The Illusion of Digital Safety: How Age Gates and Digital IDs Miss the Mark

In this episode of PsyberSpace, host Leslie Poston digs into the ineffectiveness and risks of age gates and digital ID verification systems aimed at protecting children online. Highlighting global legislative attempts and their unintended consequences, Poston argues that these measures often exacerbate digital risks while failing to address root causes such as inadequate parental capacity, literacy deficiencies, and systemic economic struggles. The episode challenges the moral panic around social media's impact on youth mental health, pointing out that true protection requires structural change rather than symbolic, ineffective solutions.

00:00 Introduction and Data Breach Experiment
01:09 Global Push for Age Gates and Digital ID Verification
02:24 Moral Panic and Media Influence
02:51 Scientific Evidence on Social Media and Youth Wellbeing
07:02 The Real Issues: Parenting Capacity and Literacy Crisis
09:35 The Illusion of Control: Age Gates and Surveillance
14:09 Effective Solutions and Structural Change
15:27 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

The Hidden Dangers of Debate: Why It Can Legitimize Bad Ideas

In this episode of PsyberSpace®, host Leslie Poston explores the unintended consequences of debate formats in media, arguing that they often function as tools to distribute and legitimize harmful ideas rather than dismantling them with facts. Poston discusses psychological principles such as social proof, the illusory truth effect, and the continued influence effect to explain why debates can amplify bad ideas. She advocates for alternative approaches such as weight of evidence framing, pre-bunking tactics, and audience-centered harm reduction to effectively combat misinformation and reduce harm.

00:00 Introduction to Debate Content
01:14 The Unseen Consequences of Debates
02:06 The Psychology Behind Debate Failures
04:13 False Balance in Media
05:44 The Illusory Truth Effect
07:43 Debate as Entertainment
09:38 Incentives and Bad Faith Tactics
14:13 Strategies for Harm Reduction
16:20 Practical Tips for Responding to Misinformation
18:30 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

The Erosion of Consent in the Digital Age

In this episode of PsyberSpace®, Leslie Poston discusses the systematic erosion of consent both online and offline, and its devastating psychological consequences. Key topics include non-consensual AI-generated sexual imagery, the mass theft of creative work to train AI systems, the exploitation of vulnerable individuals for social media content, and the influence of manosphere ideology on young men. Poston explores the dehumanization and objectification that results from these trends, the psychological theories behind them, and provides insights into moral disengagement and learned helplessness. The episode concludes with strategies for resisting these harmful practices and emphasizes the importance of maintaining and teaching respect for consent.

00:00 Introduction to the Erosion of Consent
01:15 Understanding Objectification and Its Harms
02:25 AI and Non-Consensual Imagery
05:20 Data Colonialism and Creative Theft
07:52 Exploitation for Social Media Clout
11:01 Manosphere Ideology and Consent
14:52 Surveillance and Privacy Violations
18:46 Psychological Consequences of Consent Erosion
23:08 Paths to Resistance and Hope
26:36 Conclusion and Call to Action

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