Eniko Fox1d ago
i really hope 40 years from now people will look at banning kids from social media the way people now look at the satanic panic of the 80s
Show threadLars Marowsky-Brée 😷1d ago

@eniko except that social media really IS designed by researchers to be maximally addictive, so I'm not sure that compares fully.

Of course, that part should be banned for everyone.

Show threadJoeHenzi1d ago

@larsmb @eniko

Satanic Panic doesn't have a list of victims, but I got this in 2 seconds of searching.

Teens Whose Deaths Were Linked to Social Media:

Molly Russell (14): A British teen whose 2017 death was linked to social media, prompting inquests into Instagram and Pinterest content.
Jordan DeMay (17): Died by suicide in 2026 after a "financial sextortion" scam involving a fake Instagram account, leading to a lawsuit against Meta.
Coco Arnold (17): Died in 2022 from fentanyl-laced pills allegedly sold by an older man contacted through Instagram.
Bradyn Bohn (17): Died by suicide following a financial sextortion scheme, leading to a lawsuit against Meta.
Cameron Murphy (15): Died by suicide; his mother cited his addiction to Instagram and TikTok.
Jools Roome (14): Died in 2025 after a suspected TikTok challenge.
JackLynn Blackwell (9): Died in 2026 attempting a viral social media dare.
Renna O'Rourke: Died attempting a "dusting" challenge in 2025.
Ciara Pugsley: Committed suicide after being bullied on Ask.fm.
Jessica Laney: Hanged herself after being bullied on Ask.fm.
Daniel Perry: Jumped to his death after being blackmailed on Skype.
Audrey Sites: Died from suicide following targeting on Roblox.

Show threadEniko Fox1d ago

@JoeHenzi @larsmb "Satanic Panic doesn't have a list of victims"

uhh yeah it does actually https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8Nhvr1X8Kc

The Rise and Fall of Misery Memoirs

YouTube
Show threadJoeHenzi1d ago
@eniko @larsmb you should just state your point - if it is that the panic had an effect on people, that's an aside, Facebook has lead to people dying. D&D did not, the Satanic Panic was invented - Facebook has actually led to kids dying. Not sure why you're trying to cover this up so much?
Show threadEniko Fox1d ago

@JoeHenzi @larsmb okay so do something *about facebook*, *legislate against facebook*

don't cut kids off from the rest of society. what, you think no kids ever died from being under the total control of their abusive parents with no way to connect with anyone else?

also you're a real piece of work insinuating over and over that i'm somehow a proponent of facebook in any way, let alone them making a profit off dead kids

Show threadceets1d ago

@JoeHenzi @larsmb @eniko

What, you mean we actually need to SOLVE PROBLEMS STRUCTURALLY and not just silo off our kids from the wider world?!!?!?!?

do you want kids to die or something smh

Show threadJoeHenzi1d ago
@ct @larsmb @eniko silo kids? they should be in school... this is wild, social media is not society, it's an aberration and was what killed kids
Show threadOvidi Nawer1d ago
@JoeHenzi someone is not queer and has a position of privilege so hard that can't imagine that a hella lot of kids have survived throught the fact that the internet exists.
Dude chill for a moment and try to think clearly, this read was insanity at it's peak. We're talking complex social relationships here, not the fact that we are idiots that still use fuel to make electricity instead of solar panels. This isn't a maths problem, sadly, and if it was treated as such, I would be hella worried.
Show threadJoeHenzi1d ago
@Nawer_Rapter this is really unfair - i'm not against the internet, I'm speaking against kids being on Facebook - it's weird the "privilege" means being *for* kids, you're pretending Facebook is good for queer kids and bad for those that aren't. I'm really confused because it's like pure racism/hatred and transphobia there. That's what gets clicks, they produced evidence that's what they are feeding ALL of us. Your stance here is that we should support systems that amplify hate, for profit, because if not I'm using my privilege. There's a direct line between Trump, social media and the current loss of our rights. So wild to me to use sexual orientation to say I'm not allowed to point out reality.
Show threadOvidi Nawer1d ago
@JoeHenzi and did you see, by any chance, someone trying to defend facebook in here?
I honestly thought at this point you were just saying fedi is shit cuz it's a social media, by self-definition nontheless
Don't you see you don't have anyone even remotely saying what you're trying to say they said in the entire conversation?
My dude you're fighting an invisible ghost made by your own here, you can say "sorry, we're on the same boat, I just went of the rails for a moment",it happens to all of us
Show threadOvidi Nawer1d ago
@JoeHenzi I get it big corpos suck ass, and nobody said the opposite.
But to say "kids belong to schools, no social media" when WE'RE TALKING THIS on a social media, it's a statement that... gonna say it simply, what the fuck? Sounds horrendous.
Social media is an umbrella term, first of all, and a lot of forums enter on that regard (hello whatever the hell reddit is).
And if schools are a place for kids I was never a kid I guess, neither a lot of folks i've known.
Lucky me that isn't permanent
Show threadJoeHenzi1d ago

@Nawer_Rapter Like I'm not blind that kids need more - but we should fix schools then if they aren't the place. Really. Not trust computers, they WILL require us to provide ID, the thing the OP was rallying against. Schools are different, they gate people, there are background checks in place, etc. I'm realistic but I don't think the open internet is where kids should turn if they need help either - my point is simply we see too much evidence that does not work. Realize, I'm from the AOL days, pre-internet - that's ALSO where kids were abducted and stuff... if you have a market of kids, you'll create a market of sickos... never mind social media challenges that end in death, sextortion cases etc...

And I'm 100% not one to normally fall for "but about the kids" kind of stuff. But like, social media is a cancer on all of us. We're fighting now though we likely agree on most things and just something about this becomes toxic. Mastodon rules - because I can block people - Elon wants to remove that from Twitter....

I'm sorry I'm SOOOOO rigid on this. I just really hate social media, even right now. I do love you as a human though I'm sorry we're at odds.

Show threadOvidi Nawer1d ago
@JoeHenzi I do hate social media too of course
But then again what qualifies as social media isn't black and white.And while I personally found my shit together in forums and videogames (MORE dangerous than social media btw,online gaming is a child predator nest) newer generations find it easier through this.
Actually I used a now defunct one which was very popular in Spain,was also the way I knew how to not be a misoginist and directly know and talk with queers for the first time (unlike games)
Show threadOvidi Nawer
@JoeHenzi and tbh the actual tipping point on social media and such becoming hell was smartphones
Before that, you had to be at your home on a computer, images you uploaded or contacts you made were a meaningful decision, not a secondary thought while taking a shit or a tool for harassment open to the public
The problems with social media will come back in private chats, as long as smartphones exist, cuz the private chats are how child predator a get and share their shit
Smartphones make It easy
Apr 12 at 11:47pmWeb