>that's an education problem, it is your fault, not theirs or some apps

Honestly, do you think parents are able to effectively counter literal billion-dollar companies that pour resources into making sure their apps are engaging (read: addictive)? How?

We've taken a hard-line stance with our kids and have explained/educated them on every aspect of social media, attention, and addictive programs. And we're still losing the fight. I genuinely think people massively underestimate how addictive many apps are, especially to developing minds that are constantly seeking novelty.

I'm happily willing to show you a multitude of heroin/cocaine/meth/[insert other drug here] which were very well educated, schooled and taken care of - stop putting education that high. Addiction is not an escape. There are many forms an "escape" can take and TikTok is not one that I'm willing to accept because it creates addiction, one that is intelligently designed to eat her free time WHOLE so no, I will not take your advice on it. She can "escape" with a bike, with friends outside, with her dogs, with her drawings, dressing, swimming, snowboarding or many other healthy things she was taught to.

I completely agree with it being an education problem and like... I treat my YouTube watching or online media watching in a way where I would make fun of myself if I allowed myself to be controlled by the thing so I don't allow myself to put myself in situations where I would mock myself if that makes any remote sense. I think it's silly to not be in control of the things that I feed myself digitally or otherwise. It is a state to be mocked. I don't want to call myself "some dumb nerd" so I don't allow myself to be called that by acting dumb. It sounds really maybe abusive but it might be a way to get under the skin of your child if you don't warn them about these things in a soft kind manner but in a way like "you wanna look like a dork with no control? You know while your friends do this stuff but like they don't have control. Don't you want control? Isn't that why you are watching this stuff? Because you have anxiety and you don't have control over things? So , why don't you take control and not watch the things that all of these devices and services serve you and go do something a whole lot better with your time?"