Yes, 100%, they know what they're doing. Last year, social media companies made $11 billion off under 18-year-olds. They completely know what they're doing. They want to put it on parents. They want to put it on kids: “Kids should be taught more.” Yes, but that's putting it on kids. The way these apps are designed, they are so addictive. Neuroscientists are hired to study the brain. The apps are using biometrics and studying the faces of children. They know exactly what they need.
Social media companies are after two things from kids: time spent on their app and scroll speed. They want kids to scroll faster and faster, where you have to get the brain almost to a zombie-like state. The faster they scroll, the more ads they will see. They know, especially on TikTok, what they need to feed them. They feed them something shocking, like a car accident. They look, and then they show them something sexy. They look out of curiosity. Then they show them something disturbing that makes them feel gross, so they scroll faster. They are being fed content that is truly like a dopamine drip. Their brains are just hungry and wanting more and more.
Asking children to make reasonable decisions on social media is like asking them to bench-press 300 pounds. It is not realistic. It is not physically possible. It is not fair for us to ask children to be responsible for their own social media use.