The new French social media restrictions (and possible VPN ban) make me think the idealistic vision of the internet is now dead

I have a feeling that VPNs are going to become increasingly popular among French kids, because it has just become the latest country to approve a social media ban for people under the age of 15. I get it, and there will certainly be some good that comes from kids not having access to social media, but I can't help but feel like this isn't the right path, and that all the potential good that social media holds for young minds will be lost, too. The baby has been thrown out with the bathwater.

Of course, the best VPN services will provide a path of continued access for the French kids who really want to keep using it (although they might get banned too), and in a lot of ways, I can see the benefits of the ban too. When you look at things like Elon Musk's Premium Child Pornography Machine (AKA Twitter), you can't help but feel like the pure spirit of social media has truly been rotted to the core, and that nobody, child or adult, should really use it anymore. But I've been on social media since the start (back when I was just a teenager myself), and that instilled in me this idea that it should be a way for people to stay connected with the people they love.

After the Australian social media ban, I wrote about how this sort of thing can disproportionately affect those from marginalized communities. I feel that way about the French ban, too, and as more and more countries implement bans like these, I feel a sense of remorse about how far social media has fallen from grace.

Fifteen years ago, you'd log onto Facebook, and you'd see lots of pictures of your friends out having fun, and it would warm your heart and make you smile to see them living life to the full. Maybe you'd get to see cute pictures of the newborn babies in your social circles. An old pal you'd not spoken to in a few years would like your latest status update, and you'd be reminded that they still care. Maybe you'd even reach out and get back in touch. It greased the wheels of our social lives and made it easier to solidify new friendships - after all, what says "I'd like us to be friends" more than sending a literal friend request?

Now, though, you might see one or two posts from your friends, but the majority of social media feeds are filled with content that the algorithm has determined is most likely to get a response out of you - and, naturally, the response it wants to evoke most is anger. So you'll see people cheering the deaths of innocent people, people pushing 19th-century-style misogyny, beauty standards that you'll only attain if you buy a certain product (they promise), or even just straight-up intentional misinformation made so that people will swoop in to correct it all for that sweet, sweet engagement. All of these chunks of brainrot float around in a thick broth of AI slop, and that's what you chow down on for hours because it's been designed to get you addicted.

It sucks, and I can completely understand that lawmakers want to get young, impressionable minds away from that. If it doesn't give them anxiety or depression, then it'll probably turn them into political extremists.

But here's a thought - why can't we have a social media without those things? A platform where anxious kids can chat with their friends when they're not yet ready for IRL hangouts. Somewhere where body-acceptance influencers let their followers know that they don't need to be ashamed of how they look. Where artists share their work, celebrate, and support each other. Where people who have done their research share helpful content about neurodivergency or LGBTQ+ identities that helps kids to finally understand that stuff.

Those wonderful people are still out there, they're just less prevalent than all the horrendous content, and I feel for the kids who have lost access to it. Instead of just banning it for young people outright, why not impose laws that require it to be run properly? Give people back ownership of the data it steals (like California did), reinstate and properly implement fact-checking, and call for algorithms to be completely rewritten so that they don't cause addiction and anxiety. It might be a lot of work, but I think the result would be worth it. If they don't, then the somewhat utopian view I once had of the internet is now dead.

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