
"Facebook's own research describes what many parents already intuit: that social media isn't simply a product children use or consume, but a digital environment they inhabit, which they struggle to distinguish from the real world". "Luring children onto social media — and keeping them there — is a top priority for online platforms". So states a must read article in National Affairs, the quarterly journal of essays about US domestic policy, political economy, society, culture, and political thought. It aims to help Americans think a little more clearly about public life, and rise a little more ably to the challenge of self-government. Read the essay here.
This rush by the various platforms to maximize profit leaves in its wake a range of emotional and mental-health harms to the children whose attention these platforms so badly covet. Apart from 'tweens' being considered a valuable and under-tapped audience commercially, they are often also the victims of some online communities focusing on unhealthy to positively dangerous practises. A major vector along which this harm travels is social pressure — a natural teenage phenomenon that young people are now facing on an unprecedented scale. "The addictive, reality-distorting quality of social media leads to harms beyond digitally amplified social pressure: The platforms also make children more vulnerable to traditional dangers, including sexual exploitation. Not only have they opened new avenues for child traffickers and adult predators, they also facilitate the rising trend of children sharing explicit images of themselves, often after being coerced into doing so".
Because social media provides avenues for undeniably harmful content to reach children directly, tailored to capture their interest and designed to encourage obsession, we need to be more aware of what may lie behind even the seemingly benign craze of some children wanting to identify as 'Furries'. "We need to consider where the burden of proof lies in matters of child welfare. Policymaking always happens under conditions of uncertainty; the job of policymakers is to make the best judgments they can based on the evidence they have. This responsibility is all the more urgent where the safety of children is concerned. The practical standard for taking action to protect children cannot possibly be scientific proof, or some statistical regression with a suitable p-value; it must be whether the benefits of acting are likely to outweigh the costs".
'Safer Schools', the organisation committed to "Educating, Empowering and Protecting School Communities" explores the issues, common themes and risks associated with 'Furries' in their indepth safeguarding advice here. Share this with your friends, family and colleagues.