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[rubik's dude]

Back before it was well known that smoking caused cancer, Big Tobacco companies swore that smoking was safe. Obviously they knew it wasn't safe, they had the data to prove it, but did everything they could to hide it.

In this day and age, it seems as if we're treading the same ground with social media and mental health. We have major companies like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, that swear social media has no negative impact on mental health, despite research and whistleblowing that shows the contrary.

I see parallels between the two. Smoking caused lung cancer, and excessive exposure to social media can be a cancer for the mind. In regards to smoking, regulations were put into place and any tobacco products had to be labeled with the Surgeon General's warning.

Is this a fair comparison? And if so, do you see social media eventually following the same path as the Big Tobacco companies, with regulations and warnings eventually being put into place, to inform people of the negative side effects of excessive social media exposure?

As an aside, I remember when I played Final Fantasy XI, which was originally released in 2002, that did something along those lines. Every time you logged in, you had to agree to a clause that essentially said the game was addicting and that you agree not to forget about your real life responsibilities:

 

[intbal]

Not the same at all.

Smoking can make you feel good.
Social media makes everybody hostile and crazy.

 

[BigBooper]

That similarity is...similar, but that's a pretty loose connection. Facebook is not physically addictive, so people can just stop if they want to.

Putting restrictions on how they can operate or what they can say when it's a strictly voluntary service is a bigger government overreach than we've done in a long time.

 

[rubik's dude]

Not the same at all.

Smoking can make you feel good.
Social media makes everybody hostile and crazy.

Good point.

 

[rubik's dude]

That similarity is...similar, but that's a pretty loose connection. Facebook is not physically addictive, so people can just stop if they want to.

Putting restrictions on how they can operate or what they can say when it's a strictly voluntary service is a bigger government overreach than we've done in a long time.

Good points, although I would say that social media can cause physical addictions as well. This article does a pretty good job of explaining why:

https://www.addictioncenter.com/drugs/social-media-addiction/

Excerpt: "Due to the effect that it has on the brain, social media is addictive both physically and psychologically. According to a new study by Harvard University, self-disclosure on social networking sites lights up the same part of the brain that also ignites when taking an addictive substance. The reward area in the brain and its chemical messenger pathways affect decisions and sensations. When someone experiences something rewarding or uses an addictive substance, neurons in the principal dopamine-producing areas in the brain are activated and dopamine levels rise. Therefore, the brain receives a “reward” and associates the drug or activity with positive reinforcement."

Although the same could be said for things like video games, which are designed to keep people hooked in a lot of the same ways. I remember when I went to college, one of my advisors for the Computer Science department, who loved video games and worked in the industry before academia, very bluntly said he knew they were designed to keep you hooked, like a hamster in a wheel.

I guess the main difference is the result of the excessive use. Video games on the one hand, have been linked to lower levels of depression when played in moderation. Social media on the other hand, shows increased levels of anxiety and depression:

https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/mental-health-benefits-of-video-games

 

[synchronicity]

Yeah, I'd lump tobacco, social media and the food industry (talking processed/fast foods) all together in a sort of poison soup. Bad physically, psychologically, emotionally, spiritually (if that resonates) on the individual and collective levels. I keep clear.

 

[BigBooper]

Good points, although I would say that social media can cause physical addictions as well. This article does a pretty good job of explaining why:

https://www.addictioncenter.com/drugs/social-media-addiction/

Excerpt: "Due to the effect that it has on the brain, social media is addictive both physically and psychologically. According to a new study by Harvard University, self-disclosure on social networking sites lights up the same part of the brain that also ignites when taking an addictive substance. The reward area in the brain and its chemical messenger pathways affect decisions and sensations. When someone experiences something rewarding or uses an addictive substance, neurons in the principal dopamine-producing areas in the brain are activated and dopamine levels rise. Therefore, the brain receives a “reward” and associates the drug or activity with positive reinforcement."

Although the same could be said for things like video games, which are designed to keep people hooked in a lot of the same ways. I remember when I went to college, one of my advisors for the Computer Science department, who loved video games and worked in the industry before academia, very bluntly said he knew they were designed to keep you hooked, like a hamster in a wheel.

I guess the main difference is the result of the excessive use. Video games on the one hand, have been linked to lower levels of depression when played in moderation. Social media on the other hand, shows increased levels of anxiety and depression:

https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/mental-health-benefits-of-video-games

I guess, but I'm not too comfortable with that definition of physical addiction. It means anything that causes chemical release in the brain could be called addictive, weakening the term altogether.

I'm not saying I would be against all regulations either. We've done it before, a long time ago. I'd just have to put more time and thought into whatever's proposed.

 

[Rat Rage]

Like with anything else, social media needs to be consumed in moderation, or else it will slowly kill you mentally. Be mindful of that and actively take the appropriate counter meassures: go see real people, seek real social interaction, even if it seems hard at first. Being social is like exercise - you just have to do it. Social media is like sugar and bad food. It tastes good, but it will destroy your body and make you weak.

 

[Cyberpunkd]

That similarity is...similar, but that's a pretty loose connection. Facebook is not physically addictive, so people can just stop if they want to.

Wrong. Everything that Facebook does, how it designs the platform, button placement, color choice, etc. is designed to get a dopamine release from you - a sense of happiness and content for interacting with the platform. Same with loot boxes - you get your confetti when you open them because it has been proven it stimulates engagement and attachment.

This is not different than tobacco companies asking: ‘what chemical mixture should we use to give you the maximum pleasure and at the same time always keep you coming back for more’.