is a heroic Marine battling an invasion of demons from hell. At no point does the game involve shooting defenseless children or anything similarly immoral.
And yet, somehow, it was the subject of public outrage.
No doubt stoked by interests with media connections, back in the bad old days before Internet fact checking…
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@argv_minus_one @camertron "back in my day, the nerds got bullied and isolated, grew up to be either academics with like 2 friends ever, or hermits working a job where they never had to talk to anyone, and died alone, and we should absolutely go back to that." — boomers
I wish it was only Boomers saying that. From what I hear, Gen Z is of that opinion now. I can't even.
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@argv_minus_one @camertron That said I 100% support dismantling Facebook and TikTok because fuck. that.
That seems to be Australia's approach, but so far it isn't working. Kids easily evade the age checks with scrunched-up faces, video game characters, fake IDs, whatever it takes.
Must every generation learn the hard way that keeping kids from chatting and exploring is impossible? I thought we learned this in the 1990s. Must we burn the entire Internet to ashes, leaving no trace of what was once humanity's crowning achievement, before we give up on this fool's errand?
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