I’m asking for public policy ideas here. A lot of countries are enacting age verification now. But of course this is a privacy nightmare and is ripe for abuse. At the same time though, I also understand why people are concerned with how kids are using social media. These products are designed to be addictive and are known to cause body image issues and so forth. So what’s the middle ground? How can we protect kids from the harms of social media in a way that respects everyone’s privacy?

  • ChristerMLB@piefed.socialEnglish
    1·
    8 days ago

    Some of it can be accomplished by just setting universal demands for how social media works for all users:

    • ban targeted advertising
    • make it mandatory for companies to ensure algorithms don’t prioritize posts for making users angry, scared or depressed

    Stuff like that. These kinds of regulations don’t involve ID checks, and could take care of a big chunk of the problem.

    • Bazoogle@lemmy.world
      1·
      7 days ago

      This doesn’t solve the problem at the core of social media. The inevitable comparison of fake lives on impressionable children/teens has been shown to cause depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideations. There is nothing that can be done algorithm or advertising wise that would stop that from happening.

    • ageedizzle@piefed.caOPEnglish
      1·
      8 days ago

      The ban target advertising would definitely be a more realistic solution than banning advertisements in general (which some people are advocating for here). I really am not a fan of ads and would love if they were banned, but I understand that it’s not politically realistic due to what a large role they play in our economy.

        • Saledovil@sh.itjust.works
          1·
          6 days ago

          I figure a ban of targeted advertisement would look like “The ads are only allowed to change once a day, and everybody during said day sees the same ads”. Whereas currently, each time you load a website, there’s an impromptu auction to sell the ad spots. (Advertisers don’t actually have to pay until you click their ad). So there would be less incentive to keep the user constantly engaged, as it would be enough if the user just visits regularly.