this post was submitted on 18 Feb 2026
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I'm asking for public policy ideas here. A lot of countries are enacting age verification now. But of course this is a privacy nightmare and is ripe for abuse. At the same time though, I also understand why people are concerned with how kids are using social media. These products are designed to be addictive and are known to cause body image issues and so forth. So what's the middle ground? How can we protect kids from the harms of social media in a way that respects everyone's privacy?

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[–] Cocodapuf@lemmy.world 11 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Yeah, don't give them phones.

[–] ageedizzle@piefed.ca 1 points 1 day ago (3 children)

Past a certain age this may start to become socially isolating for the children

[–] Bazoogle@lemmy.world 0 points 7 hours ago (2 children)

How many generations grew up without smart phones? Basically all of them. Why did it suddenly change that they are now "socially isolated" because they don't have smart phones?

It's actually proven that children and teens benefit from quality over quantity of their friendships. They don't need to have surface level relationships with everyone they meet. They just need a few really good friends they interact with in real life.

[–] ageedizzle@piefed.ca 1 points 6 hours ago (1 children)

I’m relatively young so I can attest to the fact that, even when I was in high-school, not having a phone would put you at a social disadvantage. Thats how kids kept in touch out of school hours and coordinated social events. It’s not ideal but thats how things work now. 

[–] Bazoogle@lemmy.world 1 points 6 hours ago (1 children)

I'm also young. I had smart phones ans social media in highschool. The "disadvantage" no longer exists if parents make a coordonated effort to get their kids off smart phones. You don't need everyone, just a large enough group. I highly recommend The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt

[–] ageedizzle@piefed.ca 1 points 5 hours ago

I agree that if you can get enough parents onboard with the no cell phone rule then it's not a problem. But there's a bit of a coordination problem there so that might not be achievable in all circumstances

[–] kyonshi@dice.camp 0 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

@Bazoogle @ageedizzle I'm ok with my kid interacting with his friends on his phone, I'm not ok with mindlessly watching YouTube or playing pay-to-play mobile games

[–] Bazoogle@lemmy.world 1 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

So, he just needs a cell phone? Seems like they don't need a smart phone. Regular cell phones are still an option

[–] ageedizzle@piefed.ca 1 points 5 hours ago

i.e. a "dumb phone"

[–] socsa@piefed.social 2 points 22 hours ago (1 children)

There is not much in this world I care about less.

[–] LH0ezVT@sh.itjust.works 1 points 13 hours ago

As a former teen that - due to other reasons - was socially pretty isolated, at this age acceptance from your peers is everything.

[–] Cocodapuf@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago

It's true, at some point it becomes a necessity. I don't know what to do about teens today, I haven't gotten there yet.

[–] Madzielle@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 1 day ago

This is the solution in my home... Seems to work pretty well..