The key is education, you have to explain to your kids how these services works, how they are optimized for content engagement to show ads, how they mine your data, and what kinds of things they should look out for and avoid (like misinformation, catfishing, grooming, viral stupidity etc)
We also hitch-hiked to save bus money parents gave us to get some ice cream
I have an ongoing conversation with mine about the things he finds online. We talk about how people try to benefit from appearing "rich" online. We talk about how people have problems in their lives and find things to blame and rant about online. We talk about how people you don't know can try to get things from you or make you think a certain way.
He even started using the term "clickbait" before I even taught it to him. These kids are savy. I think the biggest thing we can do for them is to help them understand how to contextualize what they're engaging with because they don't get to grow up in the "before" and "after" worlds that elder millennials did.
And frankly, I see that my kid is just as saturated in propaganda from his public school as he is from online media. So far, in parallel to his education, school seems to be running one giant ad for the US armed forces.
Sit down with them and go through tiktok or insta. Point out dark patterns, bad content.
Answer their questions truthfully. Sometimes the truthful answer is "I don't know".
The field you want is "family dynamics". If things are already off the rails, find a mediator (doesn't have to be an actual legal mediator).
1. Understand their viewpoint and give them the tools to understand yours
2. Find common ground and define the areas of conflict
3. Reassure and reaffirm relationship
4. Repeat
I had the internet for a while when I turned 11.
My parents were pretty clear about what was good/bad. "you can see all sorts of stuff on the internet. But first things first, never use your real name or address. Second, we can totally see what youre looking at."
For me that worked.
For my older sister, she still tried to run off with a bloke she met off a chat room.
so you cant win them all.
While you cannot keep kids away from it forever, it makes a lot of difference when they are exposed to it and how well-equipped they are to deal with it.
This is also a true statement, but happens far less than it does with social media (or other violent or otherwise undesired media).
That's not currently what people want, but I think it could change it the future. But at the same time, there is a particular American quality of stubborness/pride that will probably push back "we have the right to keep hurting ourselves even though we don't really want to, but are being manipulated by algorithmic attention-fixation tricks!"
>This is also a true statement, but happens far less than it does with social media (or other violent or otherwise undesired media).
There is a difference between parent giving kid a lesson about alcohol (which the poster above is proposing), and just starting to drink with your underage kid (which you are comparing to)
It still happens, but it's a lot less socially acceptable, and it happens a lot less.
The real national security issue is if a major power can weaken a rival power to a significant degree without even raising a weapon. That indicates an enormous lack of resilience for a culture that prizes free expression, warts and all.