It seems the world is waking up to the dangers of social media and minors, particularly algorithm-based social media. It is engineered to keep their attention, often to their detriment. The science has been heading this way for some time, but I feel like the tipping point was the recent release of The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt.

I talk to many educators in the MacSparky audience, and it seems all of them have read this book and are believers. California has passed a ban on using cell phones in schools. Australia is now considering banning social media used by kids outright. And it feels to me like things are just getting rolling.

The solution to this problem isn’t simply regulation, though. I think it’s going to require participation by all the major players. Governments need to set rules to put some limitations on the social media companies. There’s no way for-profit companies will put reasonable constraints on themselves.

I also think the hardware and platform owners need to play a role. One of the big challenges with regulation of social media and minors is figuring out whether the person signing up for the account is an actual minor. Setting a key or user age at the hardware level would make that much easier.

And most importantly, parents need to be involved. I’ve been talking to parents in my orbit and the reaction varies. Some people take it very seriously, and others don’t. The tipping point for me was the suicide rate among girls aged 10–14 skyrocketed 131% since the arrival of social media.

Finally, the 800-pound gorilla on the couch is that adults have a similar problem with social media, which none of this movement addresses.