I’m asking for public policy ideas here. A lot of countries are enacting age verification now. But of course this is a privacy nightmare and is ripe for abuse. At the same time though, I also understand why people are concerned with how kids are using social media. These products are designed to be addictive and are known to cause body image issues and so forth. So what’s the middle ground? How can we protect kids from the harms of social media in a way that respects everyone’s privacy?
Nevermind single parenting, in many families both parents work to be able to support their standard of living (and if they’re both working low-paying jobs, this isn’t just luxury). Add to that that modern society pretty much expects people to move away from their hometown to wherever they can get a job, especially if they’re somewhat well-educated, which takes the grandparents out of the picture for childcare.