Raging against the social media machine
“You can use an eraser on the drafting table or a sledgehammer on the construction site”, as architect Frank Lloyd Wright wisely advised.
Social media could’ve been something beautiful. Something that helped us find our people, connect across the globe, provide support for those in need, the isolated/lonely, a virtual utopia. Unfortunately, that’s the exception, not the rule. The reality is digital dystopia – we have division, fake news, misogyny, bullying, suicide, addiction and brain rot.
This wasn’t an accident, this was by design. We were duped – notifications, auto-play, extreme algorithms, division and surveillance consumption were deliberately wired into our lives under the banner of convenience. What’s worse, late stage capitalism has us all running a hundred miles an hour, in a state of perpetual stress just to survive – so we willingly invited our kids along for the ride, if only to buy a few minutes of quiet.
So now we have a proposed social media ban for under 16s across Australia.
Normally I’m fairly laissez faire when it comes to legislating behaviour but my perspective on this topic is shaped by having a child who has been on the receiving end of online harassment and bullying, to a point where we are lucky to still have her with us. She is now 16 (so not in scope of the ban) but her younger sister is 13 (and far from happy at the prospect). So maybe my perspective is too narrow. Certainly, I’ve seen commentary (from people who’s opinions I respect) who reason against this ban.
So here’s where I have landed:
Do I like this? Not really
Will it work? Absolutely Not
Is it better than doing nothing? – Yes
At best, this is a circuit breaker. Although it will only do some good if we actually do something to address the (very valid) concerns. If nothing else, this ban is at least forcing us to look into the eyes of the giant elephant in the room – the outsized influence of social media (and those who own it) over our lives.
Are social media giants best placed to govern our kids? What are their drivers? Do they value our children’s wellbeing more than they care about their bottom line? I’d contend they don’t give a shit about our little darlings. It should be noted that the tech companies have had 20 years to embed social responsibility into their platforms, asking politely hasn’t worked (and it never will).
The success of social media has led us to a place where tech bros are now directing global policy. This might have some influence on the lack of mandatory global standards that would protect us all from nasty behaviours in this space. We have certifiable ISO standards covering many areas (including IT and AI), yet social media conveniently flies under the radar (covered by various voluntary standards). Surely we could define one minimum standard for social media and have companies certify before they get to trade on our data?
It should also be noted, many of the companies on the receiving end of the ban, pay zero (or minimal) tax here in Australia – these entities deserve no special treatment!
Back to the ban. The following criticisms are levelled against it (my 2 cents in the bullets):
It won’t work:
– 100%. Our kids will find a way around it, I’d be disappointed if they haven’t already.
It will remove a valuable point of connection for kids in the margins:
– Yes, although refer to point above
– Does this negative outweigh the damage of the status quo? I honestly have no idea…
It removes basic rights to freedom:
– TBH, this feels like a lawyer shooting fish in a barrel of outdated legislation
– There are many things we don’t let under 16s do (drive, vote or drink)
– Feels like we need to discuss what digital rights are actually healthy, rather than grant by assumption
– How does this balance against a parent’s responsibility to protect their child?
Silencing youth voices:
– This is a hugely important issue, we need engaged youth movements (especially at a time when any dissent is being silenced)
– We should look to Taiwan and the work of Audrey Tang on public participation
Privacy will be impacted by authenticating age:
– What privacy? Do we honestly believe we have any anonymity or protection online?
It will drive our kids to less trustworthy sites:
– It will drive them underground, it’s up to us to provide decent alternatives (see below)
– No reason to assume the alternatives will be any more harmful than the incumbents
So where does that leave us?
Generations are currently growing up in the digital Wild West under the rule of mobile devices and lawless robber barons. We don’t yet understand the full extent of the individual and societal damage this is inflicting. The horse bolted a long time ago, but doing nothing is no longer an option – kids are dying, society is fracturing!
To use Frank Lloyd-Wright’s metaphor, we are long past using an eraser, if the only tool at our disposal is a sledgehammer then we need to get swinging (followed by a trip back to the drawing board). Nb. It would be better to do this in the opposite order, but that’s never going to happen.
While we are at it, how about we return the digital social world to the global commons? If it’s truly fundamental to human existence/flourishing, then surely it’s too important to be run for profit by a few trigger-happy outlaws.
There are plenty open source projects around promoting federated / responsible use of technology. It’s well within our capability to build the platforms our kids (and the rest of us) need to connect safely and responsibly.
How about our government(s) funds this? There are plenty talented tech grads out there looking for work who could deliver this in no time. Not some controlled big brother platform but an organic, people-powered, virtual meeting place.
Also, let’s not repeat our mistake and entrust the same tech bros that butchered social media with dictating how we ‘consume’ AI. Let’s get busy with Frank’s eraser on the AI drawing board, build in social and ecological wellbeing by design.
Stay connected, hammer responsibly
Ewan
