What benefit does it do either party for under 16s to have direct interactions with random adults in their 30s/40s+?

For one example, if they're trans and find info about diy HRT younger than they would have otherwise and are spared years of irreversible changes and dysphoria.

Or, you know, just that they're people who should have a voice and ears and not be barred from the wider societal conversation from everything about TV shows to national politics to educational policies, that they should have a voice in, and are indeed pubescent and more mature than actual children at thinking.

To engage with other people, practicising their online interaction skills, as they're not going to suddenly be magically more able to resist disinformation and stuff at 16 because of a few months of brain development, the more important thing is practice and being exposed to online content.

Because teenagers often exclude, harass, and verbally abuse others in the same age group for no real reason. If you're a teen who often ends up on the receiving end of that, then interacting with older people may be the only way you can have a normal conversation. Talking to adults is a last defense against missing a stage of social development and developing depression and social phobia.

That doesn't mean that you are personally required to talk to teens, but cutting them off from adult society completely is cruel.

And it is possible for a teen and an adult to share an interest—baseball, or sewing, or entomology, or whatever. Some people like talking to others who are enthusiastic about the same subject, even if that person is young and "still learning". Some adults even enjoy teaching.

Yeah, it's a legitimately difficult situation trying to balance effective safety measures with the needs of teens and young adults to be able to participate in civil discourse. And I'll be the first to admit that I do not have a good answer for how to handle this.

Also I'm pretty new around here but so far my experience has been that Lemmy does not strike me as a welcoming place(period) so that likely goes double for anyone with an undercooked prefrontal cortex.

Communication only between minors has the disadvantage that there is a whole populations worth of years of experiences missing in their daily lives. A lot of this knowledge is aquired though cultural osmosis, which also means minors benefit from seeing, hearing and taking part in "grown-up" discussions.

As I said, i'd rather see some teens here than on Instagram or TikTok. People around here are a lot more willing to explain concepts or sincerely engage with someone than what i experienced on other platforms. There's a lot less cult of personality going on here, and moderation is leagues above what we can currently expect from commercial platforms. All in all, both the fediverse in terms of activity and teens would benefit if they met.