Stars&:Blobhaj_Heart_Trans: :Green:@astronema@social.translunar.academy
@futurebird@sauropods.win @dalias@hachyderm.io @DavyJones@c.im children should have the same access to the internet as anyone. the only way i was able to talk to anyone my age outside of being at school (which was an all boys school where i received more abuse as closeted trans kid) was the internet
my parents frequently took my access away. i remember losing friends because of it, and dealing with total social isolation.
i remember as a kid opening up my school laptop internet history and finding a bunch of “big dicked shemale” porn my abuser had been looking at. i was 12 at the time?
unrestricted access to the internet may sound dangerous to children, and i agree with very young children, but i think at some point they have the right to put themselves in danger if they understand the risks
my mother was terrified of me being abused by internet strangers so i was scared to talk to even ppl my own age of i didn’t know them in person
hell i wasn’t allowed to even go to other peoples houses most of the time because of it
yet all it did was make me more isolated and vulnerable to my abuser, and i do not think i was a unique case
Steff 🏳️⚧️
🏳️🌈
@Steve@ferral.cat
@astronema@social.translunar.academy @DavyJones@c.im @dalias@hachyderm.io @futurebird@sauropods.win
At a time when queer and trans kids are being targeted by media and legislation, it seems absurd and dangerous to try to further isolate them, and tear away and support or education they may have online.
It's somewhat disturbing that all the solutions provided in this thread are attempts to digitally control and isolate kids while never acknowledging that kids become young adults quickly, and that we live in a connected world where you can never successfully digitally isolate kids entirely. Teachers, themselves, are woefully ill educated on technology, social media, AI, and online economics. Frankly, you would probably be better off having teenagers hold classes for teachers explaining how social media and dynamics work online.
We keep trying to reject or restrict technology we all use daily under the guise of "child innocence" instead of treating children as complex human beings who need guidance to become competent adults.
