EDUCATION IS THE ANSWER, elementary and high schools need to start incorporating classes that teach kids how to recognize when they are being manipulated by corporate entities, government propaganda or individuals. Constant exposure to the idea that the internet’s primary use is to monetize and manipulate users will hopefully lead to a generation of adults who inherently distrust media and will actively look for collaborating sources of information.
As for the ‘erosion of attention spans,’ banning TikTok is like trying to stop alcoholism by banning Anheuser-Busch. Not everyone drinks the same brand of beer, not everyone who consumes alcohol is irresponsible.
No government should be restricting access to any site or service that is not expressly illegal (selling personal information, terrorist group recruitment, human trafficking and exploitation).
It is a slippery slope argument but it is entirely possible that banning TikTok could set a precedent for corporate entities lobbying for bans of sites and technologies that directly threaten their business. ISPs might lobby to ban the use of VPNs because they are used by ‘criminals,’ Microsoft might lobby against desktop Linux distributions because ‘hackers,’ police and governments are already targeting 3rd party messaging platforms and encryption because they offer un-tappable channels for communication.
EDUCATION IS THE ANSWER, elementary and high schools need to start incorporating classes that teach kids how to recognize when they are being manipulated by corporate entities, government propaganda or individuals. Constant exposure to the idea that the internet’s primary use is to monetize and manipulate users will hopefully lead to a generation of adults who inherently distrust media and will actively look for collaborating sources of information.
As for the ‘erosion of attention spans,’ banning TikTok is like trying to stop alcoholism by banning Anheuser-Busch. Not everyone drinks the same brand of beer, not everyone who consumes alcohol is irresponsible.
No government should be restricting access to any site or service that is not expressly illegal (selling personal information, terrorist group recruitment, human trafficking and exploitation).
It is a slippery slope argument but it is entirely possible that banning TikTok could set a precedent for corporate entities lobbying for bans of sites and technologies that directly threaten their business. ISPs might lobby to ban the use of VPNs because they are used by ‘criminals,’ Microsoft might lobby against desktop Linux distributions because ‘hackers,’ police and governments are already targeting 3rd party messaging platforms and encryption because they offer un-tappable channels for communication.
I actually had a class like that in highschool and 60% of the class barely paid attention so it’s not the total solution but it definitely helped me.