The corporate walled gardens are certainly a huge issue (with a fairly easy fix). But you can’t argue that anonymity “protects” queer kids who need online spaces to find acceptance when these exact spaces are now infested with bots and AI slop and ceding control to fascists. Facebook, Twitter, Reddit. What do you think happens when Ellison fully takes over TikTok? What is the upside of a teenager watching that pointless garbage instead of, say, reading a book?
These websites need to be inaccessible to anyone other than a human over the age of 21 who is verifiably who they say they are, or they need to cease to exist.
Also, I work with teenagers. They can’t read. Every year standardized tests get easier. The average ACT score in Florida is now 18. That’s almost the same as answering at random, and these kids pay for the exam in an effort to go to college. Why the fuck do they have smart phones? Why do they have access to YouTube or TikTok? Seriously what is the upside here? 54% of the population reads at a 6th grade level. What the fuck are we doing?
Drugs are way less harmful than ANY of this shit and we ban them until people are at least 18~21. Honestly, anyone who hasn’t interacted with the next generation let me paint you a picture: boomers, but proudly illiterate. It’s sad.
The corporate walled gardens are certainly a huge issue (with a fairly easy fix). But you can’t argue that anonymity “protects” queer kids who need online spaces to find acceptance when these exact spaces are now infested with bots and AI slop and ceding control to fascists. Facebook, Twitter, Reddit. What do you think happens when Ellison fully takes over TikTok? What is the upside of a teenager watching that pointless garbage instead of, say, reading a book?
These websites need to be inaccessible to anyone other than a human over the age of 21 who is verifiably who they say they are, or they need to cease to exist.
Also, I work with teenagers. They can’t read. Every year standardized tests get easier. The average ACT score in Florida is now 18. That’s almost the same as answering at random, and these kids pay for the exam in an effort to go to college. Why the fuck do they have smart phones? Why do they have access to YouTube or TikTok? Seriously what is the upside here? 54% of the population reads at a 6th grade level. What the fuck are we doing?
Drugs are way less harmful than ANY of this shit and we ban them until people are at least 18~21. Honestly, anyone who hasn’t interacted with the next generation let me paint you a picture: boomers, but proudly illiterate. It’s sad.