Are social networks unhealthy for minors?
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@evan@cosocial.ca no but abusing abusive companies are unhealthy for everyone
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@evan not inherently, but platforms that manipulate children's psychology to maximize profit are unhealthy and IMO extremely unethical.
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@evan when I was a kid ten thousand years ago we didn't have these kinds of things, and I feel that young me was better off mentally being able to go home and have zero contact with my peers. Home used to be a safe place from the world, but now the world enters your home. Imagine being a teenager and having to deal with other teenagers after school and at night while in your bedroom and living room
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@evan Yes. I wish we didn't feel the need to use a social network *at all* but the fact that it's virtually impossible to exist in 2026 without a social network is not a healthy thing.
I'm here because it's the best option available but I wish this was not something necessary.
@renata like methadone?
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@evan yes, but also for adults
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@evan social networks? no. addictive corporate social network? yes. (so no but)
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@evan No, but their algorithms are and not just for kids.
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@evan I removed myself from The Big Ones and people *don't talk to me anymore*
They don't know how to talk to me. They can't find me if it's not by looking it up on some social network.
Don't you think that's a little weird? If I delete my account here, I'm going to basically disappear.
@renata I think we got used to that circle we didn't have before social media. Even with social media platforms usually there is a hand full of closer friends we meet, call or write regularly. And before social media there was the "work circle" maybe a sports club. But there wasn't that huge fuzzy circle of "facebook friends". @evan
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@evan no, but: websites and apps that optimize for maximum addiction ("engagement") so that they can sell more ads are bad for *everyone*, and *everyone* includes minors. some of those websites are social networks. it's not a wrong statement, but putting the focus on "social network" and "minors" is doubly the wrong focus.
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@evan I'm curious how many people voting on this have young ones (I have a teen, and voted "no but" because they have an incredible social life, largely fueled by keeping in touch with people online, but we have so far restricted them to networks of closed groups, not "open world" social networks, mostly)
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@renata I think we got used to that circle we didn't have before social media. Even with social media platforms usually there is a hand full of closer friends we meet, call or write regularly. And before social media there was the "work circle" maybe a sports club. But there wasn't that huge fuzzy circle of "facebook friends". @evan
@kleisli @evan A lot of people complain about social anxiety and loneliness, and I truly believe that the over reliance on social networks to be basically the only source of connection is the driving force behind that
You had both the ability to completely disconnect and also had to make an effort to go out and find whatever new things you wanted, things humans have done for centures.
In 10 years, we lost that. Of course our minds feel weird.
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@kleisli @evan A lot of people complain about social anxiety and loneliness, and I truly believe that the over reliance on social networks to be basically the only source of connection is the driving force behind that
You had both the ability to completely disconnect and also had to make an effort to go out and find whatever new things you wanted, things humans have done for centures.
In 10 years, we lost that. Of course our minds feel weird.
@kleisli @evan Also, performing is exhausting. Social networks train people to perform 24/7.
You take a picture but it’s not for your personal album, it’s for many likes.
You post something and keep waiting for someone else to reply, or worried about others might think.
An entire generation grew up not knowing what is having a private thought
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@evan Not inherently, but as soon as someone decides to introduce an algorithm to increase engagement they become unhealthy for everyone.
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@evan Yes, if you mean "social" networks with feeds populated by intransparent algorithms.
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Yes, but pretty much everything is unhealthy for minors, so there you go.
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@evan No, the GAFAM are unhealthy for minors.
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@evan No, not in general, but the way most current profit-oriented, algorithmic networks work are unhealthy.
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@evan@cosocial.ca No, but targeted advertising is, so in practice most are.
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@evan Not social networks per se, but the purposefully addictive design that tries to keep people on platforms and show them ads and the lack of reporting and moderation are issues that affect everyone but minors disproportionally
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@evan depends on the social network, but not inherently. So I went with "no, but."
