1- There are kids everywhere
Back when I used the internet in the mid-2000’s, there were designated spaces for kids and adults. In the adult spaces, there was an understanding that kids didn’t belong. If the kids made their voices heard, they were anonymous so no one could tell. Now thanks to social media, that barrier has been erased, and that erasure has been normalized. Now we have kids openly dominating groups and spaces specifically designed for adults, and the new cynicism (I’ll go into this soon) exploits that to create a weird infantilized version of adult media designed to attract kids while pretending to appeal to adults. The openness with which kids express themselves everywhere now makes being online such an uncomfortable experience for an adult trying to enjoy his adult interests or have his own space with other adults in an adult way. We have to constantly navigate how to talk around other people’s neglected children. Children shouldn’t be allowed to use the internet openly or without constant supervision, and they should definitely not be part of any discussion and ecosystem that’s adult oriented.