I'm hearing social media limits described like a prisoner's dilemma: it only is good parenting if both defect. If your parents don't give you tiktok because it's healthier but most of the class does, you'll have a much harder time being part of the group. I got to be part of many things in different schools by being on MSN (~2012), Facebook groups (~2014, even met my life partner there due to being in the same interest group), and WhatsApp (2018). I don't use formerly-known-as-Facebook products anymore today and MSN doesn't even exist now, but in a social group you don't have a fully individual choice of platform
I agree that current evidence points towards the best parenting being where nobody lets their 12-year-old on Tiktok, but there's more to it than simply not letting them no matter the circumstances
Government regulation is the best way to solve these sorts of multi-agent coordination dilemmas. Unfortunately we haven't been able to get youth social media use taken seriously.
The TikTok ban may stem from legitimate geopolitical concerns, but I feel like we're focusing on the much smaller iceberg in our path.
I’m not persuaded that this social media stuff rises above moral panic. What were 12 year old girls watching when I was a kid? Dawson’s Creek? The videos my daughter watched on Tick Tock are way better than that. And she’s not into any brainless garbage like those TV shows that were common when I was that age.
