Turns out it was kids who were bad for kids all along.

What a shock that a moral panic of a new thing was wrong.

Like it was about table top games. And violent video games. And rock and roll. And comic books. And mass adoption of the television. And mass adoption of the radio. And mass adoption of newspaper.

Anytime someone says “this is the worst thing ever invented and it’s harming our youth” always assume it’s wrong until it’s proven otherwise. Otherwise we’d be much much worse off as a society.

What if I told you that this is just how the media treats everything, including whatever moral panic whoever is reading this believes in?

Yes, even that one. No, that one’s not real either. Yes, I know you saw it on TV.

I think one of the key things we need to be teaching our kids about everything from technology to nature is to think for themselves and apply rigor to make sure that they’re not being let down the garden path. In the book I wrote to my son, the first chapter is not about the basics, it’s that he should question everything including and especially me.

“Technology” as a concept? Of course not.

Algorithmically curated, corporate sponsored content promotion inside digital social echo chambers? Absolutely.