Teach the children, don't make them age estimate

Before I start, this a quick disclaimer that I am not a parent. These are simply my opinions.

I have a serious bone to pick with the state of the internet at the moment.

Y'know all the age verification stuff going around, with a lot of services requiring you to scan your ID or face? At this point it's kinda common knowledge that the big reason for why they want to do this is so they can sell your data and surveil you. All in the name of protecting the children of course. While I certainly don't have an issue with the idea of protecting children online, this is going about it in the completely wrong way.

For one thing, I think parents are way too lax nowadays when it comes to the internet. I certainly know that compared to my peers I was comparitively pretty sheltered online when I was younger, which I think was an overall net positive for me. Children, while they are younger, should be kept mostly offline. Read to them, for goodness sake! Even if you do let them online, strip down what they can access and tell them what they can and can't do.

For another, we simply don't teach kids enough internet safety. To be honest, I don't we think kids enough in general. I know some conversations are awkward, but there are many talks you can have with your children that will genuinely help them be safe against abuse. I think we should teach kids what abuse looks like, and warning signs for things that aren't okay for adults or other people to be saying to you.

I also know that when I was growing up, I was taught rules we seem to be forgetting. I remember it always being called "netiqette" (don't know if I'm spelling that correctly), but that name is kinda dumb. Those were rules that are great for kids to follow and to a point I even still follow some of them today. I never share my actual name or face online for my privacy, and until I was almost a young adult I never shared my age either. I try to keep my online self and my in-person separate as much as possible (except for the people who I know irl).

This whole age verification thing is in general just bad. It's just so companies can steal your data and privacy so they can sell it to advertisers and the government. I think we have started under-educating kids about important topics that they need to know so that they can be safe online. At some point, I might even consider writing a guide for children on how to avoid being groomed on the internet (which I know sounds a bit silly, but considering how things are right now they need it). Age verification only side-steps the problem, instead of actually preventing anything.

I know this might be a bit interesting for a first proper blog post, but it's been on my mind lately especially after I had a discussion about it with my friends. I might make an actual video about it on my Youtube channel (maybe scripted, maybe not), but for right now this will do. If you read this far, I appreciate you listening to me :>

Seeya later!