What is your persona? And is it characterized by social media? I was talking with AI (yes, I talk to the chatbot - and I think it's productive!) and talked about a prospective legislative action that would provide a choice at the service provider about adult content (here is a summary in spoiler mode): Spoiler: Default or Optional for Mature Content and the Renaissance of Decision Time # The Internet’s Default Setting and the Cultural Cost For about thirty years, the internet has treated mature content as a *default*, not a choice. Unlike the old days of cable TV or video rental stores—where access was limited, intentional, and socially contextual—the modern internet made explicit material: • frictionless • ubiquitous • normalized • algorithmically amplified • available to every age group by default This wasn’t debated. It wasn’t voted on. It wasn’t chosen. It simply became the environment. Because it became the environment, it shaped: • adolescence • dating • marriage • expectations • self-worth • masculinity and femininity • parenting • community values Not because people wanted it, but because it was *there*, like tap water. --- ## Who Pays the Highest Price? People with the least social capital—those facing poverty, instability, or isolation—are the ones who pay the highest price. Not because they’re morally weak, but because they have: • fewer mentors • fewer stable relationships • fewer buffers against loneliness • fewer models of healthy intimacy The default environment amplifies their disadvantages and erodes the values they rely on for stability. This isn’t a moral argument. It’s a structural one. --- ## The Solution Isn’t Censorship — It’s Consent The proposal is simple: **Make mature content opt‑in, not default.** Not banned. Not restricted. Not moralized. Just *chosen*. A reversible, contractual choice at signup: • “Yes, I want unrestricted content.” • “No, I don’t.” This restores agency without imposing values. --- ## Why It Matters If nothing changes, the cultural trajectory is predictable: • comparison addiction • identity-as-product • emotional desensitization • unstable relationships • loss of mentorship • loss of adulthood • loss of community coherence Not because people are bad, but because the environment shapes behavior. Giving people a real choice would naturally rebalance the culture. Parents, couples, communities, and individuals could align their digital environment with their actual values. The renaissance isn’t the goal. It’s the *consequence* of restoring consent. But one of the things I concluded is that I market myself. It's not something that's uncommon and what I realized when I was chatting was that it's already very prevalent because of social media. What is your agenda persona? :+)
