I still am against the government making these decisions, especially for kids as old as 16.
This is for under-16s.
And why specifically be against the government protecting kids’ safety in this way? They already do it in countless other ways, from rules about how you’re allowed to discipline children, medication standards, age ratings, restrictions on public drinking, preventing driving, preventing gun ownership, etc.
Why shouldn’t the government make any decisions for this aspect of children’s safety, but all others are ok?
Some kids are mature enough to handle things like social media at 16
This is for under-16s. Under-16s are not 16. They are under 16.
Hence why I said “as old as.” Someone who is 15.5 is basically 16, yet they fall under the rule.
And why specifically be against the government protecting kids’ safety in this way?
Because they’re not protecting their safety, they’re using it as an excuse to pass regressive policy. Kids under 16 will be struggling with a number of things, from gender identity to abusive parents, and social media can be the best way to get the sense of community they need.
They already do it in countless other ways, from rules about how you’re allowed to discipline children, medication standards, age ratings, restrictions on public drinking, preventing driving, preventing gun ownership, etc.
discipline children - this applies to parents, as it should
medication standards - tends to apply to doctors and parents
age ratings - at least in the US, this isn’t prohibitive, but informative
public drinking - this one does apply directly to kids, but IMO should instead apply to parents; if a child is drinking, that’s the parents’ fault
driving - driving is a privilege, so it’s not a restriction to only offer it to people of a certain age; kids can drive just fine on their parents’ property if they want, regardless of age (at least in the US, not sure about the UK)
gun ownership - this also directly applies to kids, but it’s more of a parental thing; if a parent want to let their kids “own” guns, that’s fine, the legal transfer just won’t be valid until they’re 18 (the parent would buy, then transfer to the kid)
The closest example you gave is gun ownership, but that goes back to cigarettes and alcohol. The restriction should be about consent (i.e. do they understand the hazards and responsibilities associated w/ the product), and kids can’t legally consent until they’re adults. Social media doesn’t exactly fall under that umbrella, you don’t need to consent to interact w/ social media.
But gun ownership is also interesting in another way: ID requirements are often stored when you purchase a gun (e.g. to run a background check or something), just like it would need to be for social media. I trust gun stores a lot more than social media companies because they don’t stand to profit from misusing your ID information.
Due to the privacy concerns and relative lack of risk to the public (meaning, a kid having access to a SM account won’t hurt others in anywhere near the same way as them having a car or gun), I just don’t see it being justifiable. This just sounds like conservative wankery to “protect the kids” while the real intent is attacking LGBT kids and allowing SM companies to hoover up data. And no, I don’t trust digital privacy laws to be all that effective here, since they’re only fined when they get caught, and it’s pretty easy to avoid getting caught.
This is for under-16s.
And why specifically be against the government protecting kids’ safety in this way? They already do it in countless other ways, from rules about how you’re allowed to discipline children, medication standards, age ratings, restrictions on public drinking, preventing driving, preventing gun ownership, etc.
Why shouldn’t the government make any decisions for this aspect of children’s safety, but all others are ok?
This is for under-16s. Under-16s are not 16. They are under 16.
Hence why I said “as old as.” Someone who is 15.5 is basically 16, yet they fall under the rule.
Because they’re not protecting their safety, they’re using it as an excuse to pass regressive policy. Kids under 16 will be struggling with a number of things, from gender identity to abusive parents, and social media can be the best way to get the sense of community they need.
The closest example you gave is gun ownership, but that goes back to cigarettes and alcohol. The restriction should be about consent (i.e. do they understand the hazards and responsibilities associated w/ the product), and kids can’t legally consent until they’re adults. Social media doesn’t exactly fall under that umbrella, you don’t need to consent to interact w/ social media.
But gun ownership is also interesting in another way: ID requirements are often stored when you purchase a gun (e.g. to run a background check or something), just like it would need to be for social media. I trust gun stores a lot more than social media companies because they don’t stand to profit from misusing your ID information.
Due to the privacy concerns and relative lack of risk to the public (meaning, a kid having access to a SM account won’t hurt others in anywhere near the same way as them having a car or gun), I just don’t see it being justifiable. This just sounds like conservative wankery to “protect the kids” while the real intent is attacking LGBT kids and allowing SM companies to hoover up data. And no, I don’t trust digital privacy laws to be all that effective here, since they’re only fined when they get caught, and it’s pretty easy to avoid getting caught.