Really? I've always believed that it is an amazing way to learn basic concepts, because of how articles are linked to each other; furthermore, I have not had any issues with reading entire articles in one sitting. God, what has happened to this world???
The problem is not even social media itself, but the fact that profit-driven ANYTHING cares more about money than its own consumers. Quite frankly, what should be happening is to see some of these people changing to better alternatives, like Mastodon and Lemmy.
Finally, I do not believe this will remain only for the 16- age group. I am aware this is extreme speculation, but this may eventually roll out to some “dangerous” adults, then union workers (again, “dangerous), then women, then everyone that is not wealthy enough to bribe oneself into social media. I also believe this is one of many steps to castrate the future of the young, and to control the narrative.
Do not take my word for it, however; check back in this post, some years from now.
Now I want to see a self-hosted LLM running solely on a Raspberry Pi Pico!!