adult-only online spaces are gonna be a fiction as long as the internet is anonymous.

like, imagine securing bars with the question: do you promise you’re not underage? it’d literally be criminal negligence.

children are present.

some notes:

-this is not kids’ faults. they are constantly pressured to act precociously adult.

-adult spaces are often opaque about why they’re limited. they range from “no real reason besides the owner’s dislike of kids” to “literal footage of terrorism.” incoherent.

-kids deserve a chance to participate in society and learn by experience what the deal is. a lot of ‘adult’ content could tweak itself a little bit and be fine, giving kids access to more mature, nuanced, and diverse experiences over the garbage that usually gets peddled to them.

-it’s on adults to accommodate kids and design appropriate rules and systems. we’re supposed to be the responsible ones.

-requiring kids to self enforce is never gonna work.

-kids deserve to be taken seriously. they’re human.

to end: never assume children aren’t present.