Vancouver Curiosity Club!

📵🤖 Debate Night - should kids under 16 be banned from social media and AI chatbots?
Structured debate night - prepared discussion, not a casual hot-take circle.

Main motion
Kids under 16 should be banned from social media and AI companion chatbots.

Short summary
This is one of those topics where everyone thinks they already know what they believe.
“Protect the kids.”
“Parents should decide.”
“Government overreach.”
“Tech companies are the problem.”
“Kids will just find a way around it.”
“AI companions are different from Instagram.”
“Actually, they’re worse.”
Good. That means we have a room.
This debate is not just about TikTok or phones. It’s about childhood, attention, loneliness, parenting, freedom, tech company responsibility, and whether we trust teenagers - or the adults and platforms surrounding them - to handle systems designed to keep people hooked.
Australia has already moved toward an under-16 social media restriction, and AI companion chatbots are becoming part of teen life faster than most adults understand. So this is not a futuristic debate. It is already here.
This will be a prepared debate, not a rant night.
Please watch the two short videos before coming.

Required prep - watch these 2 videos
1. BBC - “Will Australia’s social media ban for under-16s work?”
This gives us the real-world case: what an actual under-16 social media ban might look like, and why it might work or fail.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FNIAzYLCQA
2. CBS News - “Inside the debate over teens using AI companions for support”
This brings in the AI chatbot / companion side, so we’re not only debating Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat.
https://youtu.be/jvXUDfoDLrs?si=XrGGyPqzHHSzgZ6k

Come ready to answer this
Is this mainly about child safety, parenting, government overreach, or tech company responsibility?
The three fights we’re having
1. Harm
Are social media and AI chatbots seriously harming kids?
Not “are they sometimes bad?” That’s too easy.
The real question is: are they harmful enough that society should step in before age 16?
2. Freedom
Who should decide?
Parents?
Kids?
Schools?
Government?
Tech companies?
Or is that the wrong question because the platforms are designed to overpower individual choice?
3. Enforcement
Would a ban actually work?
Can age verification be done without creating privacy problems?
Would kids just route around it?
Would bans push them into weirder, less visible corners of the internet?
Or is “it won’t be perfect” a weak excuse for doing nothing?
How the room works
We’ll start with a quick vote:
Yes / No / Undecided
Then people sit by their current lean:
- left side = yes / lean yes
- right side = no / lean no
- middle / end seats = undecided / mixed
You can switch sides later if your view changes.
That is not losing. That is the whole point.

The rough structure
- quick arrivals / settle in
- opening vote
- Round 1: Harm
- Round 2: Freedom
- Round 3: Enforcement
- final vote + what changed
- optional social after

Rules of the room
Attack arguments, not people.
Keep comments short enough that the room stays alive.
No interrupting.
No dunking.
No sarcasm-as-substitute-for-thinking.
Respond to the strongest version of the other side.
Make room for quieter people.
Changing your mind is a good outcome.

When and where
📅 Sunday, June 7, 2026
🕒 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM
📍 Central Library - Room 590 south on the 5th floor

Cap 12–15 + waitlist
Debate gets worse when the room gets too big and people start performing.
Small room, better arguments.
Small note
If you did not watch the prep videos, you can still come - but expect to listen more at first.
The best version of this night is people arguing from examples, not just vibes.

🎤 Karaoke Sunday at Fionn MacCool’s
Low-pressure karaoke social night - hosted by Mary. Sing if you want, cheer if you don’t.

Short summary
Some karaoke nights feel like a talent show with alcohol.
This is not that.
This one is for people who want an easy Sunday night out: good songs, a little courage, a little silliness, and the kind of group where people actually cheer for each other instead of trying to impress the room.
You do not need to be a good singer.
You do not even need to sing at all.
Come to sing, listen, laugh, grab food or a drink, and meet some good people.
Bad singing is welcome.
Bad behaviour isn’t.

How the evening will go
We’ll meet at Fionn MacCool’s at 7:45 PM, get settled, say hello, and put a few names into the karaoke queue once the night gets going.
Some people will sing right away.
Some will need ten minutes and a drink.
Some will just cheer for a while before deciding.
All of that is normal.
This is a public karaoke night, not a private room, so we’ll be sharing the space with the regular crowd. That’s part of the fun. It also means the song queue may move at pub speed, not “our private party” speed.
Bring a few song ideas just in case your first choice is taken.

The room Mary wants
Friendly, relaxed, and easy to join.
This is not a belligerent drinking night out. Please don’t get sloppy, creepy, aggressive, or make the room uncomfortable for other people.
Be kind to each other.
Be kind to the venue staff.
Read the room.
We’re here to have fun, make friends, and keep it safe.
No need to perform. Cheering counts too.

When and where
🗓️ Date: Sunday, June 7th, 2026
🕒 Time: 7:45 PM - 10:45 PM
📍 Location: Fionn MacCool’s
1601 Main Street, Vancouver, BC V6A 2W5

Cap 20 + waitlist
Big enough for good karaoke energy, small enough that people can still find the group.

Small note
This is Mary’s hosted Curiosity Club karaoke night, so come with the right spirit: friendly, low-pressure, and game for a fun Sunday.
You’re welcome whether you sing one song, five songs, or none.

🧘📓 Contemplative Meditation + Journaling Circle

Short summary
Most evenings get eaten alive by noise.
This one is for slowing down enough that your attention comes back online.
We’ll begin with a few opening comments, move into a short reading, sit together in contemplative meditation, do a pass-the-stick round while the room is still quiet, journal while the mind is still settled enough to tell the truth, and then open the room for discussion.
This is one full session from 6:00 to 8:00 PM. Not two shorter drop-ins.
This is also not guided meditation narration. No “imagine a beach.”
Contemplative meditation is simpler and harder than that: a short reading, a quiet sit, and the work of actually paying attention.
No experience needed. But please come on time. This works much better when the room starts together.

How the session will go
We’ll start right at 6:00 PM.

• 6:00-6:10 opening comments
• 6:10-6:20 the reading
• 6:20-6:45 meditation
• 6:45-7:10 pass the stick
• 7:10-7:35 journaling
• 7:35-8:00 discussion

During pass the stick, sharing stays brief and intentional. Nobody has to perform.
Important note about being late
Because the room settles early, late arrivals can throw it off for everyone.
If you think you’ll be late, better to come to the next one and start with the room from the beginning.
Bring

• Notebook + pen
• Optional: water or tea
• Optional: sweater / cushion / anything that helps you sit comfortably

When and where
🗓️ Date: Tuesday
🕒 Time: 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
📍 Location: Central Library - Central Library - Meeting Rooms - room will be announced on day of

Cap 8 + waitlist
Small on purpose. Calm is better than crowded.

RSVP note
If you RSVP and then can’t make it, please cancel so someone else can take the seat.
If you want, I can also make this sharper and more clickable in the title while keeping the body basically the same.

Looking for a fun and welcoming way to spend your Wednesday evening?

Join us for Cozy Karaoke, a community-focused karaoke night where the goal isn't to impress anyone, it's to have fun, share music, and connect with great people.

Come solo or bring friends. Many attendees come on their own and leave having met new people.

Whether you love singing, cheering others on, or simply enjoying the atmosphere, you're welcome here.

Location: Crystal Sports Bar & Grill
Time: 6:00 PM

No expertise required. Just bring your favourite songs and an open mind.