Rahm Emanuel says U.S. should follow Australia's youth social media ban

Debate over Democratic Strategy and Populism

• Several see proposals like youth social media bans as emblematic of a hollow Democratic platform: moralizing “save the children” tech rules instead of concrete economic improvements.
• Others argue that no “pragmatic, positive” program can easily beat a demagogue who lies simply and repeatedly, and that Trump’s appeal shows voters don’t require detailed policy.
• Counterview: Biden’s 2020 win is attributed by some to pro-labor, manufacturing-focused messaging, while Harris is seen as having failed to connect with working-class voters.

Perceived Harms of Social Media

• Many liken current social media to cigarettes or leaded gasoline: addictive, profit-optimized, and mentally corrosive, especially for teens.
• Teachers’ reports of collapsing attention spans and rising youth depression are frequently cited; some say the harms are “obvious,” others dismiss the evidence as biased or merely correlational.
• A recurring theme: the real problem is algorithmic engagement-maximization, not “social networking” per se.

Parents vs Government: Who Should Act?

• One camp: social media should be regulated like alcohol/tobacco; voluntary parenting can’t scale when platforms spend billions to hook kids.
• Opposing camp: this is fundamentally a parenting problem; bans are overreach and risk trampling free speech. Some would oppose even a smoking ban on the same grounds.
• Many parents describe the practical difficulty: peer pressure, school group chats, and fragmented device ecosystems make unilateral limits costly for their kids socially.

Enforcement, Digital ID, and Civil Liberties

• Core worry: age-based bans imply universal online age verification, leading to de facto digital IDs, loss of anonymity, and potential “social credit”–style control.
• Others respond that governments already can deanonymize people and debank dissidents; they see youth harms as the bigger danger.
• Australia’s model is noted: includes non-ID options and is already under free-speech challenge. Critics say such laws rarely define success metrics or undergo real evaluation.

Broader Societal and Generational Effects

• Commenters stress harms to seniors as well (political radicalization, AI-driven misinformation).
• Several reminisce about the pre-algorithm, niche-based internet as a “safe third space,” contrasting it with today’s always-on, monetized feeds.
• Some suspect political motives: controlling independent information flows or reacting to youth opinions on contentious issues, rather than genuinely prioritizing children’s wellbeing.