re: New Louisiana law will require kids under 16 get parent approval to access social media

:kige:

This law is common sense. First of all, minors can't agree to the user agreements for these accounts.

13 year old me had unsupervised internet access in the mid 90s and the FIRST thing I did was use it to access "chat rooms" intended for adults and pretend to be older than I was. The Internet was still mostly anonymous then but things have completely changed. Kids want to be able to have an online life that is not anonymous and is fully integrated into their real social life. I guess it is not obvious to everybody why that is harmful, but that is the last thing I would want for my teen.

My son is now the same age I was when the internet came to average Americans, but has LESS access (in our home) than I did back then. We do not have any social media accounts and will not allow him to until he is 18. Letting young teens waste time trying to manage an online persona in this world is not going to get them ahead in life. It can destroy their self confidence at a time when they are trying to figure out how to fit in.