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A comment on Yes, Social Media Is a Cause of the Epidemic of Teenage Mental Illness. Parent comment

Re:Yes, Social Media Is a Cause of the Epidemic of Teenage M... by cnity on Wednesday April 10, 2024 @05:28AM (#39988702)
I would agree if it weren't for the complete transition to privately owned communication platforms. The answer to your question is actually quite simple: because communication via privately owned walled gardens is humanity's primary means of mass communication, just as it used to be printed media.

It would be as if printing presses were so complicated and expensive that the barrier to entry was so high as to price out everyone but a few select publishers. I wouldn't try to over-extend that metaphor though.

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Re:Yes, Social Media Is a Cause of the Epidemic of Teenage M... by forgetfreeman on Wednesday April 10, 2024 @06:25AM (#39989080)
That folks have opted to interact (or been manipulated into it if we're really honest) with modes of communication that are outside of 1st amendment protections doesn't change either the spirit or the letter of the law. That would be like saying that if folks suddenly decided to communicate over transcontinental distances via morse code utilizing geophones and large explosions as the transmission mechanism so now the first amendment demands semtex should be broadly accessible to the public.
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