RE: https://mastodon.gamedev.place/@eniko/116392906798713909

Having lived through both (and the book bans, Chinese products, vaccines, food additives, video games, rap, non-English speakers, fucking other people's family BBQs, ect ect) it's all the same thing. It's always the same thing, (rich/white) people blaming something else instead of their shitty abusive parenting and the harmful status quo they depend on to explain why their abused and hurting kids are abused and hurting.

And just to be clear. There is a distinction between the D&D satanic panic bullshit and the racist, transphobic or ableism of anti-vaccine or whatever "it's all a woke mind virus" bullshit the right is spewing sometimes. One is "stone the child in the town square for his depression" sort of murder; the other is fucking genocide. Plain and simple.

However, they are rooted in the same reactionary fears and need to blame something, anything, else other than the in-group.

@Kalshann "GMO vaccine algorithms made by Mark Zuckerberg are why my kid is trans / autistic / depressed / whatever and I won't stop until food dyes are banned."

@Kalshann Poverty, bullying, abusive families, bigotry, oppression, war, etc. never existed until social media, obviously.

No one has ever been depressed at the state of the world before. Think of how happy 70s to 90s music was!

It's the Dungeons & Dragons heavy metal rap TikTok "corrupting" our kids.

@Kalshann Me listening to Depeche Mode: "Fear and anxiety about the world is a totally new experience. Listen to how cheerful these guys are. I'm sure none of these guys had substance abuse or mental health problems."

Takes a big sip of water AND...

@gwynnion @Kalshann I love how New Dress is just a good vibes celebration of fashion /s
@gwynnion @Kalshann that they ever suffered is just a blasphemous rumour
@Kalshann
There is ample data demonstrating harmful effects of social media, especially on children. It’s a curse and we’d be better off without it.
@Kalshann The part that kills me, is that social media is harmful for kids. It was designed and built that way. But rather than force companies to build a safer system, we just out right ban it causing greater harm
@remywhisker
Its always the same - punish the victim because the abuser or predator is too valuable to the government. They do it as rote at this point, and everyone accepts it.
@Kalshann I am in education and when phones were banned the kids went outside to play and tell me they are much happier

@Robo105
There is a difference between not letting kids have access to any shows, friends or distractions in a classroom, and not letting children ever have access to the global community we've created in the last 50 years.

Just because companies (the predators) and the feds want to just ban kids (the victims) instead of fix the problem is my complaint, not that kids don't need some form of structure. I want them happy, but also don't want them stuck in isolation for 18 years.

@Kalshann I think we need to attack the problem on both ends. Regulate the addiction machine but also allow children to avoid living in cyber rather than the real world

@Robo105
Actually let me explain that last bit.
I want them happy, and some significant percentage can't be happy with their homes or community due to differences, abuses or other problems. Isolating those especially isn't going to make them happy.

(Sorry if this was rambling, and I'm not meaning any of it as an attack at you or on kids not having phones in class - that's just structure)

@Kalshann I think you have made a great point about kids being isolated in unhappy situations. I am wondering how we can allow them to have access without the algorithm driven addiction and the dragging them into the dark sides of the internet eg Andrew Tate etc

@Robo105
Yeah, I think Mastodon might be a good base - there isn't an algorithm for them to be targeted by. However it doesn't have the reach or design needed.

(honestly my first thought would be like PBS for social media, it worked back then to establish a useful and controlled media platform; but PBS is evil-commie-something-something now, so whatever. Fascists gotta fascist, I guess)