• themurphy@lemmy.ml
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    7 months ago

    Wild that EU needs to do this. Where’s the US in all this? The company is even based there.

  • natarey@lemmy.world
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    7 months ago

    This is like an article declaring, “EU Investigates MySpace for causing child addiction and harm” – the people they’re trying to protect don’t use that product any more. The time to do this investigation was fifteen years ago, and the US government should have been the ones to do it.

    Don’t get me wrong – fuck Facebook. I hope they have to pay billions. But the people that company is harming now are adults and the elderly. I’m sure fifteen years from now, once all those people are dead, there’ll be an in-depth investigation and legislation about it.

    • TheGrandNagus@lemmy.world
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      7 months ago

      Loads of young people use Instagram. And Messenger. And WhatsApp. Some have Threads. They own a few shitty mobile games companies.

      Then on top of that Facebook collects data for third parties too via their ad network.

      Going after Meta for this is 100% justified.

      • natarey@lemmy.world
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        7 months ago

        Justified? Absolutely. Timely? Hardly.

        My point was it’s more than a decade too late, and all the EU will do is levy a minor fine that Meta won’t even blink at. The only country that could impose real consequences is the US, and they have no interest in anything that doesn’t benefit these nightmare cyberpunk megacorps.

        • TheGrandNagus@lemmy.world
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          7 months ago

          Of course it would’ve been better if it were present from the beginning. But I’m not going to complain about them doing the right thing now.

          And EU fines so far have proven to be quite the motivator. These aren’t the baby fines the US hands out.

          • natarey@lemmy.world
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            7 months ago

            I was counting from when Facebook et al. became a clear problem — because, again, while I’m glad the EU is looking at this, it’s the US that has needed to take action. Their refusal to do so has left it to the EU to try to do something, and I’m skeptical that whatever they end up doing will make a difference. Like, if the price of the crime is a fine, then the crime is legal for a company as big as Meta.

              • natarey@lemmy.world
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                7 months ago

                Well, you’re more optimistic than I am, but I hope you’re right.

                The whole internet feels like it’s in a state of irrecoverable rot, and the last ten years have really tanked my confidence in governments to do anything about the clearly harmful, consumer hostile behavior inflicted on us — mostly because they seem to benefit a lot from letting Meta et al. do whatever they want. Like, EU fines, to date, have looked more like the organization wanting to wet their beak rather than fixing anything. I don’t know.

  • Allero@lemmy.today
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    7 months ago

    Completely off-topic but…do you see the link picture as shaking?

    For me it dances HARD and is very snappy. I wonder if it’s me, my sleep deprivation or actually an illusion

    • TheDarksteel94@sopuli.xyz
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      7 months ago

      Lol, good luck trying to control everything around your child and what it consumes as a parent. Pretty much impossible, especially nowadays.

      • 0x0@programming.dev
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        7 months ago

        So just say Fuck it, everyone else can do it instead… and then moan about your children being addicted?

        I’m not excusing Meta here, but parents should definitely not be excused of the responsibility or raising their kids.

        • TheDarksteel94@sopuli.xyz
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          7 months ago

          Oh no, definitely do something as a parent, like lock some apps or something. But with stuff like social media it’s almost impossible to keep your kids away from it, especially without government intervention. Pretty sure some kids nowadays also just get bullied into using social media, even if they’re not interested in it. I mean, kids get bullied over not having any Fortnite skins…

          • Mkengine@feddit.de
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            7 months ago

            I have often thought about how I will do this with my child. Fortunately, I still have some time before this becomes relevant, but in the end it’s like politics, isn’t it? It’s always about the tug of war between safety and freedom. As a father, I naturally pull in the direction of safety, but how hard can I pull? I don’t know if I’m too naive, but maybe I can achieve a better result with education than with bans? If I ban something, my children should understand why there is a ban or restriction. I would also be prepared to engage in a discussion because I naturally think differently to my child. I hope that I will do everything right, I hated it as a child when there were bans without justification.

            • TheDarksteel94@sopuli.xyz
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              7 months ago

              You’re absolutely right! I feel like sometimes you need to pull your kids in the direction you think is right for them. And I think if a parent does a really good job at explaining why things are the way they are and at giving their kids a good understanding of right and wrong, then those kids will figure out a lot of stuff on their own very quickly.

              I just see two extremes way too often when I go out:

              1. Patents who let their kids do whatever and don’t establish themselves as a figure or trust and guidance.

              2. Parents who take it too far into the other direction and force their own beliefs on their kids, maybe even passing on their own trauma.

              Neither one is good imo. But also, keep in mind that sometimes (young) kids just ask questions to get a certain reaction out of you lol

      • Obinice@lemmy.world
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        7 months ago

        That’s pretty much the definition of the job of parent. To control everything around the child and how they interact with things.

        It’s not any more difficult than it ever was. For one thing, don’t give kids a smartphone until they’re at least 13, they have no need for one before then.

        Similarly, up to that age, they should be taught how to use a computer and the internet, but only in a closely monitored, safe manner.

        After 13 or there abouts, they are given more freedom and more responsibility to go along with it, and hopefully have been raised well enough to respect that.

        From there, limitations and guide rails will remain in place, be it a traditional curfew in the evening, or a limitation of “screen time”, and if course of what the children interact with online.

        Greater autonomy is earned through positive actions and mutual respect, too. Over time as they approach adulthood you will be able to loosen restrictions and worry less, as the strong person you’ve helped raise will be able to make their own decisions with greater confidence and more positive outcomes.

        Mistakes will be made on all sides along the way, there will be joy, sorrow, anger, love, parenting is a learning experience for all parties, but in the end, if all goes well, you’ll have a well adjusted young adult who isn’t addicted to their mobile phone or any of the apps contained within, who understands the dangers of such things, and how easily addictions and a warping of reality within the mind can set in.

        Eventually you have to let go, let them be adults and make their own decisions, but by then they’ll have this deep understanding of the dangers they face, and that’s the best defence they can have.

        It still might not be enough, but all you can do as a parent is try to prepare them, from then on they have to make their own mistakes, you know?

        Anyway yeah, that’s how I think about it :-)

    • tabular@lemmy.world
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      7 months ago

      Stack overflow error on recursive function “blame parents” at line 1.

      • Grangle1@lemm.ee
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        7 months ago

        The eternal excuse of those who profit or benefit from children getting involved in things they shouldn’t.

    • dinckel@lemmy.world
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      7 months ago

      You’re really going to tell us that you’ve never done something you parents told you not to?

    • FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.world
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      7 months ago

      Hard downvote.

      This is an institutional problem, not an individual one.

      FB markets its platform as safe and respectful of security, but it’s exactly the opposite on both fronts and that is a proven fact. It’s deliberately addictive, has led to widespread radicalization and mental illness in its users, and steals people’s personal information.

      It’s the digital equivalent of marketing cigarettes to kids, only more harmful.

      FB absolutely needs to be investigated and held accountable.

    • jas0n@lemmy.world
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      7 months ago

      Facebook is almost more effective on adults. So whether or not you’re right here is so ridiculously beyond the point anymore. They’ve lost all credibility and should be indefensible.