Social media bans are trending. But it’s too late for my son and me | Dave Schilling
We’re both addicted to our screens. But at least we’re watching together – it’s dystopian bonding for the modern age Try as I might, I
We’re both addicted to our screens. But at least we’re watching together – it’s dystopian bonding for the modern age Try as I might, I think there’s no saving my son from modern technology. It’s ubiquitous, seductive and deeply ingrained in every aspect of middle-class life. Worse yet, I’m also addicted. When do I not have my iPhone out, desperately scrolling through a suite of apps, hoping they’ll offer me some manner of comfort from the security of my living room couch?
Hours go by as I’m practically begging someone to notice me on Instagram, while he’s skipping from brainrot videos to basketball tutorials on our internet-connected TV. Ten years ago, I might have witnessed a scene like that and thought it was a sign of the end times. We’ve lost our way so much as a culture that a parent and a child can be simultaneously subsumed by screens, barely noticing the other person. But at some point, everyone realizes that the battle is lost.
This is just how it is. In spite of that grim diagnosis, Keir Starmer – who turned snatching defeat from the jaws of victory his personal brand has made this losing battle a signature issue. This week, the British prime minister announced a comprehensive ban on social media for children under the age of 16. That includes Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, X, Snapchat and YouTube (though not the kids’ version). The ban is modeled on one currently deployed in Australia, which has holes wide enough to drive a fleet of vintage Sherman tanks through.
Teenagers in Australia are finding ways around their ban already, and of course they are. When I was 15, if I wanted a si pack of Budweiser or some of those tiny airplane liquor bottles, I could figure it out. Dave Schilling is a Los Angeles-based writer and humorist Continue reading...
The BriefWire