by Maria Baer and Brad Wilcox (@BradWilcoxIFS)
It’s not often that a hot-button political issue garners bipartisan support. But both Republicans and Democrats have played key roles in the ongoing policy battles related to protecting kids from social media and AI harms, without either side dominating. That may be changing, however.
Consider former Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel, a Democrat and former chief of staff for President Barack Obama. Emanuel is eyeing a run for president, and he is touring the nation to speak with voters. In Mississippi, he told audiences that he supports Australia’s social-media ban for kids under 16 and said the U.S. should follow suit. “The clock is ticking for America’s kids,” he wrote recently on X. “Protecting our kids from Big Tech algorithms will yield to long-term safety for our youth.”
Emanuel is right: social media and the purposefully addictive tech behind it are hurting kids. But as Jonathan Haidt points out, it’s not simply nefarious content that poses a risk; it’s the tech itself, which changes the way we view ourselves, each other and the purpose of life.
