Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has sparked a debate on social media with his proposal for a ban on social media for children.
Ramaswamy argues that protecting children is not a partisan issue and that a social media ban is necessary to address the growing problems associated with these platforms.
In a video shared on social media, Ramaswamy stated, "If you can't smoke an addictive cigarette until you're 18, you shouldn't be able to use an addictive social media platform by the age of 15 or 16 either. Ban it."
He believes that social media companies are taking advantage of a psychological vulnerability and that their algorithms provide more insight into a person's soul than even their parents have.
Ramaswamy further emphasized his point by comparing a social media ban for children to the restrictions on smoking and drinking. He stated, "Kids aren't the same as adults. I like freedom for adults. Kids aren't adults, right? And so we have to protect children. That's one of my bases for saying it, but actually look at the facts. It is also the main source of predatory behavior that actually begins in the online world before it moves to the offline world."
The Republican candidate has been advocating for a social media ban for children long before his presidential campaign. He believes that this issue should not be seen as a partisan one but rather as a matter of protecting children. Ramaswamy urged people to have the courage to stand up for the well-being of children and to see this policy through.
Ramaswamy's proposal has generated significant feedback on social media. While some users agreed with his suggestion, citing personal experiences of delaying social media access for their own children, others questioned whether the government should regulate social media use for American children. Some suggested that educating parents about the dangers of online predators through ads and infomercials might be a more effective approach.
One user expressed outright disagreement with Ramaswamy's proposal, stating that while they personally enforce a social media ban for their own children, they believe it should be left to families to make that decision. They argued that there are more pressing issues for the government to address.
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