Will A Two Hour Social Media Limit Actually Work?

This week Meta settled for $18 billion with an agreement that the company would make significant changes to its platforms to protect underage users. Some of these changes involve a nighttime block between 12:00 AM and 6:00 AM, schooltime blocks, no display of "likes" on posts made by minors. One of the more major ones is a two hour time limit for users under 18.

On one hand, that sounds great. Though I'll sound like a boomer when I say it, children are far too online these days. It would be great if children spent less time behind a screen and more time outside, by a book, with other children their ages. Sure, a time limit is a start, but I don't think it's really the big win everyone is assuming it is.

For one, this is primarily going to affect Meta - Instagram and Facebook. Though plenty of teens use Instagram let's be honest, when was the last time you heard about a fifteen-year-old using Facebook? And sure, maybe this will actually have a ripple affect and cause other platforms like TikTok and Twitter to make changes, but more likely those platforms won't change until they face lawsuits as well.

Another thing is that even if the time online is shorter, the algorithms aren't changing much.

They're still going to be addictive, that's how social media platforms work. Instagram isn't going to completely overall it's system for those under 18 when there's plenty of users that are of age. The scroll will still be endless, the content tailored near perfectly to what someone wants to see, or even what the algorithm thinks you want to see.

That's one of the more dangerous parts about these sorts of algorithms. Once you engage with a piece of content - whether it's a like, comment, or share - you're going to be recommended things like that. That means if a teen were to interact with potentially triggering or offensive content, they're far more likely to be recommended more of it. Even if they're only exposed to that content for two hours a day, that's two hours of possibly triggering content.

So much for safe.

What are we supposed to do then?

Well, I still think these lawsuits are doing some sort of good. It's better to make a little change rather than none at all. Don't believe this a sign that we should just give up now because we didn't get it perfect the first time. What we should do is put even more pressure on these social media companies.

Let's pressure them to not just change the time limits, but change their algorithms instead. It's the algorithms that cause so much harm not just to teens but to all those who have suffered at the hands of social media. The algorithms, the secrets these companies hold so close to their chests, create the addictions, the hatred, the misinformation, the bullying.

Think of how much harder it would be for "controversies" to blow up into massive hate campaigns if we didn't have such gripping algorithms tearing us apart?

Believe me, I know the likelihood of that happening is extremely low. Companies aren't going to want to put in the hours or expenses to change their algorithms. That's not even thinking about the millions, likely billions, they'd lose if they were to do so. But maybe, just maybe, if we keep pushing that lawsuit number up... maybe then the companies will start to bend.

With this Meta lawsuit, it's good to know that change, however small, is possible. The wider world is waking up to see just how detrimental social media can be. The dawn of a new day online is upon us, we just need to band together to see it through.