Banned for sixteen years

There's a danger in the internet and social media. The notion that information is enough, that more and more information is enough, that you don't have to think, you just have to get more information - gets very dangerous.

- Edward de Bono -

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I'm not a fan of social media; there's reasons and some have tried to sway me but I'm resolute in my dislike for it. Of course, there's so many people that disagree with me and that's ok, if they want to waste their lives there that's their prerogative.

Anyway, one of the big issues here for parents is the damage social media is doing to their children and that damage eventually spirals outwards to effect others and society in general. It's with that in mind the Australian Communications Minister introduced a law to Parliament that (if passed) will ban children below the age of 16 from accessing social media - a world-first law - with fines to operators of Facebook, X, Tik Tok, Snapchat, Reddit (and others) of up to $50 million for failure to prevent young children holding their accounts. It's designed to pull back on the trend of social media which has become the "defining feature" of a childhood in Australia. The social medias would have a year (after this becoming law) to comply and determine how they will implement the age restriction.

Predictably, the social medias are outraged, that cock Elon Musk is livid, and have begun denouncing the planned law; I guess they feel that under-developed minds absorbing their unfiltered content couldn't possibly be a bad thing. #fuckenidiots

However, is this another step towards total control of the population, is it removing another freedom in a world where Governments seek to exert more and more influence over people's lives? But then...don't the social media companies exert a control of sorts, the theft of people's information, creating individual profiles on users...Hmm, I wonder.

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So, here's the thing folks, what do you think?

Should the undeveloped mind of a child be influenced and brainwashed by social media? Should they have access to an endless stream of unfiltered content parents can't control...or could they be doing something more productive and valuable in those formative years?

What do you think? Feel free to reach out in the comments and let me know if you want to get involved in the discussion.