-Analysis-
TURIN — Removing social media access from those most vulnerable. It’s an idea we hear more and more. But the truly vulnerable group, most in need of protection from the temptations of the “digital devil,” are not the young, but the old.
It’s surprising that no serious public debate has emerged to promote a civic initiative aimed at safeguarding boomers from the overwhelming pull that their digital personas have to unleash them in pursuit of everything their generation was once taught to keep silent about.
For the latest news & views from every corner of the world, Worldcrunch Today is the only truly international newsletter. Sign up here.
Do we still believe the main problems for the over-65 are cholesterol, cataracts, arthritis or loss of mental capacity? First of all, these are already mostly written into their DNA, and armies of specialists are already dealing with them. What no one seems to be addressing are the new dangers faced by anyone holding a smartphone, protected only by that typical boomer wallet case.
License to practice
In the late 1980s, it was fashionable in Italy to quote the philosopher Norberto Bobbio, who supposedly argued that a kind of “license” should be required to work in television, ensuring that those involved had the moral and intellectual qualities to handle the responsibility of working in such a wide-reaching medium. It is not entirely clear whether he ever said it in those exact terms, but it served as good material for informed conversation. It gave many people the comforting impression of being on the right side of the culture by claiming that television was doing serious harm to young people.
They are often thrust too rapidly into a digital realm that has little to do with their native psychological framework.
Today, at least in Italy, young people do not even watch what is referred to as “generalist” television. If it disappeared, they likely would not notice. Mainstream TV is now the soothing background noise for an elderly audience. It is packed with advertisements for laxatives, incontinence products, denture adhesives, and prostate treatments. To broadcast this kind of content, there is clearly no longer a need for a license: programming can run smoothly on autopilot, like one of Elon Musk’s futuristic cars.
The real problem, however, is that part of this same audience, which might otherwise be watching reruns of detective series, has discovered social networks.
This is where a kind of digital license should truly be considered: a way to ensure the safety of older individuals left to navigate the online world alone. The real emergency concerning those at or near retirement age should not be underestimated. They are often thrust too rapidly into a digital realm that has little to do with their native psychological framework.
Emotional scams
An elderly person navigating social media is far more vulnerable and more likely to cause unintentional harm than members of younger generations like Millennials or Gen Z, who have been immersed in digital environments since birth.
The rise of so-called “emotional scams” (a type of online fraud where criminals exploit emotional attachment to manipulate elderly victims into giving them money) is proof of this. It is distressing to see how many grandmothers are drawn in by men claiming to be retired military widowers, ready to offer love and devotion for the rest of their lives. These supposed partners are attentive, romantic, and eager to meet every need — at a distance. Almost invariably, they have sickly children requiring costly medical care. These individuals never appear in person, even after years of correspondence, but it feels natural to send them money for hospital stays, treatments, or unexpected financial crises.
I am over 70, and I would be the first to accept a legal ban on the emotional crutch that is the smartphone.
This is the lucrative operation of international criminal networks based in remote regions, creating the illusion of emotional connection to siphon off pensions and lifelong savings.
Unspeakable resentments
Likewise, boomers should have their access to social media limited because of their tendency to vent unspeakable resentments. A recent example involved a German language teacher from the small town of Cicciano, north of Naples, who posted a reprehensible message wishing that Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s daughter would suffer the same fate as the young girl murdered in a nearby local crime.
How could this aging teacher have failed to realize the consequences of writing something so appalling? Decades of education, teaching, and working with students were not enough for him to understand that it is unwise to expose every malicious thought to public scrutiny. The most absurd part is that he even tried to blame artificial intelligence, apparently unaware that AI programs are generally designed to behave with the politeness of a choirboy.
Now, someone may accuse me of ageism. But rest assured, I am speaking against my own interests. I am over 70, and I would be the first to accept a legal ban on the emotional crutch that is the smartphone, unless I could provide certification and pass an aptitude test demonstrating that I can use it with sound judgment and restraint — and most of all, without causing harm to myself or to others.
