Social media giants would be forced to ban children under the age of 14 from their platforms or face hefty penalties, under proposed laws in South Australia that could be replicated in other states.
Blocking children from online communities is blocking them from seeing external views outside of the bubbles their parents indoctrinate them into, it’s blocking them from seeing information to realise if they’re in an abusive situation and seeking help, it’s marginalising LGBT+ youth if, through no fault of their own, they happen to be born to ultra religious or LGBT+ phobic parents.
These are adult online communities. They are not communities for children. My Facebook feed is not something I would like a child to see or interact with, and I would consider it pretty tame. Algorithmic feeds that amplify minor / random views into a torrent of reinforcement is not what kids - or adults, actually - need.
People should be allowed to decide for themselves what they want to see. If they agree with you and think they don’t want to see certain things, then great, they can enable the kids filter, which is usually an easy toggle in settings. If they don’t agree with the makers of the app what is suitable for children, they should also have the option to see the rest of the content.
It’s blocking kids under fourteen. That’s a good age, most kids don’t start to think outside parents until puberty, and it gives some time to settle before being thrown to the net.
My concerns are chiefly practical. How will this be identified and enforced?
Good grief. If you think you’re the exception, you cannot be the rule. And if you can’t debate without making personal attacks then you might need to revise your claims of maturity.
Blocking children from online communities is blocking them from seeing external views outside of the bubbles their parents indoctrinate them into, it’s blocking them from seeing information to realise if they’re in an abusive situation and seeking help, it’s marginalising LGBT+ youth if, through no fault of their own, they happen to be born to ultra religious or LGBT+ phobic parents.
These are adult online communities. They are not communities for children. My Facebook feed is not something I would like a child to see or interact with, and I would consider it pretty tame. Algorithmic feeds that amplify minor / random views into a torrent of reinforcement is not what kids - or adults, actually - need.
People should be allowed to decide for themselves what they want to see. If they agree with you and think they don’t want to see certain things, then great, they can enable the kids filter, which is usually an easy toggle in settings. If they don’t agree with the makers of the app what is suitable for children, they should also have the option to see the rest of the content.
Children rather infamously require assistance from adults with this sort of thing.
Assistance, if they voluntarily choose to censor their own feed, is quite different from censoring it without the consent of the child.
It’s blocking kids under fourteen. That’s a good age, most kids don’t start to think outside parents until puberty, and it gives some time to settle before being thrown to the net.
My concerns are chiefly practical. How will this be identified and enforced?
I was thinking for myself since I was 11. Just because it wouldn’t have helped you doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be available to everyone else
Good grief. If you think you’re the exception, you cannot be the rule. And if you can’t debate without making personal attacks then you might need to revise your claims of maturity.
100%. I’m not a child but I’ve learned so much about people through lemmy, getting to be a part of society without sharing any personal information