[Gallagher]

part of me definitely understands why this concern exists, as someone that was mistreated as a teen themselves

but a larger part of me is extremely annoyed, because intergenerational friendships and sharing of knowledge is actually incredibly important not only for making sure that we don't forget lessons from our own history, but also because you need to be able to develop healthy friendships with older humans in order to understand what unhealthy ones look like.

i don't particularly love managing teens in my social circles, but i would rather they be able to speak to me as someone aware of the delicate nature of these sorts of things and no interest in crossing any lines than someone who will and will gladly take the opportunity to be some kid's first adult friend (thus proving to the kid how mature they themselves are compared to their peers and isolating them further)

kids learning how to interact with adults responsibly is part of the social safety net, actually, and they do not learn that from other kids