Kids aren’t stupid
Well, they ain’t smart either… Even adults know better but still many end up in situations that are preventable if you have just some small amount of rational thinking. Also… you first need to know it yourself, to be able to educate your kids. Most parents didn’t grow up with TikTok nor do they use it themselves. How to educate your kids about dangers you yourself don’t know or understand?
Quite a lot of kids and teenagers have the same reaction to taking away their phone, as addicts have when taking away their drugs. I don’t think education can solve problems that are already affecting peoples mental and physical state. Not giving kids TikTok is same as not giving kids to much sugar. In small doses and controlled yes, but nothing you would give them free unlimited access to.
The government is not wrong tbh. Young people are addicted to social media and scroll endlessly all the time, and I have myself came across, mildly put, disturbing content. I deleted most of my social media and use the bare minimum to only keep up with some remote friends.
I also don’t buy the argument that it’s censoring because it’s just one of many many channels people can freely communicate. TikTok alone does not mean democracy. Also, the same way it can support democracy, so can it be used to demolish it by repeating false claims to make them appear truthful. And if you add AI on top which can generate convincing images and videos of whatever…
Government can get the similar effect with a ban, without spending a dime. Kids will grow up to be normal people who can actually work, be normal, and pay taxes. Same thing, but cheaper.