In the real world, we are trying to figure out how to share the world with children to keep them safe while allowing adults to participate in adult-only activities, especially those involving sex, violence, and addictive substances. We have over a century of experience finding . .
In America during the 18th and 19th centuries, there were basically no restrictions on children’s alcohol consumption. However, following the efforts of the temperance movement to publicize alcohol’s harmful effects on families, women, and children, and the failure of the Prohibition experiment, states assumed responsibility for regulating alcohol. . States eventually passed laws prohibiting the sale of alcohol to people under a certain age (usually 21). This established the principle that enforcement responsibility lies with bars, liquor stores, and casinos that profit from alcohol sales. Parents’ thoughts are alone Most people would think it’s ridiculous to say that children’s alcohol intake should be controlled.
Similarly, we once allowed children, regardless of their age, to go anywhere on the Internet and do all the same things adults do, without their parents’ knowledge or consent. It would seem ridiculous. 2025 will be the year humanity remembers that children are different from adults and that some parts of the digital world need protection and age restrictions.
The danger cannot be denied now. From the dawn of the internet until 2024, a child who knew how to lie about their age could open an account on nearly every platform used by adults, except those that required a credit card. This includes hardcore porn sites like Pornhub and the now defunct site Omegle. There, children could video chat with strangers, including a naked man masturbating. It also includes social media platforms such as Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok, all of which are filled with highly inappropriate content for children and incorporate design features that harm children in various ways. I am.
There is currently growing concern among parents and educators.
A 2023 child health survey conducted by C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital found that overuse of smartphones, social media, and internet safety ranked above school violence, drugs, and bullying as the top issues parents were concerned about. It was shown that Another survey of school leaders in 2024 showed similar concerns about the impact smartphones have on students, with 88% saying smartphones make children tired and distracted. 85% said they believe smartphones are increasing violence and bullying in schools.
In 2023, a major UNESCO report called for a ban on smartphones in schools, considering overwhelming evidence that excessive phone use is correlated with poor school performance and poor mental health. No wonder. In 2024, France, Italy, Finland, and the Netherlands will follow these recommendations and ban the use of digital devices in classrooms. In the US, Ohio, Indiana, Oklahoma, Virginia and Florida have also imposed restrictions on smartphone use in schools, and US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy has put warning labels on social media platforms. I called out. A bipartisan bill to address these concerns, the Kids Online Safety Act, also passed the Senate. The new law, for example, would force technology companies to target children with personalized algorithms designed to hook them.
In 2025, parents will no longer be the only ones dealing with this problem. They will receive support from concerned politicians and schools without telephones. Meanwhile, social media companies will finally admit, or be forced by a jury or Congress to admit, that they have childhoods, or at least experience childhoods. some Responsibility for what we do to our children.