The roundtable was moderated by TIME CEO Jessica Sibley and co-hosted by Pinterest CEO Bill Ready, who in March called for all governments to ban social media for kids under 16 in an op-ed for TIME. (The event was also sponsored by Pinterest.) Australia became the first country to start such a ban last year, and the U.K. this month announced plans to start one in 2027. Nearly 40 other countries are currently considering similar legislation.
In addition to government regulations, Ready called for tech platforms to reduce addictive features like infinite scrolling and content suggestions, and the default ability to message strangers, including young people. Unfortunately, Ready noted, the opposite is happening. “Now with AI bursting onto the scene, it's even more important that we have these conversations,” he told the room, “because you're seeing the same attention-hacking techniques happening in so many of the chatbots.”
The problems with social media today are multifaceted, the group agreed. Addictiveness; harassment and bullying; the atrophying of academic, social, and physical skills; isolation—the list went on. Graham Dugoni, who founded the phone-locking pouch company Yondr, now used widely in schools and at live events, argued more broadly for phone-free spaces where young people can let their guard down. “Kids are afraid of being filmed and recorded at any point, anywhere, all the time...It's absolutely insane that people can be filmed, documented, and broadcast online anywhere all the time,” he said. “If you think about that through the lens of social psychology...there's a reason they're so anxious, and that's a big part of it.”
Netflix CMO Marian Lee acknowledged the overarching challenge facing the industry: “That attention economy is what fuels our business, so it is an existential thing,” she said. “I have kids too, and I think about it, but I'm also in a role where I need to find the audiences, meet the audiences where they are, and keep them engaged.”
He offered his idea for a solution: “We have to rethink what are the outcomes that we're seeking, and then how do we find common ways to measure those, so there could actually be accountability around these things?”
From Attention to Intention: Creating a Healthier Digital World for the Next Generation was presented by Pinterest.
Hence then, the article about tech leaders warn of the human cost of the internet s largest social experiment was published today ( ) and is available on Time ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Tech Leaders Warn of the Human Cost of the Internet’s ‘Largest Social Experiment’ )
Also on site :