Regulation Market: Meta comparison and ban illusion: Social media bouncers make party interesting

Economic psychologist Joost van Treeck comments on the recent Meta comparison and the debate about banning social media for minors. He argues that bans and age limits are ineffective, citing Australian observations where teens bypass restrictions via VPNs and false information. Instead, he advocates for building digital media literacy as the primary solution and regulating problematic platform design mechanisms (e.g., algorithmic triggers) as secondary. He emphasizes that the advertising industry should proactively invest in quality environments to maintain credibility, rather than relying on engagement-driven reach.