boyd, danah. 2024-04-19.

URL: https://www.zephoria.org/thoughts/archives/2024/04/19/struggling-with-a-moral-panic-once-again.html

Vinklinger

• Moralpanikk: Foreldre tror de kan løse problemene i barnas liv ved å fjerne teknologi.

I have to admit that it’s breaking my heart to watch a new generation of anxious parents think that they can address the struggles their kids are facing by eliminating technology from kids’ lives. I’ve been banging my head against this wall for almost 20 years, not because I love technology but because I care so deeply about vulnerable youth. And about their mental health. And boy oh boy do I loathe moral panics. I realize they’re politically productive, but they cause so much harm and distraction.

I wish there was a panacea to the mental health epidemic we are seeing. I wish I could believe that eliminating tech would make everything hunky dory. (I wish I could believe many things that are empirically not true. Like that there is no climate crisis.) Sadly, I know that what young people are facing is ecological. As a researcher, I know that young people’s relationship with tech is so much more complicated than pundits wish to suggest. I also know that the hardest part of being a parent is helping a child develop a range of social, emotional, and cognitive capacities so that they can be independent. And I know that excluding them from public life or telling them that they should be blocked from what adults values because their brains aren’t formed yet is a type of coddling that is outright destructive. And it backfires every time.

Parents: Ensure your kids have trusted adults in their lives. It really does take a village. Kids need to be able to turn to other adults, not just you, especially when they’re struggling. You can really help your kids by ensuring they have a trusted network of aunties and coaches and mentors and other such adults. Build those relationships early and allow your children to develop strong independent relationships with adults you trust.

Adults writ large: “Adopt” other youth into your life. Be a mentor, a supporter, a cheerleader, a trusted person that they can turn to. You can do this through formal mentoring programs or just being an auntie to friends’ kids. You can really make a difference.