It blows my mind that parents let their children use these platforms with these safety features.
I just found out yesterday that my cousin lets their 5ish year old have a TikTok account, but they have to allow or deny anyone who follows. How absurd is that. It doesn't block anything about what they view (I assume they relied on this safety feature), and there's no way that vetting who can follow (family and friends) is safe enough. The alternative is my younger cousin not having access to TikTok at five years old. Seems like a completely fine alternative.
I imagine the average person just doesn't think about the potential implications of giving your child a TikTok account at that age.
I have kids. We’re social. Spend a lot of time meeting new parents all the time.
I have never heard of a 5 year old with a TikTok account.
I think your cousin is so far into the outlier end of the parenting tail that nothing they do is going to make any sense in the context of common parenting practices.
I feel the average person is not equipped to understand the implications. being educated / intelligent means you have likely picked up some neuroscience knowledge and it has stuck for you over the years. Even if it is not your "field" we all have a brain and if you like knowledge then you recognize it's useful to know about it.
The average person, especially the below average person, is better off trusting others than their own judgement - since most people know more than them.
You need to talk to your cousin. No one else is going to.
> You need to talk to your cousin. No one else is going to.
This is absolutely true.
> being educated / intelligent means you have likely picked up some neuroscience knowledge and it has stuck for you over the years.
People in Russia and China have almost 30 percentage points more tertiary education levels than Americans do. Nonetheless social media is even more pervasive and popular in China than anywhere else in the world. Like with the panic about video game fixation, harmful time wasters are almost certainly an effect, not a cause, of something else.
5 years old is crazy, but by the time they are 15-16 it becomes difficult to restrict them from things their peers all do. There needs to be a wider push from all parents or more of a consensus from society that these platforms are dangerous.
Yes, the platforms need to be regulated more for minors.
But also, prohibition has never been a very effective method with teens.
Just look at how college kids drink when they get to college. The sudden removal of parental restriction has a lot to do with that if you ask me.
I think this is better approached with broad education, and stronger regulations on the platforms themselves.
Part of the problem is that many parents aren’t educated themselves about what is good and bad for their kids. Examples include things like nutrition, screen time, even simple stuff like when to wean from bottles and keeping suffocation risks out of cribs.
> Part of the problem is that many parents aren’t educated themselves about what is good and bad for their kids. Examples include things like nutrition, screen time, even simple stuff like when to wean from bottles and keeping suffocation risks out of cribs.
I would argue that more is being asked now of parents than in previous decades at least. You’re asking every parent to fight multi-billion dollar international addiction platforms on top of working, parenting, etc.
I totally agree with you, and that’s where platform regulation and privacy regulation has been failing parents.
Most people really can’t fathom the amount of data that tech platforms are slurping up, and they can’t fathom the sophistication of the data science that goes on involving their content feeds and data and metadata collection/targeting.
I try to be open-minded to other parenting techniques... but I just don't have the brain power to internalize how any remotely self-aware human let's a 5 year old use tik tok. Poor kid.
> Liu also said Texas had established that TikTok's "Restricted Mode" did not work as advertised and exposed minors to content the company said would be filtered out.
I don't use tiktok, can someone explain what the restrict mode was advertised as vs does? If it's like any social media limiter it's perhaps a softer thing (time limit) than a hard thing (ie, designed to put the onus on the user).
> The State’s second argument concerns TikTok’s representations about whether its “Restricted Mode” feature effectively filtered out content that might be inappropriate for minors. TikTok claimed that Restricted Mode “limits the appearance of content that may not be appropriate for all audiences” and that users “shouldn’t see mature or complex themes,” such as “profanity,” “sexually suggestive content,” “realistic violence or threatening imagery,” “firearms or weapons in an environment that isn’t appropriate,” “illegal or controlled substances/drugs,” and “explicit references to mature or complex themes that may reflect personal experiences or real-world events that are intended for older audiences.” For years, the State argues, TikTok employees internally
recognized that Restricted Mode was not functioning in the way it was marketed and exposed users to a high volume of content that should have been filtered out.
I wonder what counts as a complex theme? Surely that is a euphemism for something, but I can't figure out what it would be and certainly don't trust TikTok to do a good job of deciding what is too complex for the youth's minds.
What Is Restricted Mode?
Restricted Mode limits videos that may not be right for all viewers. It filters out mature or complex themes. Some features like LIVE videos and the Following feed are hidden while it is active
So I can only assume that it did not filter out these things.
IIRC, it's supposed to filter out disturbing or offensive content; any time you report a comment or a video, it suggests enabling it to prevent seeing that sort of thing in the future.
The open internet isn't safe for adults, either. There is some serious misinformation out there, and it's high time we restrict the internet to only high-IQ people. (/sarc)
Will you ever cease to be baffled, I wonder? All the crazy things people do, and all the crazy stories on the news every single day, your life must be absolute kaleidoscopic madness of noncomprehension.
"kaleidoscopic madness of noncomprehension". Hilarious image. Thank you for this. Not the OP but this actually describes my state sometimes. Darkly, I think the problem is I put too much faith in others.
If we put responsibility for keeping kids safe on companies we will get 2 or 3. The only good option is that parents need to actually parent their kids.
This is soooo true. But unfortunately, whenever you confront a parent with their responsibilities, they immediately lash out with excuses. "How should I know." "There is already sooo much work to do." "In these times ..." All lazy ass excuses by people who obviously have no idea what responsibility they have.
This comment is just a lazy attempt at changing minds. Why don’t you get off your ass and actually institute real change in the world? We’re all waiting. This is your responsibility after all, according to me. From here on out, all unresolved problems are the fault of lynx97 being a lazy slackass. So says me, with the power of a random internet person assigning responsibilities. Consider yourself confronted. I’ll await your excuses.
It blows my mind that parents let their children use these platforms with these safety features.
I just found out yesterday that my cousin lets their 5ish year old have a TikTok account, but they have to allow or deny anyone who follows. How absurd is that. It doesn't block anything about what they view (I assume they relied on this safety feature), and there's no way that vetting who can follow (family and friends) is safe enough. The alternative is my younger cousin not having access to TikTok at five years old. Seems like a completely fine alternative.
I imagine the average person just doesn't think about the potential implications of giving your child a TikTok account at that age.
I have kids. We’re social. Spend a lot of time meeting new parents all the time.
I have never heard of a 5 year old with a TikTok account.
I think your cousin is so far into the outlier end of the parenting tail that nothing they do is going to make any sense in the context of common parenting practices.
I feel the average person is not equipped to understand the implications. being educated / intelligent means you have likely picked up some neuroscience knowledge and it has stuck for you over the years. Even if it is not your "field" we all have a brain and if you like knowledge then you recognize it's useful to know about it.
The average person, especially the below average person, is better off trusting others than their own judgement - since most people know more than them.
You need to talk to your cousin. No one else is going to.
> You need to talk to your cousin. No one else is going to.
This is absolutely true.
> being educated / intelligent means you have likely picked up some neuroscience knowledge and it has stuck for you over the years.
People in Russia and China have almost 30 percentage points more tertiary education levels than Americans do. Nonetheless social media is even more pervasive and popular in China than anywhere else in the world. Like with the panic about video game fixation, harmful time wasters are almost certainly an effect, not a cause, of something else.
5 years old is crazy, but by the time they are 15-16 it becomes difficult to restrict them from things their peers all do. There needs to be a wider push from all parents or more of a consensus from society that these platforms are dangerous.
Yes, the platforms need to be regulated more for minors.
But also, prohibition has never been a very effective method with teens.
Just look at how college kids drink when they get to college. The sudden removal of parental restriction has a lot to do with that if you ask me.
I think this is better approached with broad education, and stronger regulations on the platforms themselves.
Part of the problem is that many parents aren’t educated themselves about what is good and bad for their kids. Examples include things like nutrition, screen time, even simple stuff like when to wean from bottles and keeping suffocation risks out of cribs.
> Part of the problem is that many parents aren’t educated themselves about what is good and bad for their kids. Examples include things like nutrition, screen time, even simple stuff like when to wean from bottles and keeping suffocation risks out of cribs.
I would argue that more is being asked now of parents than in previous decades at least. You’re asking every parent to fight multi-billion dollar international addiction platforms on top of working, parenting, etc.
I totally agree with you, and that’s where platform regulation and privacy regulation has been failing parents.
Most people really can’t fathom the amount of data that tech platforms are slurping up, and they can’t fathom the sophistication of the data science that goes on involving their content feeds and data and metadata collection/targeting.
I try to be open-minded to other parenting techniques... but I just don't have the brain power to internalize how any remotely self-aware human let's a 5 year old use tik tok. Poor kid.
Instead of sueing the platforms, the parents should be subjected to CPS, on a daily basis.
Ah yes, all parents should constantly be monitored by the state for compliance with standards, gotta love small government
Go after the drug dealers ffs
Are you a friend of Larry Ellison by chance? His ideas don't stop at kids.
> Liu also said Texas had established that TikTok's "Restricted Mode" did not work as advertised and exposed minors to content the company said would be filtered out.
I don't use tiktok, can someone explain what the restrict mode was advertised as vs does? If it's like any social media limiter it's perhaps a softer thing (time limit) than a hard thing (ie, designed to put the onus on the user).
> The State’s second argument concerns TikTok’s representations about whether its “Restricted Mode” feature effectively filtered out content that might be inappropriate for minors. TikTok claimed that Restricted Mode “limits the appearance of content that may not be appropriate for all audiences” and that users “shouldn’t see mature or complex themes,” such as “profanity,” “sexually suggestive content,” “realistic violence or threatening imagery,” “firearms or weapons in an environment that isn’t appropriate,” “illegal or controlled substances/drugs,” and “explicit references to mature or complex themes that may reflect personal experiences or real-world events that are intended for older audiences.” For years, the State argues, TikTok employees internally recognized that Restricted Mode was not functioning in the way it was marketed and exposed users to a high volume of content that should have been filtered out.
https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/ima...
Based on their faq: https://www.tiktok.com/support/faq_detail?category=web_accou...
> You shouldn't see mature or complex themes, such as:
> • Profanity
> • Sexually suggestive content
> • Realistic violence or threatening imagery
> • Firearms or weapons in an environment that isn't appropriate
> • Illegal or controlled substances/drugs
> • Explicit references to mature or complex themes that may reflect personal experiences or real-world events that are intended for older audiences
It is clearly described as a content filter. (It also deactivates gifting on live and "following" feed.)
I wonder what counts as a complex theme? Surely that is a euphemism for something, but I can't figure out what it would be and certainly don't trust TikTok to do a good job of deciding what is too complex for the youth's minds.
Curious what they consider an “appropriate environment” for firearms and weapons
From TikTok:
What Is Restricted Mode? Restricted Mode limits videos that may not be right for all viewers. It filters out mature or complex themes. Some features like LIVE videos and the Following feed are hidden while it is active
So I can only assume that it did not filter out these things.
IIRC, it's supposed to filter out disturbing or offensive content; any time you report a comment or a video, it suggests enabling it to prevent seeing that sort of thing in the future.
TikTok isn't even safe for adults, let alone children.
The open internet isn't safe for adults, either. There is some serious misinformation out there, and it's high time we restrict the internet to only high-IQ people. (/sarc)
I like to think there's a difference between being fed misinformation & braindrot day in, day out and having to look for them yourself.
Texas judge rules heroin marketed as child safe so parents could get back to doing their own heroin was not child safe after all.
Why would anyone expect a data-funnel to the CCP to be honest? I am baffled that people even use the app.
Tiktok was sold to a US company iirc
...so now the CCP has to pay the middleman Ellison for the same data.
It’s a data funnel to Larry Ellison and the Trump crime family now.
I feel even worse now.
Will you ever cease to be baffled, I wonder? All the crazy things people do, and all the crazy stories on the news every single day, your life must be absolute kaleidoscopic madness of noncomprehension.
"kaleidoscopic madness of noncomprehension". Hilarious image. Thank you for this. Not the OP but this actually describes my state sometimes. Darkly, I think the problem is I put too much faith in others.
> your life must be absolute kaleidoscopic madness of noncomprehension.
Yeah, that is a pretty good way to summarize the state of life based the trajectory of current events.
There is rarely a dull moment on this rock.
There's only 3 options for the internet:
1. free for all
2. locked down with ID checked age gates
3. sanitized with no adult content at all
If we put responsibility for keeping kids safe on companies we will get 2 or 3. The only good option is that parents need to actually parent their kids.
This is soooo true. But unfortunately, whenever you confront a parent with their responsibilities, they immediately lash out with excuses. "How should I know." "There is already sooo much work to do." "In these times ..." All lazy ass excuses by people who obviously have no idea what responsibility they have.
This comment is just a lazy attempt at changing minds. Why don’t you get off your ass and actually institute real change in the world? We’re all waiting. This is your responsibility after all, according to me. From here on out, all unresolved problems are the fault of lynx97 being a lazy slackass. So says me, with the power of a random internet person assigning responsibilities. Consider yourself confronted. I’ll await your excuses.
Those are not mutually exclusive. I'll take #1 and #2 combined, thank you very much. #3 is the purview of the advertisers and CC companies.
How long do you think you'll have #1 and #2 before someone in government realizes they can dox people they don't like?