I can’t get over how this “limited government” party has gone from supporting parental rights and promoting family values to becoming fascists.

To be clear, there’s a ton of good to be said about preventing kids from using social media. Still, this should be up to the parents and, imo, all parents should limit or restrict it.

Isn’t this same as the cigarette and alcohol ban for minors, I hear you ask? No. Alcohol and cigarettes can be purchased from a shop. The government isn’t explicitly telling parents the kids can’t consume them, it’s banning the sale to minors. Social media and cell phones aren’t really something a 14 year old can get at a store or happen upon at a party. So, if smoking was legal and the parent restricted their 14 year old from smoking, it wouldn’t be too difficult for the kid to get a pack of their own. Social media is different. And shouldn’t involve government restrictions. Because, how the F is the government going to oversee and reprimand this?

I fundamentally agree that this would best be served by parents enforcing limits.

However, my experience is that this kind of parenting is much much harder than people seem to understand.

If you’re one of a small number of parents who choose to limit social media, in a sea of parents who don’t limit at all, your children end up socially excluded. They get made fun of and ostracized from the rest of the kids. Your parenting decision makes their daily life much, much harder than it should be.

In practice, it means that as a parent there is no winning option. Or even really acceptable option.

For maybe the first time in my life, I feel myself siding with the government restrictions option.

Do you have any idea how easy it is to bypass a law like this?

Anytime the government says they are doing something to help the children, it is most likely an extreme infringement on the rights of non children.

Most laws are fairly easy to bypass. You can jaywalk all day, purchase illegal fireworks, drive your car at ridiculous speeds, etc.

Should we just stop trying because some people choose to break the law?

If even half of parents complied it would make it so very much easier to say no to social media for your own children. It would also provide a very tangible excuse for why you’re saying no.