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Labeling social media as harmful would provide a vital, helpful nudge • Kansas Reflector
(kansasreflector.com)
this post was submitted on 28 Jun 2024
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In all honesty, I knew cigarettes were bad for me when I was a teenage smoker. I didn’t care, because I thought the repercussions were so far away that there was no way to know what would happen. Similarly, I’m sure many users think they’re immune to the deception of social media.
Cigarette companies began adding trace toxins, like formaldehyde, cyanide, benzene, and cadmium to compound the addictive properties of nicotine. They enhance the feelings of withdrawal from even just one cigarette.
The addictive design of social media algorithms, fueled by psychographic profiling, is very similar. The software monitors every bit of input available, from the obvious likes, comments, subscribes, searches, and shares, to the dubious pausing videos, scrolling hesitations, zooming, screenshots, and downloads. On less secure devices, microphone and camera activation can occur, mouse or finger placement may be monitored, as well as contacts and message scrubbing.
I think your comparison is more accurate than most people understand. The US tobacco industry is worth $108B as of 2024. The US ad industry is $262B. They’re far more powerful and far less regulated.
I was the same way when I started smoking in high school in the 90s. "I'll be fine if I quit before I'm 30." We were under no illusions. We called them death sticks like plenty of other people who smoked. My wife used to say "glad I'm not pregnant" when she saw the pregnancy warning. Thankfully, we both quit many years ago and have not apparently suffered any long-term repercussions, but who knows in 20 or 30 years?
And that was something we knew killed lots of people.
Cancer sticks here. I also quit over ten years ago. I’m grateful I haven’t experienced any long-term repercussions.
I highly recommend these documentaries on social media psychographics, and their influence on the 2016 US election and the Brexit vote if you haven’t seen them. They’re both very accessible, and the information is coming directly from the experts who created this software and have since left the field.
The Social Dilemma
https://www.netflix.com/us/title/81254224
The Great Hack
https://www.netflix.com/us/title/80117542