Our current society, in particular with its shift away from local communities towards the nuclear family dynamic (which treats children closer to property of parents than as fully realized individuals), has taken away a lot of agency from children. There's a child liberation movement that seeks to return a lot of that agency and my partner and I try our best to follow it. I'm strongly against age gates. It is nothing less than segregation of an oppressed minority.
One aspect of today's anti-child society has been defaulting locations to adult only and carving out only specific areas where children (and thus, adults looking after children) are allowed to exist. I can personally attest to having felt that pressure in public areas for having a kid behaving like a kid as if that were some unacceptable grievance towards those around us. There's a video essay I really like talking about Why does everyone hate children? and it contrasts that with Ireland, where kids are accepted even in places like pubs.
That stigmatization against children has infected a lot of digital spaces online as well. Dr. Devon Price has a series of articles on the child liberation movement, and one of them talks directly to this aspect of it: Interact with Minors. It discusses it's own journey as a minor on the internet and why it believes public and healthy interaction between minors and adults is beneficial. It's a very good read and I recommend it. I really like the point that without a reference point of appropriate interactions with adults, it is harder to recognize when an adult is being manipulative. I also liked this section from it's conclusion:
Devon Price
Thanks to the writing of child liberationists, I understand that a child screaming on the bus is not a sensory assault against me , but a disturbed, powerless little human trapped in a situation that has overwhelmed them. When a younger person doesn’t know how to complete a task or does something that makes me cringe, I try to remember this is their first time on the planet (and it’s mine, too). I know that I do not have a right to not be annoyed, and that freedom does not come from a lack of responsibility towards others . True freedom comes from no longer relying upon authority figures, and having a robust network of support.
In addition to the internet, screens themselves have historically been held from children, in a non-consensual form of the digital minimalism trend. Parents have been given strict instructions on not allowing any screentime until certain ages, even when organizations like the APA have already issued new recommendations that account for the reasonable uses of screens. This abstinence only approach makes parents feel guilty and deprives toddlers of resources ranging from video calls with their family to educational material literally designed for their age range.
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