In my opinion, social media is not the biggest threat to kids - algorithms are. I fully support the SoMe restrictions on kids, but could possibly accept a fediverse partition if the server would be maintained by the community, school or some trustworthy non-profit.
Everything that happens on a computer is based on algorithms. Chronological sorting of everything you’re following is still an algorithm. But I get what you mean.
I agree with you that modern personalized recommendation algorithms like the big social media platforms are based on are not a good thing (for people of any age). They break the Internet’s original promise that it should be the general public who decides on what we exchange ideas about on the Internet. They turn social media operators into (essentially) media companies by picking winners with lots of reach and losers with little reach…
But none of that has anything to do with how old any users are.
Algorithms are the real story here, not platforms. A fediverse server can run the same recommendation engines that optimize for engagement over substance. What I care about is building systems where disagreement actually gets preserved, not hidden behind engagement-optimization. That is why I am mapping public opinion through email responses—people can take time to think before they write. No feeds. No virality incentives. Just substance.
In my opinion, social media is not the biggest threat to kids - algorithms are. I fully support the SoMe restrictions on kids, but could possibly accept a fediverse partition if the server would be maintained by the community, school or some trustworthy non-profit.
Everything that happens on a computer is based on algorithms. Chronological sorting of everything you’re following is still an algorithm. But I get what you mean.
I agree with you that modern personalized recommendation algorithms like the big social media platforms are based on are not a good thing (for people of any age). They break the Internet’s original promise that it should be the general public who decides on what we exchange ideas about on the Internet. They turn social media operators into (essentially) media companies by picking winners with lots of reach and losers with little reach…
But none of that has anything to do with how old any users are.
Algorithms are the real story here, not platforms. A fediverse server can run the same recommendation engines that optimize for engagement over substance. What I care about is building systems where disagreement actually gets preserved, not hidden behind engagement-optimization. That is why I am mapping public opinion through email responses—people can take time to think before they write. No feeds. No virality incentives. Just substance.