Whoever remembers the (absolutely idiotic and unfounded) media/political scare campaigns of the 90s about video games and their supposed cultivation of violent (possibly psychotic) tendencies in teenagers, their even being blamed for things like the Columbine massacre, should give this new campaign over TikTok a big sniff test.

It's very similar, but with a nice layer of nationalistic/censorship icing on top as a bonus. Just as idiotic and unfounded. All kinds of things may harm teens, if the teens are in any case susceptible to harm for their own reasons. By the logic of blaming tiktok, you could blame TV, video games (again), any American social network and while we're at it, even books! You could indeed blame anything that might, just might, harm the fragile, insecure, self-obsessed mentalities that are a hallmark of adolescence. Why don't we just wrap kids in bubbles of positive thinking while we're at it, make sure no scary thoughts or need to harden their thinking ever need enter.

It's really popular on this site to throw shit on social media. Much of that shit is deserved, but other parts of it veer right over into a derangement syndrome in which, apparently, reasoned thinking, personal freedoms, rights to free expression and thoughtful political considerations can all be discarded as long as it means sticking it to some social media platform. Ridiculous.

So this is more or less the same as "Maker of dangerous thing knows it's dangerous"!

Kinda surprising, isn't it?! :D