[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"site-settings":3,"perspective-the-mental-impact-no-one-is-regulating-yet":30,"perspective-series":349,"perspective-related":410},{"siteTitle":4,"siteTagline":5,"siteDescription":6,"organizationName":4,"personName":7,"defaultOgImageUrl":8,"socialHandles":9,"navLinks":10,"footerText":26,"cursorMode":27,"interactionMode":28,"missionPrompt":29},"Mom Player Character","For parents in the digital deep end","Recon, parent guides, and perspective on the digital world your kid already lives in.","Shannon","\u002Fog-default.svg",{},[11,14,17,20,23],{"label":12,"href":13},"Recon","\u002Frecon",{"label":15,"href":16},"Guides","\u002Fguides",{"label":18,"href":19},"Perspective","\u002Fperspective",{"label":21,"href":22},"Live","\u002Flive",{"label":24,"href":25},"About","\u002Fabout","Actively investigating the internet your kid already lives in",true,"tasteful","Pick the parent problem, get the clearest next move.",{"_id":31,"_type":32,"kindLabel":18,"title":33,"slug":34,"path":35,"excerpt":36,"publishedAt":37,"updatedAt":38,"authorName":39,"featuredImageUrl":38,"featuredImageAlt":40,"featured":41,"body":42,"seo":346},"5fcbd76d-d6bc-4def-bae2-713dc9fc528d","perspective","The Mental Impact No One Is Regulating Yet","the-mental-impact-no-one-is-regulating-yet","\u002Fperspective\u002Fthe-mental-impact-no-one-is-regulating-yet","The most measurable harms get regulated first. But the slow accumulation of distorted thinking, constant comparison, and shallow engagement is harder to name — and probably matters more.","2026-05-07T17:59:00.000Z",null,"Shannon @ MPC","Abstract illustration of overlapping social media windows and AI chat bubbles surrounding a human head silhouette, representing mental overload and distorted thinking.",false,[43,53,62,70,78,86,94,102,110,118,126,134,142,150,158,166,174,182,190,198,206,214,222,230,238,246,254,262,270,278,286,294,302,310,318,326,334,342],{"_key":44,"_type":45,"children":46,"markDefs":51,"style":52},"3f984dbf10a7","block",[47],{"_key":48,"_type":49,"marks":50,"text":33},"086f158b85b2","span",[],[],"h2",{"_key":54,"_type":45,"children":55,"markDefs":60,"style":61},"c61038ef03f9",[56],{"_key":57,"_type":49,"marks":58,"text":59},"6526263de4f6",[],"This is the part that feels harder to talk about, because it’s not as obvious as physical harm and it doesn’t show up in a single moment you can point to.",[],"normal",{"_key":63,"_type":45,"children":64,"markDefs":69,"style":61},"6026cc474a9f",[65],{"_key":66,"_type":49,"marks":67,"text":68},"e0ee752aeadb",[],"It builds over time.",[],{"_key":71,"_type":45,"children":72,"markDefs":77,"style":61},"d8383487c5a2",[73],{"_key":74,"_type":49,"marks":75,"text":76},"32a9123a1220",[],"And I don’t think we’re really treating it with the same level of seriousness, even though it’s probably affecting way more people.",[],{"_key":79,"_type":45,"children":80,"markDefs":85,"style":61},"4eca9c9a544b",[81],{"_key":82,"_type":49,"marks":83,"text":84},"89677a6f5cac",[],"A lot of the conversation around AI and social media focuses on extreme cases. Dangerous behavior, illegal content, things that clearly cross a line. Those matter, obviously. But there’s this whole other layer that sits underneath that, and it’s quieter, but it’s constant.",[],{"_key":87,"_type":45,"children":88,"markDefs":93,"style":61},"c881a5767744",[89],{"_key":90,"_type":49,"marks":91,"text":92},"aa09063e1943",[],"It’s how people are thinking. Or maybe more accurately, how they’re starting to not think.",[],{"_key":95,"_type":45,"children":96,"markDefs":101,"style":61},"a44be1618590",[97],{"_key":98,"_type":49,"marks":99,"text":100},"7ee32747dbaf",[],"I notice it in myself sometimes, even with really simple things. I’ll go to look something up, and instead of actually trying to understand it, I just want the answer. Just tell me what to do, what to plant, what to buy, what the solution is.",[],{"_key":103,"_type":45,"children":104,"markDefs":109,"style":61},"91fbe7f293e5",[105],{"_key":106,"_type":49,"marks":107,"text":108},"a3a53973d392",[],"And that’s useful in a lot of cases, but if that becomes the default way you interact with information, you stop building the “why” behind it.",[],{"_key":111,"_type":45,"children":112,"markDefs":117,"style":61},"69b349d5d879",[113],{"_key":114,"_type":49,"marks":115,"text":116},"b5951f08903f",[],"You get really good at getting answers, but not at understanding them.",[],{"_key":119,"_type":45,"children":120,"markDefs":125,"style":61},"4a8c1cfcb7b4",[121],{"_key":122,"_type":49,"marks":123,"text":124},"d3378514e2fb",[],"And I think that shift is happening at a much larger scale, especially with kids who are growing up with this as their baseline.",[],{"_key":127,"_type":45,"children":128,"markDefs":133,"style":61},"a60291e43d1c",[129],{"_key":130,"_type":49,"marks":131,"text":132},"855b898c25f6",[],"If every question has an instant answer, and that answer is packaged in a way that feels complete, there’s less reason to dig deeper. Less reason to question it, or explore alternatives, or even sit with uncertainty for a bit.",[],{"_key":135,"_type":45,"children":136,"markDefs":141,"style":61},"ba017eb7835c",[137],{"_key":138,"_type":49,"marks":139,"text":140},"1f250e9f3a83",[],"That doesn’t feel like a huge deal in one moment, but over time it changes how people approach problems.",[],{"_key":143,"_type":45,"children":144,"markDefs":149,"style":61},"21b546515e08",[145],{"_key":146,"_type":49,"marks":147,"text":148},"8a3eaf6a9009",[],"It’s less curiosity, more consumption.",[],{"_key":151,"_type":45,"children":152,"markDefs":157,"style":61},"d3154afce4ae",[153],{"_key":154,"_type":49,"marks":155,"text":156},"445a0cdf84ec",[],"And then you layer social media on top of that, and it starts to shape identity as well.",[],{"_key":159,"_type":45,"children":160,"markDefs":165,"style":61},"ea4598a164c8",[161],{"_key":162,"_type":49,"marks":163,"text":164},"e5207c5939e4",[],"Not in a dramatic, obvious way, but through repetition.",[],{"_key":167,"_type":45,"children":168,"markDefs":173,"style":61},"51f21aa12102",[169],{"_key":170,"_type":49,"marks":171,"text":172},"7b4a5edfba62",[],"You see the same types of faces, the same body types, the same ideas about what’s attractive, what’s successful, what gets attention. And even if you know, logically, that it’s curated or exaggerated, it still affects how you see yourself and other people.",[],{"_key":175,"_type":45,"children":176,"markDefs":181,"style":61},"58e6419ae153",[177],{"_key":178,"_type":49,"marks":179,"text":180},"ccffd33f7d4e",[],"For boys, that can show up as this really narrow version of what they think they need to be. For girls, it’s something different, but just as limiting. And then there are these trends that take it even further, where people are actively comparing themselves in ways that are just not grounded in reality.",[],{"_key":183,"_type":45,"children":184,"markDefs":189,"style":61},"b5fe7ec67632",[185],{"_key":186,"_type":49,"marks":187,"text":188},"dedeb6e9920a",[],"It doesn’t stay online either. It bleeds into how people interact in real life, how they treat each other, what they expect from relationships.",[],{"_key":191,"_type":45,"children":192,"markDefs":197,"style":61},"3b8fccf8ffea",[193],{"_key":194,"_type":49,"marks":195,"text":196},"d9b984ec3d20",[],"And then there’s the anonymity piece layered into all of that.",[],{"_key":199,"_type":45,"children":200,"markDefs":205,"style":61},"73b3370d3d99",[201],{"_key":202,"_type":49,"marks":203,"text":204},"72013c30a92b",[],"If you remove accountability, people say things they wouldn’t normally say. They push further, they escalate faster, and that creates an environment where certain behaviors start to feel normal.",[],{"_key":207,"_type":45,"children":208,"markDefs":213,"style":61},"05474a4265c2",[209],{"_key":210,"_type":49,"marks":211,"text":212},"ab958326930b",[],"Bullying doesn’t look like one big event anymore. It looks like constant low-level pressure. Comments, comparisons, jokes that aren’t really jokes. It adds up.",[],{"_key":215,"_type":45,"children":216,"markDefs":221,"style":61},"be52eff54536",[217],{"_key":218,"_type":49,"marks":219,"text":220},"6004452d5446",[],"And I don’t think we’ve really figured out how to deal with that, because it doesn’t fit neatly into a category you can regulate in a straightforward way.",[],{"_key":223,"_type":45,"children":224,"markDefs":229,"style":61},"1ccbafbcdfa6",[225],{"_key":226,"_type":49,"marks":227,"text":228},"263383a65015",[],"You can’t just say “ban this one thing” and fix it.",[],{"_key":231,"_type":45,"children":232,"markDefs":237,"style":61},"6353736090c9",[233],{"_key":234,"_type":49,"marks":235,"text":236},"1c5d1425ff2d",[],"But that doesn’t mean it should be ignored.",[],{"_key":239,"_type":45,"children":240,"markDefs":245,"style":61},"6ed93ad0ff83",[241],{"_key":242,"_type":49,"marks":243,"text":244},"2f9e926c1a78",[],"I think part of the issue is that most of these platforms are designed to maximize engagement, and the content that drives engagement is not always the content that leads to healthy thinking or a healthy sense of self.",[],{"_key":247,"_type":45,"children":248,"markDefs":253,"style":61},"36a3fc141539",[249],{"_key":250,"_type":49,"marks":251,"text":252},"21fa6460d35d",[],"It’s the content that gets reactions. That gets shared. That keeps people coming back.",[],{"_key":255,"_type":45,"children":256,"markDefs":261,"style":61},"b31359c5409e",[257],{"_key":258,"_type":49,"marks":259,"text":260},"4e19908cbc49",[],"So even without anyone intentionally trying to cause harm, the system ends up amplifying the kinds of things that can have a negative impact over time.",[],{"_key":263,"_type":45,"children":264,"markDefs":269,"style":61},"74062891cc77",[265],{"_key":266,"_type":49,"marks":267,"text":268},"ef83c8fa0c5c",[],"And again, this comes back to incentives.",[],{"_key":271,"_type":45,"children":272,"markDefs":277,"style":61},"a41c65dc5c2a",[273],{"_key":274,"_type":49,"marks":275,"text":276},"12d0f5a57638",[],"If there’s no reason for a platform to prioritize long-term mental health over short-term engagement, it’s very hard for that to become the default.",[],{"_key":279,"_type":45,"children":280,"markDefs":285,"style":61},"462623f6f978",[281],{"_key":282,"_type":49,"marks":283,"text":284},"7e57d0f7b144",[],"So when we talk about regulation, I don’t think it can just focus on the most extreme cases.",[],{"_key":287,"_type":45,"children":288,"markDefs":293,"style":61},"212e0afcaa3f",[289],{"_key":290,"_type":49,"marks":291,"text":292},"ae878f23c068",[],"There has to be some recognition that the everyday experience of using these platforms is shaping how people think, how they learn, and how they see themselves.",[],{"_key":295,"_type":45,"children":296,"markDefs":301,"style":61},"8bf642fac0b7",[297],{"_key":298,"_type":49,"marks":299,"text":300},"efd252775644",[],"That’s a much harder problem to solve, but it’s also the one that probably matters the most over time.",[],{"_key":303,"_type":45,"children":304,"markDefs":309,"style":61},"7489c15d7d4c",[305],{"_key":306,"_type":49,"marks":307,"text":308},"b8fe867d7a9a",[],"I don’t think the answer is to remove access or to try and control every piece of content people see.",[],{"_key":311,"_type":45,"children":312,"markDefs":317,"style":61},"c8c58c244ca7",[313],{"_key":314,"_type":49,"marks":315,"text":316},"c8ddc840c825",[],"But I do think there’s room to start pushing for systems that don’t just give answers, but actually support understanding.",[],{"_key":319,"_type":45,"children":320,"markDefs":325,"style":61},"793edc1fba67",[321],{"_key":322,"_type":49,"marks":323,"text":324},"daf9b0f8174a",[],"Even small things, like encouraging people to engage more deeply with information instead of just skimming it, or building in ways to challenge what they’re seeing instead of reinforcing it constantly.",[],{"_key":327,"_type":45,"children":328,"markDefs":333,"style":61},"3567044f4253",[329],{"_key":330,"_type":49,"marks":331,"text":332},"cf88af07f65c",[],"That might sound like a small shift, but when you think about how often people interact with these systems, those small shifts add up.",[],{"_key":335,"_type":45,"children":336,"markDefs":341,"style":61},"34ea3f80b4ee",[337],{"_key":338,"_type":49,"marks":339,"text":340},"b88f02c14510",[],"And if we don’t start thinking about this layer of impact, we’re going to keep focusing on the most obvious problems while something much more subtle keeps growing in the background.",[],{"_key":343,"_type":344,"alt":345,"children":38,"imageUrl":38,"markDefs":38},"db8b6484b259","image","A person sitting alone in a dimly lit room, illuminated by multiple screens, symbolizing the quiet mental impact of constant digital engagement.",{"canonicalUrl":38,"metaDescription":347,"metaTitle":33,"metaTitlePrefix":38,"noIndex":41,"ogDescription":348,"ogImageUrl":38,"ogTitle":33},"We regulate the obvious harms of AI and social media, but ignore the slow erosion of curiosity, attention, and self-image that shapes who people become.","The real risk of AI and social platforms isn’t just extreme content. It’s the everyday shift toward shallow thinking, constant comparison, and fragile identity that no one is regulating.",[350],{"_id":351,"_type":352,"kindLabel":353,"title":354,"slug":355,"path":356,"excerpt":357,"status":358,"featured":27,"publishedAt":38,"featuredImageUrl":38,"featuredImageAlt":359,"pieceCount":360,"pieces":361},"43ee44c6-4b34-4403-94ad-c3b5fdeb8432","series","Series","Regulating AI & Social Media for Real-World Safety","regulating-ai-social-media-real-world-safety","\u002Fperspective\u002Fseries\u002Fregulating-ai-social-media-real-world-safety","A practical look at what it would actually take to regulate AI and social platforms for kids’ real-world safety—drawing on lessons from other industries and naming the tradeoffs.","active","Conceptual image of AI and social media symbols surrounded by caution markers, suggesting regulation and child safety.",7,[362,369,376,383,392,399,407],{"key":363,"type":32,"kindLabel":18,"label":364,"title":365,"path":366,"excerpt":367,"publishedAt":38,"featuredImageUrl":38,"featuredImageAlt":368},"369592fb78a2","Part 1","Why Self-Regulation Fails (And Always Has)","\u002Fperspective\u002Fwhy-self-regulation-fails","Companies don't change because they want to — they change when the cost of not changing outweighs the cost of changing. The case against hoping tech fixes itself.","Conceptual image representing technology self-regulation, with corporate skyscrapers overshadowing small regulatory road signs.",{"key":370,"type":32,"kindLabel":18,"label":371,"title":372,"path":373,"excerpt":374,"publishedAt":38,"featuredImageUrl":38,"featuredImageAlt":375},"06a047ff76d5","Part 2","What GDPR & Canadian Anti-Spam Laws Actually Teach Us","\u002Fperspective\u002Fwhat-gdpr-and-casl-teach-us","The 'regulation won't work because the internet is global' argument sounds convincing until you look at what GDPR and CASL actually did.","Stylized map highlighting Europe and Canada connected by data lines, representing the global impact of GDPR and Canadian anti-spam laws.",{"key":377,"type":32,"kindLabel":18,"label":378,"title":379,"path":380,"excerpt":381,"publishedAt":38,"featuredImageUrl":38,"featuredImageAlt":382},"e3389b135226","Part 3","The Only Thing That Works: Hitting the Bottom Line","\u002Fperspective\u002Fthe-only-thing-that-works-hitting-the-bottom-line","If you want companies like Meta or OpenAI to change their behavior around kids, the conversation has to reach revenue. Everything else is negotiable.","Conceptual image of a tech company headquarters overlaid with a red downward revenue arrow.",{"key":384,"type":385,"kindLabel":386,"label":387,"title":388,"path":389,"excerpt":390,"publishedAt":38,"featuredImageUrl":38,"featuredImageAlt":391},"538b6afba961","parentGuide","Parent Guide","Part 4","Age-Gating That Actually Works (Not Just a Checkbox)","\u002Fguides\u002Fage-gating-that-actually-works","Typing in a fake birthday isn't age verification — it's just a question. Here’s what real, working age-gating would need to look like, and what parents can do right now.","Illustration of a sign-up screen with an age checkbox, overlaid with icons for ID cards, credit cards, and device settings.",{"key":393,"type":32,"kindLabel":18,"label":394,"title":395,"path":396,"excerpt":397,"publishedAt":37,"featuredImageUrl":38,"featuredImageAlt":398},"483d15c14a8b","Part 5","Should Free Access Exist for Kids?","\u002Fperspective\u002Fshould-free-access-exist-for-kids","Free access removes every barrier — including the ones that are supposed to keep younger users out. That's not accidental. It's part of how these platforms grow.","Conceptual image of layered digital gates in front of a social platform interface, representing conditional free access for kids.",{"key":400,"type":32,"kindLabel":18,"label":401,"title":402,"path":403,"excerpt":404,"publishedAt":405,"featuredImageUrl":38,"featuredImageAlt":406},"267591a6959f","Part 6","AI and Privacy vs Safety — Where Should the Line Be?","\u002Fperspective\u002Fprivacy-vs-safety-where-should-the-line-be","Privacy isn't absolute in any other context. The question isn't whether to protect it — it's where the threshold should be when behavior starts signaling real risk.","2026-05-07T22:07:00.000Z","Scales balancing a padlock on one side and a safety shield on the other, representing the tradeoff between privacy and safety in digital platforms.",{"key":408,"type":32,"kindLabel":18,"label":409,"title":33,"path":35,"excerpt":36,"publishedAt":37,"featuredImageUrl":38,"featuredImageAlt":40},"6589bdb8eb91","Part 7",[411,414,417,420,423,426],{"_id":412,"_type":32,"kindLabel":18,"title":372,"slug":413,"path":373,"excerpt":374,"publishedAt":38,"updatedAt":38,"authorName":38,"featuredImageUrl":38,"featuredImageAlt":375,"featured":41},"8af62ad5-be5b-4e69-aeb4-a358474652d5","what-gdpr-and-casl-teach-us",{"_id":415,"_type":32,"kindLabel":18,"title":365,"slug":416,"path":366,"excerpt":367,"publishedAt":38,"updatedAt":38,"authorName":38,"featuredImageUrl":38,"featuredImageAlt":368,"featured":41},"b00e8692-3b67-42f7-8dfd-bb373a38323e","why-self-regulation-fails",{"_id":418,"_type":32,"kindLabel":18,"title":379,"slug":419,"path":380,"excerpt":381,"publishedAt":38,"updatedAt":38,"authorName":38,"featuredImageUrl":38,"featuredImageAlt":382,"featured":41},"bef82def-d299-4bef-a518-13376c75f74f","the-only-thing-that-works-hitting-the-bottom-line",{"_id":421,"_type":32,"kindLabel":18,"title":402,"slug":422,"path":403,"excerpt":404,"publishedAt":405,"updatedAt":38,"authorName":38,"featuredImageUrl":38,"featuredImageAlt":406,"featured":41},"68118e39-b171-4b3f-b1ad-e744c5a3b18f","privacy-vs-safety-where-should-the-line-be",{"_id":424,"_type":32,"kindLabel":18,"title":395,"slug":425,"path":396,"excerpt":397,"publishedAt":37,"updatedAt":38,"authorName":38,"featuredImageUrl":38,"featuredImageAlt":398,"featured":41},"193e8fe4-8adb-4ed1-b20f-74cb5c7ec6e6","should-free-access-exist-for-kids",{"_id":31,"_type":32,"kindLabel":18,"title":33,"slug":34,"path":35,"excerpt":36,"publishedAt":37,"updatedAt":38,"authorName":39,"featuredImageUrl":38,"featuredImageAlt":40,"featured":41}]