Florida to ban under 16 yr olds from social media

Fathom

Per Sam Levine of the Guardian 25 January 2024, the Florida House has sent a bill to their Republican dominated Senate to ban under 16 year olds from accessing social media. More than likely it will pass, followed by their Republican Governor Ron DeSantis signing it into law. Platforms would be required to delete all under 16 accounts, and hire a third party organization to vet new member account applications to ensure that they are all 16 and older.

Is this the same Florida of Disneyworld? What if an Irish family vacations in Orlando with their underage 16 children. They logon to social media on their mobiles and the Florida “Social Media Police” catch them? Will they cuff them? Confiscate mobiles? Collect evidence and charge platforms, some across the pond?

Practically speaking, do these politicians really think they can keep under 16 year olds off social media? Don’t they remember what it was like to be under 16, or have kids those ages?

Plus, do you think that the burner mobile business is about to have a spike in sales? How about smart kids doing work around hacks, and other ways to circumvent this law if passed? If caught, what will Florida do to kids under 16? Criminalize them? Jail 8-9-10-11-12-13-14-15 years old. Give them a rap sheet to follow and stigmatize them for their lifetimes?

For some reason author George Orwell comes to mind.

silliussoddius

I'm just as concerned about the impact social media has on a 66 year old as it does on a 16 year old.

SuperBowserWorld

Social media is terrible for kids mental health. So anything that will help even a proportion of kids is better than nothing.

Allinall

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121672727#Comment_121672727

Are you really?

How does the damage done to 66 year olds compare to that of under 16s?

An honest answer would be appreciated.

Spanish Eyes

Anything similar about guns?

I doubt this can be policed much. Too many ways around it, but optics and elections....

Kaisr Sose

It was only a matter of time that something like this would happen. Social Media is driving so many aspects of people's life these days. People of all ages are addicted to it and live lives totally influenced by it. My guess, in a few years time, it will be heavily regulated.

Practically speaking, it will be difficult to prevent under 16's from accessing it. In the USA they have a better chance of doing so than say here, where nothing would be done to ensure compliance

Dr. Greenthumb

Better to try and do something to mitigate the effect social media has on kids than do nothing. Of course some kids will figure out a work around but this coupled with good parenting will hopefully at least help some kids.

The Orwellian comment in the OP was interesting as I always though social media and how devices are listening and influencing what you see and think is very much like the screens in 1984. Getting rid of social media while it maybe considered a nanny state action is a move away from the Orwellian intrusion into all aspects of peoples lives and how they think in my opinion, although, admittedly I haven't put much thought into it.

Luna84

Damn does this include boards.ie, I'm 14 and live in Florida.

Montage of Feck

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121672800#Comment_121672800

Better get on a return boat to Cuba.

Fathom

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121672740#Comment_121672740

At what precise age do you feel a person should have access to social media?

For example, age lines are drawn all over the place. Such lines sometimes appear to be arbitrary and capricious. In Florida and the USA age of consent varies. You can join the military and die for your country at 18, but not drink a beer until 21. Not long ago a Florida 13 yr old was tried as an 18 or older adult for murder.

So what’s the magic age for access to social media? The Irish age of consent, or younger or older?

The J Stands for Jay

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121672754#Comment_121672754

The damage done to 66 year olds is worse because they will vote based on what they're told, which affects everyone.

Dr. Greenthumb

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121672850#Comment_121672850

Studies and books I've read have had the age at 15 / 16 when kids brains are developed enough to be able to apply reason to the information they are seeing. A lot of the issues they see are with kids below that threshold and mostly affect girls also.

SuperBowserWorld

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121672850#Comment_121672850

When the are less likely to bully other kids online, when they are less susceptible to body dysmorphia issues, when they are finished secondary school studies, after they are trained to recognise the huge dopamine mind **** addiction that social media is, and that it's not some kind of nirvana, but a cess pit of consumerism, egotism, time wasting hell.

The creators of social media know this, the governments know this, but, hey, the economy.

16 sounds good, but 18 would be better. For the smart kids, never, stick it in read only mode and have a laugh at it now and again. Like some kind of ant farm for humans.

This content has been removed.

Fathom

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121672766#Comment_121672766

The right to bear arms is covered in the second amendment to the US Constitution.

Platforms may challenge the Florida law, if passed, citing the first amendment to the US Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

Allinall

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121672855#Comment_121672855

Patronise much?

The J Stands for Jay

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121672940#Comment_121672940

No. Not as much as old people.

Allinall

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121672991#Comment_121672991

how do old people patronise?

They just do as they’re told, according to you.

silliussoddius

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121673044#Comment_121673044

My number of 66 was a bit random but I think adults can be seriously negatively effected, all you have to do is look at January 6th to see the brain worms that be spread.

Fathom

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121672766#Comment_121672766

A Florida child may legally possess a firearm for hunting at 16. But may not buy one until 21. And he or she may join the military and die for their country at 18, but not drink a beer until 21. Figure?

circadian

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121673132#Comment_121673132

Social media is a scourge (the irony of posting this on a social media site). The instant rage bait dopamine releasing hypersexualsied overtly violent shite that floats around with doom scrolling being forced as the default method of ingesting it is possibly one of the most destructive inventions of mankind. Utilising the internet, probably the greatest invention of mankind.

If social media were to be banned or heavily regulated not a tear I would shed.

dxhound2005

I think the impression is being given that it is a Republican and particularly a DeSantis thing. But it is largely bi-partisan.

"The Florida House of Representatives approved on Wednesday a bill aimed at barring children aged 16 and younger from social media platforms, following similar action in several states to limit online risks to young teenagers. Passed by a bipartisan vote of 106 to 13, the measure would require social media platforms to terminate the accounts of anyone under 17 years old and use a third-party verification system to screen out the underaged."

Two other States are in the process of doing something similar, but are likely to face a Federal lawsuit from the service providers. It could be some time before anything changes. I see that old "reasonable" word features a lot in the proposed law, leaving it to some human down the line to decide what is reasonable.

We have similar law in the EU.

"The digital age of consent is the minimum age a user must be before a social media and internet companies can collect, process and store their data. The E.U. has set the age of consent to sixteen by default and member states are given the option of adopting a lower age, but it may be no lower than thirteen years."

BorneTobyWilde

It's already at 13 years old for most social media, 16 is too high, 14 a compromise, this bill is aimed at social media platforms, not individuals, rules are already in play at 13 years old, but none of the social media platforms police it, they allow anyone to sign up simply by filling in a different age at sign up.

Gatling

Can't see it happening or making any kind of difference, the fact parents happily hand Children phones and tablets before they can even walk properly, and give it time some childrens experts will tell us denying them access to devices with social media will be considered torture or too mentally distressing to children therefore there should be no ban

Fathom

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121673209#Comment_121673209

Makes me wonder how it was determined that 16 was THE age?

ancapailldorcha

What a disgusting cesspit. Books and social media banned under the guise of protecting children but guns are of course still legal.

ceadaoin.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121673363#Comment_121673363

What books and social media are banned?

Social media is an awful thing for kids. Like really bad. That's what should be labeled a "disgusting cesspit". Sure look at the latest craze, 10 year olds spending $$$ on skincare products they don't need and can damage their skin, all because they've seen it on tiktok. And thats tame in comparison to some of the **** they're exposed to. For example

https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/bone-smashing-tiktok-incel-joke-1234856084/amp/

Anything to deter younger kids from joining can't be bad. It's hardly "banning" it, just setting a minimum age. This won't do anything anyway, most companies already have minimum ages which are completely ignored by loads of kids/parents.

ancapailldorcha

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121673493#Comment_121673493

And the same politicians who brought this in are more than happy to see them get gunned down and will fight tooth and nail to ensure that stays a regular occurrence.

"Disgusting cesspit" is bang on the money.

Baseball72

Reminds me of that song back in the day “Tweet 16”……oh damn - it’s “X16” now….

timmyntc

Social media should be regulated like gambling - both are designed to be addictive and prey on people's addictions to drive more business. In light of this it is absolutely right that addictive content driven social media be restricted the same as gambling.

Carlito Brigantes Tale

Well done Florida. This is definitely a step in the right direction. Proper leadership.

eightieschewbaccy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121673363#Comment_121673363

I have no real issue with adjusting rules on social media tbh. But you're equally right that there's far more serious issues that directly affect youths in the US, this is just low hanging fruit at best.

Also their terror about children or teens reading any books that they don't agree is batshit.

irelandrover

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121674014#Comment_121674014

Are there far more serious issues affecting teenagers? Like what?

There were about 7200 teen suicides in 2022 compared to 1300 gun murders. Suicide is a huge issue and social media drives a large part of it. Suicide is the second leading cause of death behind

I didn't actually thing people would argue against protecting children from social media during their forming years.

ancapailldorcha

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121674078#Comment_121674078

What proof do you have that social media is responsible for this alleged number?

eightieschewbaccy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121674078#Comment_121674078

I already said I have no real issue with it. Although I'm not sure if you can definitively say social media is the driving force and the research says similar.

https://www.tampabay.com/news/florida-politics/2024/01/12/social-media-ban-teens-depression-suicide-studies-facebook-instagram-tiktok/

Richard Hillman

Re: Enforcement, as it was mentioned in the OP.

The social media company get fined if there are underage people on the platform. Like now when there are u13s on it.

It's definitely a step in the right direction. It will also help against online groomers.

whisky_galore

Haha good luck with that.

Sunny Disposition

This is a great move. I would be very surprised if anyone who works with children aged under 16 does not think social media is bad for children's health. Of course social media is still fairly new, but society should have started moving towards greater regulation by now. This is an important move in the right direction.

I would like to think our own leaders would prioritise youth mental health, but they have no spine, wouldn't want to upset tech companies, and won't follow suit. I'd love to be proved wrong of course.

irelandrover

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121674093#Comment_121674093

None. In the last 20 years, both male and female suicide rates among young adults have increased significantly, 60%.

Studies show that social media has a negative impact on the mental health of teenagers. There isn't enough data yet to show the full effect of social media on teenagers. But then the question is do you take actions to prevent that rate of suicide increasing or do you wait for the data and then take action.

ancapailldorcha

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121674418#Comment_121674418

Correlation is not causation.

Republicans have been shutting down attempts to stop school shootings for decades. This is from the same script as the pro-life nonsense. It's about culture war and nothing else.

CalamariFritti

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121672855#Comment_121672855

Is that because you yourself base your vote on what you read on social media or are you basing your believe that over 66 year olds base their vote on what they read on social media because of what you read on social media? Or is just that you think everyone over 66 is stupid?

irelandrover

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121674512#Comment_121674512

I didn't say that it was down to social media. I even stated that we don't yet have the data to show it is. But social media does lead to poorer mental health in teenagers. And I propose doing something to stop the increase in teenage suicides and removing something shown to affect their mental health is a good step.

This bill has huge cross party support. But you continue lying about who supports the bill and arguing against points that no-one made.

ancapailldorcha

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121674559#Comment_121674559

So you support a completely pointless measure in a country with virtually no social supports, widespread availability of firearms and a toxic culture based on materialism.

We're done here.

conorhal

Hmmm, just around the time that social media exploded, the rates of depression amongst teens also began to explode.

This seems like a good measure to me. There are far to many feckless parents that not only don't actively parent or monitor their children's social media usage, but far too many that are not even aware of it. I wish I could say I was shocked and supprised at the number of 8-10yr old with their heads burried in phones for hours a day on social media, but sadly, I'm not.

ancapailldorcha

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121674644#Comment_121674644

Once again, correlation does not equal causation.

irelandrover

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121674576#Comment_121674576

I don't think its a completely pointless measure as I think social media is harmful to teenagers.

Id also love to see gun controls brought in and proper social supports put in place. But since they have absolutely nothing to do with this thread I'm not sure why you are brining them up.

The J Stands for Jay

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121674520#Comment_121674520

No, based on studies.

https://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2019-01-09/study-older-people-are-more-susceptible-to-fake-news-more-likely-to-share-it

ancapailldorcha

It comes across as a cynical attempt to control what younger people can access while ignoring actual problems. Social media should be regulated but this should be done at a federal level.

freshpopcorn

Why don't they introduce a social media license.

To obtain one you'd have to do a test to show you can tell the difference between real and fake news.

As much as they care.

I can't see them doing this.

ancapailldorcha

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121674912#Comment_121674912

Who would devise the test though?

Yeah Right

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121674418#Comment_121674418

Why bring it up, then? What's the point of raising the subject if it has no relevance to the topic? If someone said the number of sexual assaults had trebled since the year X and I then chimed in with stats about the number of red haired children born since then, people would want to know what point I'm trying to make.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121674644#Comment_121674644

Nice graph. Has there been anything else occurring over the past number of years that might have affected kids' mental health negatively? No, nothing comes to mind? Must be social media, then. Couldn't possibly be the fact that the world is burning, we're poisoning the planet, the pandemic, the realistic chances of owning your own home disappearing and a whole host of other independent yet related issues, no? Must be tiktok, so.

This Maude Flanders, hand-wringing hyperbole does nobody any favours. I'm shocked that you're so familiar with the phone habits of so many 8-10 year olds. How many do you hang around with all day and how do you know it's social media they're watching? Are you looking over their shoulders? And how do you know their parents aren't monitoring their usage? What's that? You don't know? You're just making up soundbites out of thin air to dress up your authoritarian stance to make it seem more palatable? I mean, who'd argue against kids

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121674739#Comment_121674739

Bingo.

They like 'em dumb, over in 'Merica. And in Florida, they like 'em even dumber and Republican. Social Media is left-leaning for the most part. They don't want no more lefties, in their ideal world women would be barefoot and chained to the stove/bed, pumping out enough cross-eyed crotch goblins so they can join the military and invade [insert land full of brown people here] under some false pretense. Fattening the pockets of themselves, their family/friends and their benefactors is all they care about.

It's also about control. Land of the free, my hole. I break my bollocks laughing every time I hear someone say it. "We gots 45 different types of milk, and only two political parties. I can pick from two hunnert and fifty brands of 'tater chips, but I hafta use that horspital over there because my health insurance says so. All the fast food you can shake a stick at, but if you ain't no god-fearing bible basher, you cain't hold public office in 7 states".