The world is up in arms over the harms that can come to kids by the use of technology that has been created with addictive algorithms, which big companies deny existing. What do we do? We ban the technology from kids.
BANS DO NOT WORK. There are literally speakeasies in every city in the world that celebrate the golden age of alcohol distribution in the United States when alcohol was prohibited.
Have you ever met a child? The surest way of making them want something more is to take it away from them.
Meanwhile, the companies that produce the garbage that gets forced upon kids with those dubious algorithms face little to no accountability for allowing this to continue.
If it’s not safe for a kid to use, it isn’t safe. And a corollary: the technology that we use to secure our own digital space should also be applied to the spaces that our kids get to use.
Age verification is not the answer: building systems that protect ourselves and our children is. Surveillance is not the answer: we should be teaching kids how to have a positive relationship with technology, not using it to oppress them. We need to respect our children.
Here’s how the robots put it: 🤖 Building for kids forces honest defaults: private by default, no strangers by surprise, no dark patterns, no engagement mechanics tuned against an unfinished brain, no data trail that follows them into adulthood. It rules out entire business models — deliberately.
Just like accessibility is for everyone, including kids in the design from day one makes it safer for everyone.