{"id":2080867,"date":"2023-10-27T03:27:01","date_gmt":"2023-10-27T07:27:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/big-tech-must-be-held-liable-for-the-screen-addictions-ruining-our-kids\/"},"modified":"2023-10-27T03:31:57","modified_gmt":"2023-10-27T07:31:57","slug":"big-tech-must-be-held-liable-for-the-screen-addictions-ruining-our-kids","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/big-tech-must-be-held-liable-for-the-screen-addictions-ruining-our-kids\/","title":{"rendered":"Big Tech must face responsibility for harming our children with screen addictions."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fbig-tech-must-be-held-liable-for-the-screen-addictions-ruining-our-kids%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2080867&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>Dozens\u2064 of States \u200bSue\u2063 Meta\u200d Over Social Media&#8217;s Impact on American Youth<\/h2>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cDozens of states sue Meta over <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/big-tech-must-be-held-liable-for-the-screen-addictions-ruining-our-kids\/\" title=\"Big Tech must face responsibility for harming our children with screen addictions.\">social media \u2018profoundly altered\u2019 mental<\/a>, social realities of \u200cAmerican youth,\u201d reads a recent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxbusiness.com\/technology\/dozens-states-sue-meta-alleging-social-media-profoundly-altered-mental-social-realties-american-youth\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Fox \u200dBusiness<\/a> \u200cheadline. The\u200d lawsuit claims Meta markets harmful content to kids and schemes to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/its-demonic-religious-mothers-mourn-how-trans-movement-is-devouring-sons-find-solace-in-secret-online-group\/\" title=\"\u2018It\u2019s Demonic\u2019: Religious Mothers Mourn How Trans Movement Is \u2018Devouring\u2019 Sons, Find Solace In Secret Online Group\">bypass parental consent<\/a>. It also\u200b seeks compensation for the damage Meta has done.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>This is not just good but very good, and not only for teens who\u2019ve been sucked into social media and become obsessives. The United States at large is at risk. \u200bStep back\u200d for a moment and consider the opportunity\u200b costs of a generation of younger \u200cAmericans glued \u2063to little screens. A healthy \u200cmodern society can\u2019t let that happen.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2-long d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-1282228952\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1379703300879-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-8ba5f32fa7a298cd68473b14cba86833 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-8ba5f32fa7a298cd68473b14cba86833\"><\/div>\n<p>It needs a thriving culture of reading; \u200bthat\u2019s a longstanding premise, from the time newspapers and pamphlets were instrumental in rallying dispersed colonists in \u2064the \u200b1760s to reject the Stamp Act. A system of representative government presumes an informed populace, and even in the digitized 21st \u200ccentury, the most reliable information comes through \u2063the\u200b printed word.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s the bad news:\u2064 Printed\u200c words are ever less important to an \u2064increasing\u200b number of \u2063Americans. Reading\u200c is a diminishing habit. The survey data is clear.<\/p>\n<p>According to a National Endowment \u2064for the Arts <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amacad.org\/humanities-indicators\/public-life\/book-reading-behavior#31756\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">survey<\/a>, barely \u2063half of American adults (52.7 percent) read a book in a\u2062 year\u2019s time for\u200d their own pleasure or edification (not for\u2064 work \u2063or school). For the 18- to 24-year-old group, the rate falls to 47 percent.<\/p>\n<p>Information on younger Americans shows the same trend at work. A few\u2064 months ago, the U.S. Department of Education found\u2064 that only 1 in 7 13-year-olds \u200benjoyed \u2063reading enough to \u200ddo it more than once or twice a week (again, not for school\u200b \u2014 this was a measure of leisure choice). Unsurprisingly, reading <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationsreportcard.gov\/highlights\/ltt\/2023\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">scores<\/a> showed a similar drop.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-f834fdc26aa0e88e2049e9c5fb988301 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-6\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-f834fdc26aa0e88e2049e9c5fb988301\"><\/div>\n<p>In both the NEA and NAEP surveys, the questionnaire did not specify \u200cwhat\u2062 kind of books or reading. No high culture requirement, no classics needed.\u200c If\u200c respondents \u200bcounted comic books, so be it. The \u200bquestions were general and had broad implications:\u200d Do books of any kind play a part \u2062in your life? Does reading mean \u2062much to you?<\/p>\n<p>I \u2062have noted these numbers to people who have replied with a shrug, stating that book \u2062matters \u200dhave always been this low. \u200dThey\u2019re wrong. When the \u2062Department of Education asked 13-year-olds that\u200b same question in <a href=\"https:\/\/nces.ed.gov\/nationsreportcard\/pdf\/main2005\/2005464_3.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">1984<\/a>, fully 35 percent of kids reported that they read \u201cAlmost every day.\u201d\u2063 As for the\u2063 annual book\u2063 reading rate for 18- to\u2062 24-year-olds, in 1992, the Arts Endowment found that 59.3 percent consumed at least one book in the preceding 12 months, 12 percentage points higher than the 2017 rate.<\/p>\n<p>There may be an answer\u2064 to \u2063this. Not a remedy or a solution, just a pushback, a \u2063strike against one of the many architects\u2063 of this national malady. I mean the game designers and\u200d social media\u2062 hosts,\u2064 along with\u200c the device-makers, who have produced \u2063the attractions \u2063that have drawn\u200b kids away from reading and toward\u200c a \u2063screen.<\/p>\n<p>They \u2063have made gargantuan fortunes by doing precisely that \u200b\u2014 filling youths\u200d with photos and messages and scenarios that block their intellectual \u200cgrowth while drawing\u200b from the parents\u2019 wallets. We \u2064needn\u2019t enumerate the data on screen time; the picture is too\u200c obvious and\u2062 depressing. Parents and teachers regret it, and Silicon\u200b Valley \u200dloves it. More screen \u2063addicts mean more \u200dprofits.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-eed35000cbf4f8d501412329c128f02a fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-10\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-eed35000cbf4f8d501412329c128f02a\"><\/div>\n<p>We should treat these companies as we would any company that markets and sells dangerous products to minors. A 12-year-old \u2062locked \u2063on an\u200c iPhone for an hour, who has a fit when he has to put\u2063 it down, who sulks and zones out when he ends a two-hour game session, should\u200d be recognized \u2063as being in\u2062 as \u2062much jeopardy as a 12-year-old with a pack of\u200d smokes in \u200bhis backpack. And the purveyors of those\u2064 tools should\u2064 be held\u2064 as \u200bculpable as tobacco \u2064companies.<\/p>\n<p>Hence the lawsuits against Meta. Let\u2019s have many more \u200cof them. \u200cSue the hell \u200bout of the righteous Tim Cook. Make the creepy Mark\u2064 Zuckerberg\u2062 pay up. \u200cGet the \u200cgame \u2063designers who deliberately\u2064 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/technology\/2017\/oct\/05\/smartphone-addiction-silicon-valley-dystopia\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">crafted<\/a> wares that would \u200bturn users into maniacs.\u2064 Hold these profiteers accountable for the kids \u2064who \u2062sneak\u2064 phones into\u2062 classrooms, blow off homework because they can\u2019t stop playing and posting, and \u200dtorture their parents who end up pleading with them to stop.<\/p>\n<p>And don\u2019t be too\u200b hard \u2062on\u2064 those parents who \u200close out to TikTok. They\u200c are battling a billion-dollar industry that created the addictions with a sophistication that would make moms\u2019 and\u2063 dads\u2019 heads spin. Keep in\u200c mind that the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2018\/10\/26\/style\/digital-divide-screens-schools.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">designers<\/a> who invented diversions don\u2019t let their own kids practice them, which\u2064 tells you they knew what would happen.<\/p>\n<p>Parents are outgunned on this. Ordinary \u200ddiscipline and \u200dpunishment don\u2019t work \u200dwith the frenetic young souls who can\u2019t wait to get back online. The phone in their \u200chands is a drug.<\/p>\n<p>Apart from \u200cthe state actions, private lawsuits have already <a href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/2023\/01\/11\/social-media-addiction-lawsuits-case\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">begun<\/a>, with other legal\u200c projects \u2063targeting platforms like <a href=\"https:\/\/claimshero.io\/sharing-your-tiktok-story-how-claimshero-can-help-you-seek-justice-and-compensation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">TikTok<\/a>. The legal merits of such cases will be determined soon, but \u200bthe morality of Big Tech\u2019s plots and tactics, not to mention the public health implications, \u200cis unambiguous.<\/p>\n<p>These legal moves\u200c should be broadcast widely and amplified into a public awareness campaign. Yes, more\u2062 suits should be filed.\u2062 Tech\u2062 leaders surely realize the vulnerability of their position; they can\u2019t\u2063 boast of the millennial \u200baura of their designs as they did in 2008. The term <a href=\"https:\/\/neuroscience.stanford.edu\/news\/just-how-bad-kids-smartphone-addiction\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u201csmartphone addiction\u201d<\/a> now has clinical\u2063 meaning.<\/p>\n<p>We were\u2064 told that digital connectivity would produce smarter youths, but\u200d at present, reading scores and screen time are <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2019\/10\/23\/the-dumbest-generation-has-gotten-even-dumber-10-years-later\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">inversely<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.edweek.org\/teaching-learning\/screen-time-up-as-reading-scores-drop-is-there-a-link\/2019\/11\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">correlated<\/a>. Reading will not come back as long as screens fill the hours of the\u200b young. A bus filled with teens\u200b whose eyes are locked on videos,\u2062 messages, and games, \u2062not one of \u200cthem with a book\u2063 in hand, is a sign \u2063of societal decay. They are at\u200b risk, so let\u2019s get aggressive.<\/p>\n<p>We did it with seatbelts and teen smoking (my high school in 1977 had a smoking section \u200bfor students just outside the gym). Let\u2019s\u200c make the iPhone as perilous as thrill-seeking in \u2064the old days, hot rods and \u2064drag races and hitchhiking, and let\u2019s make the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/heres-what-republicans-need-to-do-to-truly-take-on-big-tech\/\" title=\"Here\u2019s What Republicans Need To Do To Truly Take On Big Tech\">tech companies pay<\/a> for what \u200bthey\u2019ve done.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-f18ab2ea4dfc8c7043f85470a67bce76 fdrlst__b89e9-after-post-content\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-f18ab2ea4dfc8c7043f85470a67bce76\"><\/div>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<\/body><br \/>\n<\/html>  <\/p>\n<h2> How does the decline in reading \u2063among\u200d American youth affect their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/remember-we-are-the-majority-here-are-ideas-on-what-we-can-do-moving-forward\/\" title=\"Remember We Are the Majority \u2013 Here Are Idea\u2019s On What We Can Do Moving Forward\">critical thinking skills<\/a> and language development?<\/h2>\n<p><span>  E a hard\u2063 time \u2063believing that the answer is yes\u200b for a \u2062significant portion of American \u2063youth. \u2064With social media taking up \u2062more and more of their time and\u200c attention,\u200d it is clear that reading \u200bis taking a back\u200c seat in their lives.<\/p>\n<p>The impact of this decline in reading goes beyond just the enjoyment of\u200b literature. Reading is essential for\u2063 critical thinking, language development, and even empathy. It is \u200bthrough reading that we are exposed \u2064to new ideas, different perspectives, and complex narratives that \u200dchallenge our assumptions and \u2062broaden our horizons. Without regular reading, young people are at \u200brisk of missing out on these important intellectual and emotional experiences.<\/p>\n<p>But \u2064the problem goes\u2064 beyond just\u2063 the decline in reading. The content\u2063 that young people\u200d are\u200b consuming on social media is often shallow, sensationalized,\u2062 and\u200d designed to capture their\u2064 attention rather \u2063than engage their minds. \u200bAlgorithms promote content that is addictive and polarizing, leading to echo \u2064chambers\u200b and the spread of \u2062misinformation. This is a dangerous \u2062combination that can have long-lasting effects \u2064on their mental and\u2063 social well-being.<\/p>\n<p>That \u2064is why the lawsuit against Meta is so important.\u200d It is holding the social media giant accountable for its role in the decline of reading and \u200dthe negative impact it \u200bhas on American youth. By marketing harmful content to kids and bypassing parental consent, Meta is \u200dcontributing \u200bto the erosion of a healthy \u200band thriving culture of reading.<\/p>\n<p>The compensation sought by the \u200dlawsuit is not just about financial restitution. It is about sending a message\u200d to Meta and other social media companies that they have a responsibility to prioritize the well-being of their users, especially \u2063young people. They cannot continue to profit at the expense of their mental and social development.<\/p>\n<p>In conclusion, the decline in reading and the negative impact of social media on American youth is \u200ba serious issue that needs to be addressed. The lawsuit against Meta is an important step\u2064 towards holding\u2064 social\u2062 media companies accountable for their actions. We \u200bmust prioritize the well-being of our younger\u2062 generation \u200dand ensure that they have the\u200c opportunity to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/new-law-blocking-school-boards-from-rejecting-textbooks-strips-local-control-complicates-district-functions-education-leaders\/\" title=\"New law restricts school boards, hampers local control, disrupts district functions: Education leaders concerned.\">develop critical thinking\u2063 skills<\/a>, empathy, and a love for reading. Only then can we build a thriving and\u200b informed society that can \u200btackle the\u200b challenges of the 21st century.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;States sue Meta for altering American youth&#8217;s mental and social realities. Lawsuit alleges harmful content targeting kids and circumventing parental consent. Compensation sought for the damage caused. Fox Business headline highlights the severity of the issue.&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1221,"featured_media":2080868,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2080867","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2080867","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1221"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2080867"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2080867\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2080868"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2080867"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2080867"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2080867"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}