I believe you underestimate the power of being "in". Even if the friends wouldn't be "true", it is still extremely valuable socially. That is, speaking as someone who, due to unrelated reasons, was prevented from fitting in fully. It may not hold much water from a stranger on the internet, but i would've given anything to be able to fit in more at that time. I believe it has set me back socially 3-5 years, with lasting consequences which I may never truly heal.

> Second, kids need to learn that social acceptance doesn't mean they have to do everything their friends are doing

Sure, but they won't learn that when you prevent them from participating activities with their friends. This isn't them deciding that they don't want to participate in something.

> Third, the long-term benefits of reducing their exposure to social media are outweighed by the short-term benefits of the instant gratification and shared experience of social media.

Attention spans can be fixed.

And besides, you shouldn't control any child like that. You might say "they will thank me in the future". But they never will. And the damage done by controlling their life like that is more lasting. Their relationship with authority, with you, with their own autonomy will be forever changed. (Speaking as figurative you, I don't mean to imply you specifically) This teaches them "You don't have a right to own things the authority doesn't want you to own" (Or it teaches them how to lie and hide contraband.)

I still don't believe that it's worth it, with the exclusion from their social circle causing a bigger health issue than social media, but I get it.

To quote a great man, we live in society. And it's better to work within a system and get to know it rather than it is to just hate it. And if the first experience of a large portion of youth is system beating them down, you can see how that's gonna grow a strong "tear it all down" mentality.

But seriously agreed, that's why I propose what I propose - when it's banned no-one can do it and no one can eat your lunch (*)

(*) Subject to exceptions, as the War on Drugs can attest, but I think it would work in this instance

And they doomed a generation in the process

Yeah that's fair.

> I agree they are a wonderful invention but I'm not sure grade school students need to be connecting to anyone, anywhere throughout the entire school day.

Well to their friends in other classes ("Wanna go out after 3pm lesson").

Additionally, and socially, smart phones, if banned, would be instantly seen as a status symbol. And it would also accelerate strong anti-autority sentimentality. The kids won't understand it, hell adults wouldn't. So it's also the case that you can't really ban them without really adverse social effects.

Because social media is precisely in the short term benefit x long term risk that human brains are bad at conceptualizing. Same reasons for why we mandate belts in cars.

I would also ban them globally, not just for kids but like I'm sure that would be a whole 'nother discussion.

Yeah that's fair. Probably can't hurt anything with that. But it's hard to get the actual danger across.

> None of this exploration ever required or involved Facebook or other social media platform or highly immersive video game, save YouTube.

That's why I am gunning to limit these kind of platforms, specifically.

> It doesn't infringe upon anyone's rights, and wouldn't really "cost" anything,

Well it depends. If these assemblies worked, they would "cost" the platforms potential engagement and potential revenue. Which is kind of a pointless distinction, I just thought it's interesting

I agree with you. I would consider social media and games addictive. It's just that the SMS app on my phone isn't addictive. Telegram app, the Photo app also isn't.

> Paleolithic emotions, medieval institutions, and god-like technology is a combination that we're not nearly as well-adapted to as we think we are.

Agreed. But my paleolithic emotions aren't addicted to the radio waves of my phone, but to the TikTok app specifically.

It's the apps, which corrode everyone's attention span. And unlike weed, I doubt there will be "algorithmic feed" dealers, because no one actually wants an algorithmic feed.

I think you chose well

It's the apps, which overcharge everyone's (not just kids!) brains, by algorithmically "mAxImiZinG eNgaGeMent"

It's time to ban them all. Okay that's a bit much. Ban all algorithmic feeds, all apps must adhere to strictly chronological feed of the strictly subscribed authors.

There, the phone addiction crisis solved.

Two years of full time engineering man hours

> Just create a really great mobile interface on top of that.

Probably another 3 years of full time engineering man hours

Oh? Do you vote? Because there's sufficient other voters that make your vote irrelevant