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the common denominator to why teens get into toxic internet subcultures seems to initially be loneliness & boredom. then we stay because we find community and something to be passionate about. it's not something we can just be explained out of. it's way deeper than the ideas.
which is why that thread awhile ago warning parents of boys about the alt-right fell flat for me. it at least recognized that shaming doesn't work. but imo neither does having your mom explain why something is wrong, even though that feels like the right parental response
these ideologies already have responses against criticisms of their ideas so you'll like just push your kid into doubling down. it's not so much about forcibly limiting screen time either (although of course, restrictions are reasonable and probably preferable)
it's more about setting up the conditions for an overall life where your kid doesn't feel the need to be obsessively online to escape. when i say escape i don't mean escape abuse (although that is the case for some).
i mean escape the boredom and loneliness that so many kids in my generation feel stuck in due to a lack of meaningful interaction with peers, lack of interests that really engage your brain and body. without connection and passion for something, ideology easily fills that space
not to be a child telling parents how to parent but from my experience i really think if my family had gotten me involved in sports or other hobbies and/or let me spend time with friends outside of school, i never would have felt this deep emptiness that i filled with internet BS
people talk about the problem of over-scheduling kids and that's true for some. and it's been shown that unstructured interaction is better. but what to do when families are so terrified of risks that they wont allow unsupervised interactions?
in that case, i think that on balance an over-scheduled kid is better off than an aimless one (obv for reasons other than just being less online). TL;DR parents im begging you to allow/encourage/push your kids to do something, ANYTHING other than school, and from a young age too
