To explain how this is at all within their authority, prosecutors make a vague nod to consumer protection laws. Prosecutors offer no reason to believe TikTok wants to harm kids, if it's even doing so at all. But attempts to punish tech companies that may—even inadvertently—cause distress to young people is a popular political pastime these days. (See: Congress and Instagram.) And you'll notice that the purview has moved beyond just concern for children to encompass young adults, too. But the whole business stinks of performative nonsense—a way to appear proactive, protective, and progressive while circling the wagons around an easy scapegoat. If TikTok and other social media platforms are causing kids' psychological anguish, it's largely for the same reason these things can cause anguish in adults: negative interactions with one's peers/other users; viewing things one might be missing out on or not included in; comparing oneself with people who seem to have more money, better bodies, or other things that inspire envy. These are issues of human nature, not technological issues. No amount of algorithm tweaks or targeted-ad bans—which are the kind of things politicians propose as remedies—can change these factors. Short of banning social media use, nothing can. It's also telling that only tech gets singled out for investigation when plenty of other things may exacerbate social pressure, anxiety, and depression. School, for instance, is often a major source of stress, between academic expectations, pressure to fit in, and potential bullying. OK, you say, but school has useful attributes, too; we can't just ban school or punish administrators because attendance makes some kids feel bad! I'd argue both things are true of TikTok as well. But let's just say for a moment that TikTok is both bad for teens' well-being and has no corresponding social or psychological value. Couldn't the same be said of fashion magazines? Celebrity news? Movies and TV aimed at teens? Video games? Sad or mad music? TV commercials concerning weight loss? Texting? All of the above have been accused, at one point or other, of causing mental distress, bad habits, or social isolation in young people. Studies have supposedly shown as much about many of these things, too. Of course, much of this research—or at least the conclusions politicians and pundits draw from it—has been flawed, plagued by that great destroyer of rational conclusions everywhere: misplaced causation and correlation. Folks will note that teens who do more of X (looking at celebrity magazines, watching TV, playing video games, using TikTok and Instagram, etc.) exhibit more of such-and-such negative trait (i.e., depression, anxiety, negative self-image). Then they blame X for causing these traits and say, 'see, it's Science!' But that's not what the research actually says; it merely finds a link, not which way it flows. It's just as likely—perhaps more so—that feelings of self-doubt, sadness, or social isolation may drive young people to partake in more of X, relative to teens who are better-adjusted, have more friends, are involved in more outside activities, etc. And even if some of these things may exacerbate negative emotions for some people, Americans aren't generally suggesting (any more) that we strictly regulate teen magazines or emo music or weight loss programming, or that we punish their creators because of it. When it comes to nontech activities, people can generally see that the issue goes deeper than the media in question (i.e., eating disorders aren't actually triggered by skinny models, even though skinny models may make someone with an eating disorder feel bad or more committed to the disordered activity). They can see that banning or hyper-regulating things over these concerns would be too much—too heavy-handed, a violation of free speech or free markets, a step toward authoritarianism. And they can acknowledge that perhaps not all forms of entertainment or diversion are good for all people without assuming that the makers of these diversions must be dastardly masterminds who must be punished. These same precepts are true when it comes to digital media, even if less folks can see it clearly. And they are true even if prosecutors persist in preening that they're tough on tech companies for the kids and not for the publicity and potential settlement money it might bring. |
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