If you had to let your kid have a social media account, which network would you feel least concerned about, and why?
Note that although "alternative" social networks are interesting, it's having their friends on the network that teens care about, so I'm mainly interested in your thoughts on the main social networks that teens use, like Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, etc.
(This has immediate, practical application to my family at the moment, but I know that many others must be struggling with this: as tech-savvy individuals here on HN we are aware of the harms and the way these companies deliberately manipulate their users, but unsurprisingly, my teen doesn't seem to care, and I expect he's in the majority with that viewpoint. So if I'm going to give in a little bit, what's least harmful?)
The person to ask about social networks is your teen.
Because to a first approximation, you're not about to "give a little bit."
You are accepting that your teen can pretty much do whatever they want if they really want to.
That is the great thing about having a teenager. You are establishing the adult to adult part of your relationship.
And that is all about trust.
You have to trust them to try and make good decisions.
That means you have to provide input they can trust.
So that probably means accepting privacy theater as privacy theater.
Good luck.