But The Closest Thing To That Is Gaia Online But I Think It's A Dead Website - Tumblr Posts

I don't want to be patronizing towards younger folk on the internet 'cause like... I used to be one of them.

I understand where some people come from when they say "kids shouldn't be on the internet", but... that is simply not realistic. And also potentially dangerous.

For kids/teens who were sheltered like me, the internet was/is just about the only place where I had any sense of freedom, autonomy, and connection with others like me/my own age. It was my only escape, and no amount of "you're too young" would've kept me away.

There are things I regret, things I shouldn't have delved into, and byproducts of social media that I resent... but not being able to have access to the internet at all would've been devastating for me.

For youth in bad situations, especially marginalized youth, not having access to the internet and support outside of their home is also a potential death sentence.

Kids and teens have so little agency and places to go, so... no, I don't think the answer is to bar them from the internet entirely.

To be honest, I don't know what the answer is. I wish there were more free kid-and-teen oriented sites like there were when I was younger. I didn't even know about YouTube until I was like 10 or 11??

But adults and youth alike are forced to carve out their own spaces in these mass social media sites, where everyone sees everything unless they make an effort to curate what they see, and even then there is an inevitable overlap bc these sites don't actually care about privacy and boundaries.

And with the whole "proship vs antiship" thing, I really don't like all the animosity that has been further ignited between youth and adults in fandom space as a byproduct. This constant dunking game where it's always "HAHA look at this cringe adult" or "HAHA look at this cringe kid"... I don't think it should be this way? And I don't want to fall into that trap.

And I know not everyone does that. But I do think it's important to remember that it's not "just kids" who are doing this, but people my age and older as well who are harassing others and spreading misinfo about serious and complex things.

I don't have a tidy resolution to this as I'm limited on time, but basically I do believe it's possible to have a healthy camaraderie between adults & youth in fandom space / on the internet that is age-appropriate and where everyone's boundaries are respected.

And most of all, barring kids & teens from potentially life-saving resources and communities just seems like a recipe for disaster, and frankly terrifying when you remember a lot of people's rights are being taken/in jeopardy right now...