[15457345234]

I don't know what the solution is but I do think that the current system of 'everyone has access to everything' isn't viable because people _do_ get groomed into doing dumb shit and they _will_ be exploited by superior and more organised forces who are quite adept at constructing a complex system from multiple pieces.

Frankly speaking the only winning move is not to play. Or just to post cat pictures.

Though I have to say blaming the internet isn't entirely fair. I've seen real-life grooming take place and it's very insidious. It generally prays on the desire of naturally helpful nice people to be helpful and to disregard the true nature of the person/thing they're actually helping.

[sokoloff]

My gut feeling is that almost every (perhaps exactly every) solution will have worse properties than the current. Putting a centralized group in charge of access to communication and information seems like something that is bound to go poorly, almost surely more poorly than the one in a million risky outcomes like this.

[autoexec]

I'd agree there should be no centralized group in charge of access to communication and information, however for individuals who are unable to care for themselves due low IQ and/or mental illness and who are already living with parents/care takers, those people watching over them should be responsible for monitoring that person's use of the internet and keeping them safe from scammers, abusers, kiwi farms, and police departments who would exploit them the same way they're responsible for keeping them from running out into traffic and burning the house down. In this case, the kid's parents failed in their responsibility to keep their child safe from online threats who (this time) happened to be the police.

We don't need a new system to keep people who are a danger to themselves and others off the internet, we just need the caretakers who are already responsible for them to understand the importance of not neglecting the online activity of those under their care.

[kj99]

The solution is for culture to adapt. This is the role folk tales once played - carrying the knowledge of various different kinds of danger.

[15457345234]

Unfortunately the culture is adapting the other way and becoming about keeping everyone as online as possible because that maximises their exposure to advertising and commercial pressure.

The fact it exposes them to 24/7 predatory behaviour is... well, it is 24/7 predatory behaviour.

The damage being done here is significant.

But yes, there do need to be some modern folk tales told to kids, something like The Brothers Grimm but featuring discord groomers and furry pedophiles instead of trolls and orks.