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Just about everyone agrees that there’s something broken with social media these days. And that’s particularly true when it comes to social media and our nation’s youth. Social media has been blamed for everything from cyberbullying to teen depression, and it’s clear that something has to change.
Signs of change are everywhere
Well, the good news is that we’re finally starting to see evidence of that change. Yes, it has been much slower and more gradual than anyone wanted, but it’s coming. Take, for example, the recent Florida social media ban for teens under the age of 14. That goes well beyond curfews or broad guidelines from the Surgeon General about how much social media our kids should be consuming. We’re talking about an outright ban here.
One can even view the current attempt to ban TikTok as another example of positive change for social media. (Sorry, TikTok users!) The version of TikTok offered to American kids is very much different than the version of TikTok offered to Chinese kids. We get the silly viral videos and crazy dance memes, while they get the educational resources and high-brow content.
And, perhaps just as importantly, the push to change social media is no longer coming just from parents or from grassroots advocates. It’s now coming from politicians, many of whom also happen to be parents. And what they are realizing is just how potentially destructive social media can be if there are no guard rails for our nation’s youth.
Time to change the algorithm
The next target of these politicians appears to be the social media algorithm. You can think of this algorithm as the “secret sauce” for determining what types of content gets shown to users, and to whom. The goal of the algorithm is to maximize engagement and views, and so that means the algorithm prioritizes polarizing content, incendiary speech, and a lot of baseless conspiracy theories.
In New York State, for example, legislators are now saying that regulating the algorithm will be a primary focus going forward. One idea is to replace the purely algorithmic-based social media feed with one based purely on chronology. In other words, we’ll go back to the way things were a decade ago. Back then, there wasn’t a huge glut of content, and users were simply shown the next thing that someone posted.
In theory, this should cut down on the amount of polarizing content and disinformation appearing in social media feeds. The only concern, however, is that might ramp up the feeling of the Fear of Missing Out (FOMO). If you are only shown content when it is posted, then that means you’re missing out on all content that is posted when you’re not online.
No simple solutions
So, obviously, there are no simple solutions. The Big Tech companies may be willing to make changes, but they are not going to make any moves that will endanger their core business model. If advertising dollars dry up after any changes to the algorithm, that’s surely going to be a problem going forward. Most likely, we’ll hear more from paid tech lobbyists about how all these changes are “unconstitutional” or “anti-free speech.”
But keep your eye on this space because there’s definitely room for optimism. Our politicians, lawmakers, and regulators all seem to get it now. They understand what parents and educators have known for years: giving young kids unfettered access to social media at an early age is a recipe for disaster.
