The point isn’t about whether or not social media is bad for kids. The point is about the hypocrisy of a political party that is willing to minimize the legal and social consequences of parents opting to not vaccinate their kids, arguing that it is up to the parents even though it clearly has health risks to other people that the unvaccinated kids come into contact with, but then say that the state has a moral obligation to protect kids from the harms of social media regardless of how the parents feel about it.

While generally speaking, no, social media is not great for kids, there are some who can handle it responsibly. It’s a clear case of how parental discretion should be used. But the state is removing that option. Vaccinations and herd immunity, on the other hand, have a century or so of evidence and the risks of not being vaccinated are clearly demonstrable, but consequences like no access to public schools are disappearing. The internal logic isn’t there, it’s all just pandering to an idiotic political base.