1. I don't like the state making such decisions for parents.
2. It should give one pause that governments attacking Free Speech, as in Australia and the UK, are going this route. I do not trust this direction at all.
Being a young adult who suffered through the consequences of being active on social media from a young age, what do you recommend then?
It objectively was and is still terrible in how it affects my peers and I. At that young age we do not know any better, and quite frankly, most parents will not put in the work in order to enforce rules.
Is it a better option to knowingly destroy our future kids to uphold this blasphemous societal definition of “freedom”?
How is age to be checked? Digital ID for the whole population? Name a government that does not misuse surveillance powers. This will be an excuse for a digital noose around our necks.
Canada’s Bill C-63 (Online Harms Act) effectively ignores the "collective action trap" mentioned here. The legislation focuses on "age-appropriate design" rather than a hard age floor, which leaves parents negotiating with their kids about consent. A clean 16+ standard would give the incoming Digital Safety Commission a single, enforceable metric rather than asking them to police vague "risk mitigation" strategies.
If we can decide a 15-year old shouldn’t drive or drink alcohol, we certainly can collectively decide they shouldn’t use social media. I don’t see a slippery slope here - this is one of the very few rules people are talking about legislating.
Came here to make this exact point! The state tells us when we can drive, drink, smoke, or even buy a lottery ticket. I too see no slippery slope here.
The examples you give is the enforcement of the is rules in a physical interaction. A one time interaction that is not remembered and you are just one person in a crowd. A Digital ID check will follow you around the internet without becoming an unknown person in the crowd. There are big differences between the interactions. It is easier to control speech, access and all the other things a government could disagree with. Don't say it wont happen, looks what happening in the USA now!
Very good point about laws for driving or buying alcohol. The key imo is responsible adults because kids still seem to find a way to get their hands on alcohol under the drinking age. Account creation seems to be a good place to start as it prevents an account versus access. I do worry that companies will then make their apps able to be used without an account to still get eyeballs. The age verification challenge will show up here for sure!
How will age be verified? Seems like a great way for central controls to be established over the whole population, under the guise of "safety". Re:The Patriot Act
Parents need to be the ones to take responsibility over their kids. Big Tech will never care about the harms done
It’s nice to see that there’s a positive change as a result of such decisions. I’m a teacher, and the school district I work for made the decision to go “cell-phone free” for students. In a matter of weeks you were able to see the humanity in them spring back to life. They communicated with each other more, communicated better, and were more “connected” than they ever were before.
But it is interesting that we’ve had to resort to bans—similar to that of drugs and alcohol—because of the dopaminergic nature of social media and modern tech. It makes me curious about what the future may hold, considering how fast tech has progressed (and will continue to progress).
I suppose I see it as a human problem (something I’ve written about on my newly started Substack), because the issues of screen addiction—including its effects—apply just as much to adults. Sure, children may be banned and have no choice, but what about the parents who neglect their responsibilities because of how connected they are to their devices? What about the teachers who spend more time on Facebook than actually teaching their classes?
It’s sad that we’ve gotten to this point while simultaneously allowing technology to grow exponentially, which—at least from my point of view—which has the chance to perpetuate the problem despite all the efforts that have transpired so far.
I liked your work on The Coddling of the American Mind. This 16+ internet work seems very...coddling. Could you not swap out internet access for "when Timmy's immune system can handle play in the dirty dirty sandbox"?
I'll admit I have not followed every one of your articles on this so I could be missing something. Did you and your team control for parenting approach or culture? I'm still not convinced the explaination is internet access. We have seen parental responsibility and power erode (at least in the US) since the 80s. We have seen general adult behavior and responsibility decline with more entitlement and cult like groupthink over the same time period.
I'm sure the internet, like all technology, has amplified this but I don't think its the root cause. I also don't think we should rush to give authoritarian gov'ts another avenue to mettle in our lives.
While the idea itself is noble, implementation is the real question.
Do you suggest every user must give big tech their government ID to prove they're adults? On that note, to counter fraud IDs (including photoshopped age), should the government give big tech an open API to verify every ID received?
If so, that's the end of the open nature of the internet. Multiple countries are imprisoning individuals for their social media post as it is, the UK, for example. Forcing such mandates will only give censorship more power. What's next, Chinese social credit system?
As an Australian I do not agree with this article, this group and what they represent.
It is an invasion of privacy and an excuse to allow the government to control and de-anonymousing the internet. What would have been the brave approach would have been to teach people how to over come social media problems for themselves and their kids.
Your points all make a lot of sense to me. I found this substack post from an Australian parent and teacher to be very illuminating as to what it actually feels like to enforce Australia's ban!
It seems that humans might need some lessons on puberty and what is happening in the maturing process? This seems to spill over into a bunch of areas. It also seems that people forget that these young people are children. If I remember correctly, if was difficult enough to go through puberty without all of this added stimuli...
Famous Italian author Francesco Varanini and technology expert refers to "escape from responsibility" to explain all this adults fascination with Big Tech gadgets. Parents seem to have forgotten a lot of things that matter.
Neil Postman taught us that when childhood disappears so does adulthood... I do hope in 2026 we can break the evil Big Tech spell, prioritize restoring childhood, and get Big Tech out of kids life.
If kids have found their way around parental limits this long, why do we think they won't find a way around this as well? I also do not like the state interfering in what should be parental/family affairs, and I say this as someone who fully intends on not letting my future children have access to social media until at least 16. This feels like government overreach
1. I don't like the state making such decisions for parents.
2. It should give one pause that governments attacking Free Speech, as in Australia and the UK, are going this route. I do not trust this direction at all.
I'm worried its another safety first effort that can only be implemented with more centralized power and regulation.
Being a young adult who suffered through the consequences of being active on social media from a young age, what do you recommend then?
It objectively was and is still terrible in how it affects my peers and I. At that young age we do not know any better, and quite frankly, most parents will not put in the work in order to enforce rules.
Is it a better option to knowingly destroy our future kids to uphold this blasphemous societal definition of “freedom”?
This is the time to suggest an approach.
This is so eminently sensible.
Once seen, a disturbing memory can never be erased x
How is age to be checked? Digital ID for the whole population? Name a government that does not misuse surveillance powers. This will be an excuse for a digital noose around our necks.
Canada’s Bill C-63 (Online Harms Act) effectively ignores the "collective action trap" mentioned here. The legislation focuses on "age-appropriate design" rather than a hard age floor, which leaves parents negotiating with their kids about consent. A clean 16+ standard would give the incoming Digital Safety Commission a single, enforceable metric rather than asking them to police vague "risk mitigation" strategies.
If you're interested in age limits in Canada, I'd suggest getting involved with Unplugged Canada - https://unpluggedcanada.com/
This is brilliant and inspiring! Thank you!
Amen. Canada's approach provides way too much wiggle room via purely subjective standards.
If we can decide a 15-year old shouldn’t drive or drink alcohol, we certainly can collectively decide they shouldn’t use social media. I don’t see a slippery slope here - this is one of the very few rules people are talking about legislating.
Came here to make this exact point! The state tells us when we can drive, drink, smoke, or even buy a lottery ticket. I too see no slippery slope here.
The examples you give is the enforcement of the is rules in a physical interaction. A one time interaction that is not remembered and you are just one person in a crowd. A Digital ID check will follow you around the internet without becoming an unknown person in the crowd. There are big differences between the interactions. It is easier to control speech, access and all the other things a government could disagree with. Don't say it wont happen, looks what happening in the USA now!
Very good point about laws for driving or buying alcohol. The key imo is responsible adults because kids still seem to find a way to get their hands on alcohol under the drinking age. Account creation seems to be a good place to start as it prevents an account versus access. I do worry that companies will then make their apps able to be used without an account to still get eyeballs. The age verification challenge will show up here for sure!
Instead of smartphones, let's give these kids library cards.
How will age be verified? Seems like a great way for central controls to be established over the whole population, under the guise of "safety". Re:The Patriot Act
Parents need to be the ones to take responsibility over their kids. Big Tech will never care about the harms done
It’s nice to see that there’s a positive change as a result of such decisions. I’m a teacher, and the school district I work for made the decision to go “cell-phone free” for students. In a matter of weeks you were able to see the humanity in them spring back to life. They communicated with each other more, communicated better, and were more “connected” than they ever were before.
But it is interesting that we’ve had to resort to bans—similar to that of drugs and alcohol—because of the dopaminergic nature of social media and modern tech. It makes me curious about what the future may hold, considering how fast tech has progressed (and will continue to progress).
I suppose I see it as a human problem (something I’ve written about on my newly started Substack), because the issues of screen addiction—including its effects—apply just as much to adults. Sure, children may be banned and have no choice, but what about the parents who neglect their responsibilities because of how connected they are to their devices? What about the teachers who spend more time on Facebook than actually teaching their classes?
It’s sad that we’ve gotten to this point while simultaneously allowing technology to grow exponentially, which—at least from my point of view—which has the chance to perpetuate the problem despite all the efforts that have transpired so far.
All in all, though, good work!
I liked your work on The Coddling of the American Mind. This 16+ internet work seems very...coddling. Could you not swap out internet access for "when Timmy's immune system can handle play in the dirty dirty sandbox"?
I'll admit I have not followed every one of your articles on this so I could be missing something. Did you and your team control for parenting approach or culture? I'm still not convinced the explaination is internet access. We have seen parental responsibility and power erode (at least in the US) since the 80s. We have seen general adult behavior and responsibility decline with more entitlement and cult like groupthink over the same time period.
I'm sure the internet, like all technology, has amplified this but I don't think its the root cause. I also don't think we should rush to give authoritarian gov'ts another avenue to mettle in our lives.
While the idea itself is noble, implementation is the real question.
Do you suggest every user must give big tech their government ID to prove they're adults? On that note, to counter fraud IDs (including photoshopped age), should the government give big tech an open API to verify every ID received?
If so, that's the end of the open nature of the internet. Multiple countries are imprisoning individuals for their social media post as it is, the UK, for example. Forcing such mandates will only give censorship more power. What's next, Chinese social credit system?
As an Australian I do not agree with this article, this group and what they represent.
It is an invasion of privacy and an excuse to allow the government to control and de-anonymousing the internet. What would have been the brave approach would have been to teach people how to over come social media problems for themselves and their kids.
Not Australian, but you voiced my concerns over this perfectly
Your points all make a lot of sense to me. I found this substack post from an Australian parent and teacher to be very illuminating as to what it actually feels like to enforce Australia's ban!
https://improvingwellbeing.substack.com/p/the-social-media-ban
It seems that humans might need some lessons on puberty and what is happening in the maturing process? This seems to spill over into a bunch of areas. It also seems that people forget that these young people are children. If I remember correctly, if was difficult enough to go through puberty without all of this added stimuli...
Famous Italian author Francesco Varanini and technology expert refers to "escape from responsibility" to explain all this adults fascination with Big Tech gadgets. Parents seem to have forgotten a lot of things that matter.
Neil Postman taught us that when childhood disappears so does adulthood... I do hope in 2026 we can break the evil Big Tech spell, prioritize restoring childhood, and get Big Tech out of kids life.
Simplicity = eloquent solution and change Thanks for your work
Thank you for your diligent work and dedication to protecting children and puberty.
Please consider connecting with others who also want to protect puberty in other ways. https://protectingpuberty.com
Please continue your noble efforts to protect our kids. It is much appreciated.
If kids have found their way around parental limits this long, why do we think they won't find a way around this as well? I also do not like the state interfering in what should be parental/family affairs, and I say this as someone who fully intends on not letting my future children have access to social media until at least 16. This feels like government overreach