Age verification proposals are often presented as a simple tradeoff: sacrifice a little privacy to better safeguard children online. But that framing overlooks a more fundamental question. What happens to people who cannot verify their age at all?
No, I stand by the entire modern “social media” paradigm is a net negative. The Internet was better when you had to look for the forums and groups related to your interests. The consolidation as a whole, regardless of ownership, is a negative. Doesn’t matter if it’s Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, or the decentralized Fediverse options.
corporate owned and centralized social media is a net negative.
No, I stand by the entire modern “social media” paradigm is a net negative. The Internet was better when you had to look for the forums and groups related to your interests. The consolidation as a whole, regardless of ownership, is a negative. Doesn’t matter if it’s Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, or the decentralized Fediverse options.
Specialized forums still exist.
I never said they disappeared.
But with megalithic options available via modern social media, few people bother to look beyond those to find the niche areas of the Internet anymore.