David Deutsch Slams UK Social Media Blocks as Demeaning for Students

@dfkodsi A cut-off age needs to kick in somewhere. 17-year old at university (same with me) is an edge case. Potential political motivations that have nothing to do with kids’ well-being aside, I suppose the hope is general deceleration, forming more relationships in physical proximity…

@LuziEisen @dfkodsi No, a cut off age does not 'need' to kick in anywhere

The push in the UK and Canada to ban teens from social media is deeply personal to me. It’s part of a broader, paternalistic attack on the internet that forgets what being a teenager is actually like, especially if you're stuck and isolated.

1/7

If we want to make the internet safer, we should ban the creeps, not the teens. So many kids today are isolated, have controlling parents, or have no one to talk to. Don't lock them out of the world. Let them explore it.

7/7

When I was 15, I lived in the Quebec suburbs. My parents were strict and wanted me in my room on weekdays. It was so boring. But I had an internet connection. Suddenly, the walls of my room fell away. The whole world opened up.

2/7

I started reading novels, ancient texts and texts. I recall essays by Paul Graham. I discussed, science evolution and libertarianism on IRC. I met adults who treated me like a peer. One took the time to explain Russell’s paradox to me.

3/7

Did I experience bad things? Sure. Some people were rude. A creep once very inappropriate stuff to me. I was angry, not traumatized or unsafe. I just blocked him. It was much safer dealing with that online than if I had been cornered in person.

6/7

I played Diablo with kids from across the globe and learned about their lives. I listened to complex scientific conferences in English. Ironically, this is how I discovered Jonathan Haidt, long before he became an anti-screen advocate.

4/7

I no longer felt like just a bored kid in a small town. I felt connected to everyone, to every epoch. The internet let me participate in humanity's great exchange of ideas. But it was also a great place to discuss and find people who would listen to me.

5/7

@dfkodsi Interestingly and anecdotally, high school students who spend upward of 6-7 hours on social media a day already report they don’t want the same for their future kids. We are talking about solid middle-class European kids.

@LuziEisen @dfkodsi The British government wants 16 year olds to be able to vote, but apparently they aren't mature enough to be let free on YouTube.

@dfkodsi What uni did you go to mate

Current social media isn't the free internet we grew up with. Today, social media corporations run huge departments whose main focus is keeping user numbers higher than the previous period. They keep stealing attention and pouring entropy into everybody's brains as long as it means a bonus at the end of the month.

But government activity isn't about addressing this issue or helping kids. They noticed that AI getting better and soon it gonna be answering: "Your life is worse than it should be because the government isn't doing its job, and here's how we can fix it". So they need to take all communication under control ASAP.

@dfkodsi They tell you this in the bar?

@dfkodsi Blocked from Facebook for max six months at Oxford - hardly the greatest tragedy to befall a young person

@dfkodsi @DavidDeutschOxf Words have power. Only refer to the "UK" as "UK1984" until these demons are removed from power

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UK1984 🧿🧿

@PaulRRobichaud It's far worse, the goal is to lay the foundations for merging the CCP social credit system. "Protecting the children" is just a plot device.

@DarlaLek @dfkodsi That’s obviously hard to swallow, shouldn’t be the case (and 16 shouldn’t be the voting age). I was making a general remark. By the way I see that in the States one can serve in the military before voting.

@PaulRRobichaud Attention is voluntary. It's immoral to say otherwise.

@dfkodsi I can only assume this would have been different had you got the bus to Bath or Bristol instead? Less demeaning maybe?