It’s been debated here and there that “kids” online don’t know what they’re doing (which makes me raise the question of mental health, but also invoke the questions of online culture, as PBS documented in 2020, at peak COVID-19 pandemic), or they know exactly what they’re doing, as reported by Vogue in 2024. I’ll attempt to debunk some myths and some common talking points of the current internet landscape, with aims to build common sense around where we should be going, and how to stop a hostile, illegal takeover of basic freedoms and communication principles that we’ve long established, played with and welcomed in the early stages of social media, somehow morphed into a nightmare scenario given the surveillance apparatuses and authorities’ involvement, without necessarily stating that we shouldn’t regulate anything.

1) Adults shouln’t interact with minors

The internet has fed the belief that anyone who’s over 18 and clicks add or follow on a profile of a minor is definitely a pedophile, with a culture of screenshots and overwhelming stalking tactics. That’s insane. The educational system pressuposes that teachers will be older than the kids they’re teaching, and there are very specific and demanding rules for who’s responsible for what age groups and programs, at which schools. The public sector doesn’t allow someone who has only a Bachelor’s Degree and not a license to teach to be able to enter a call for workers in the public school sector, and they have to excel their tests and also prove that they’re licensed to teach. On top of that, every nuance of the dynamics between the sometimes 40 students that they will manage, each class, sometimes compounding to a morning and afternoon routine (8h total every single day), is supposed to be mastered by the teacher, who will be demanded to show examplary behavior and skills, adhrence to norms, curriculum knowledge and proper application of tasks proposed.

The thought that, in a world where parents are absent, throw a tablet to toddlers (which can be good, but mainstream media seems to have another idea), and send them to school without knowledge of how to properly engage in social interactions, which inevitably leads to conflicts about stereotypes and an enclosuring of one’s personality in the online space as a sort of “safe haven”, adults will not be present to guide these teenagers through the process, seems to me a little absurd. If you’re giving up on your child, I’m sorry, but make an effort and maybe they’ll pay attention to the lesson instead of TikTok.

2) We need to protect kids, no matter what

That’s simply not true. Digital crimes among teenagers have been on the rise, in a concerning and disturbing trend. But beyond the formal studies, there’s the culture that we only get to see if we dive deep into it. Testing out hypotheses and collecting reactions to types of online discourse and language has been the interest of this project since its roots, collecting evidence of cyber disruptions and being transparent when something happened which indicated a broader issue, maybe orchestrated by a group of agents that planned something bigger, like a massive leak of sensitive data.

Beyond ransomware, screenshots and threats to show your nudes to your family, there’s a potential psychopath behind the screen, not afraid to take action to destroy someone’s life and reputation, out of sheer pleasure and no monetary gain. This is especially concerning given the projects that have recently been passed into law in Brazil, which criminalize misogyny and make it clear that men need to act better, but Brazilian culture, taking from all sides of the algorithmic feed, is not convinced.

The first contacts that teenagers have with the internet should invoke a sense of freedom, belonging and creativity, community and well-being — a blind spot for those who insist that social media should be banned for minors (when they need it the most and there’s an entire system that could, unless it’s corrupted, make the experience successful and memorable.

3) Sex is a prohibited topic

No, it’s not. As early as possible, kids and teens should be able to learn about the basics of Sex Education, as Planned Parenthood has informed consistently (its foudning was in 1916). It’s not just about consent anymore: it’s about expectations, innovation, thrill and appeal, sometimes deliberately displayed, others not (but social media platforms have been disappointingly censorious about the engagement of people in flirting that might escalate to virtual sex, which is against the very disputable terms of use).

That needs to change. Everyone likes sex online — even if they don’t admit it. That doesn’t mean you’re supposed to assume everyone you meet and see is a potential victim of harassment, but it sure makes a difference to know what you’re about to say to capture someone’s attention (boys have sexting, girls have their poses and soundtracks, often extremely explicit).

Getting on the same page is urgent — but what we’re seeing from governments is a terrible, abominable fear-mongering tactic, maybe with the notion that it’s too expensive to secure a promiscuous digital life for the entire population (even though everyone’s being promiscuous anyway). It’s not about the morals: it’s about basic freedom and control over our bodies and expression — a much broaded topic.