Digital Fentanyl and Deepfakes

My thoughts on last week's headlines

Hi.

There were two big stories last week about kids and social media and I now have alot to say.

• Florida’s Proposed Bill to raise the age for social media from 13 to 16

• AI generated porn using Taylor Swift’s likeness

Ughhhh. It’s just alot, isn’t it?

I’m going to briefly summarize each news story, offer suggestions on what parents can do and give you my $0.02. Let’s go.

Photo by Mr Cup / Fabien Barral on Unsplash.

Digital Fentanyl

The gist

On Wednesday of last week The Florida House of Representatives approved a bill that would prohibit children under the age of 16 from using most social media platforms, regardless of parental approval. Proponents of the bill and many others over recent months have referred to the addictive quality of social media as Digital Fentanyl.

Main Point

• Social media is so addictive its like fentanyl and should NOT be in the hands of 13 year olds

Main Counterpoints

• Parental approval should be sufficient for minors' use of social media

• Social media regulation should be overseen on a federal basis not at the state level. Otherwise when it come to access to information and resources teens in this state are not on even playing field with teens elsewhere

• Social media is how many young people find community and learn about the world

What Parents Can Do

1. Set good examples. If you struggle with screen addiction it will be hard to manage your child’s screen time. Kids look to us as models.

2. Talk to your kids about the danger of screen addiction. Cite the stats. List the negative outcomes. Have them listen to what Surgeon General Murty has to say about the topic.

3. Help them with screen time management such as

• delaying giving a smartphone

• monitoring for signs of addiction

• implementing downtime settings

• setting a good example yourself

• creating screen free time (a weekend, a vacation etc)

My $0.02

Social media is definitely addictive but unlike fentanyl, it has some redeeming qualities. I think raising the age to 16 cuts off many young vulnerable people from important content, community and conversation at a critical time in their lives. That said, I do think there is a huge difference between a 16 year old and 13 year old.

This is going to be controversial to be sure, but here goes: I am in favor in raising the age to 14 or 15 AND ALSO compelling social media platforms to take some accountability by both investing in more content moderation resources AND providing more tools (parental controls) and education to parents.

I do NOT like the implication that is solely a parent problem.

Deepfakes

The gist

Last week, sexually explicit and abusive fake images of Taylor Swift went viral on Twitter/X.

“Swifties” quickly mobilized, launching a #ProtectTaylorSwift hashtag to flood X with more positive images of the pop star. Many also took the important step of reporting accounts that were sharing the deepfakes.

What parents can do

Talk to you kids about AI , fake news and deepfakes. There is so much out there right now that is not real, exaggerated, opinion presented as fact, factually incorrect or any number of variations on fake. We all need to be skeptical and self-aware of anything we consume online.

Talk to you kids about porn. I understand that none of us want to talk to our kids about porn but the truth is, they are going to see things before either you or they are ready. Even if there is no access in your house, they’ll have a friend with different rules. Talk to them early about sex, consent and porn (age appropriately).

Talk to your kids about cyberbullying. Whether its a comment in a group chat or a threat to show/tell everyone something embarrassing— kids need to understand this concept, know that its wrong to do this to others, know how to ask for help and know how to report it.

My $0.02

We have to talk to our kids about this.

While it might feel like your kid is too young to hear about porn, because Taylor Swift is involved, there’s a good chance they’re hearing something about it. Let’s make sure our kids have good information.

Look out for my upcoming interview with the co-founders of Pixel Health— a service committed to bringing digital education to classrooms including how to handle AI, Fake News & More. We get into the Taylor Swift Deepfake— you won’t want to miss it!

Paying subscribers can read on to see what I plan to say to my kids about the Taylor Swift Drama.

How I’m talking to my tweens about Porn & CyberBullying in light of the Taylor Swift Deepfake

Someone made images of Taylor Swift—using her face and changing the rest of her body. I want to explain more about that and answer any questions you have.