Especially (but not only) for kids?

Mr. P. Malhotra writes in Slade that “The Social Dilemma (movie) Fails to Tackle the Real Issues in Tech”. This is the one (of those reported in the article) that I personally find more interesting: surely today’s social media are toxic, and much of the current “high-tech” “innovation” is… let’s say pointless. But we can’t blame them for everything, and go back in time. Here are the two paragraphs that mention this issue (emphasis mine):

“Issues ranging from economic inequality to climate change may also contribute to young people’s anxiety and stress - yet the film suggests technology alone is the problem. This narrative is further bolstered by framing technology use as an addiction. Some researchers who focus on digital well-being warn against using such labels as it pathologizes technology use. It treats frequent use of technology, even for a short period in someone’s life, as a disorder that possibly requires clinical intervention. This debate continues on, but the documentary only presents one side of it."

“This framing of technology use as an addiction also serves to promote complete abstention as a possible solution. In fact, completely logging off social media is one of the few muddled solutions offered toward the end of the documentary. We are told that those in Silicon Valley do not let their children use any social media. Not only does this gloss over how young people can make positive social connections online, it does not offer parents any productive advice about the conversations they may have with their children on issues like media literacy and privacy protection. Again, experts who have spent years conducting research on children and digital media could have offered such suggestions. But they are absent while a dystopian narrative that lacks any nuance is uncritically presented."

Hmmm. Where IS the problem here?

Yes, the current version of social media is destroying public rationality. And yes, teens from about 2012 and beyond do have serious problems that too many connections with smartphones. But please don’t stop there. What is really wrong in children with personal smartphones, for example, is not the smartphone, it’s the PERSONAL. The fact that the current version of digital technology and social platforms are toxic is not a reason to give them up altogether (even if that were possible, at this point).