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Decline in teen drug use continues, surprising experts

arstechnica.com

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Re: Decline in teen drug use continues, surprising experts

#231

Post by lxgr »

jart wrote: post #48
vouaobrasil wrote: post #6

I wonder if the new drug of choice is actually technology. In some ways I think that the addiction to technology has some similar mellowing effects as drugs. Some research indicates that smartphone addiction is also related to low self-esteem and avoidant attachment [1] and that smartphones can become an object of attachment [2]. The replacement of drugs by technology is not surprising as it significantly strengthens…

If everyone is switching from drugs to social media, then that's progress. Twitter and Facebook won't harm your body. They're also free, so your habit will never make you poor and desperate. This kind of revolution in improving our health makes me proud to work in the tech industry. The worst that can happen is you'll feel sad if people bully you online, but that's the fault of people, not the technology. We can impr…

> Twitter and Facebook won't harm your body. They're also free

Only if you value your time at exactly zero.

> The worst that can happen is you'll feel sad if people bully you online, but that's the fault of people, not the technology.

By that logic it’s also your body’s fault to react poorly to drugs, not the drugs’.

Thinking of it in terms of “fault” is also not very productive. I’d say it’s definitely a (possible) negative consequence of social media usage that might otherwise not have happened, and as such worth studying.

Re: Decline in teen drug use continues, surprising experts

#232

Post by saxonww »

nyc_data_geek1 wrote: post #121
twiceaday wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sounds like Brain Dances (BDs) from Cyberpunk 2077.

Yes, which originally came from Cyberpunk, the first sourcebook for which was released in 1988, with Cyberpunk 2020 releasing in 1990 complete with the idea for pre-recorded replayable memories/full sensory experience, ie:Braindance. Strange Days was released in 1995. Maximum Mike was, and is, a prophet right alongside Gibson. edit: Although almost certainly this wasn't the first place people imagined being able to r…

Made me think of Total Recall, which was adapted from "We Can Remember It For You Wholesale," looks like from 1966.

Re: Decline in teen drug use continues, surprising experts

#233

Post by d_tr »

jart wrote: post #48
vouaobrasil wrote: post #6

I wonder if the new drug of choice is actually technology. In some ways I think that the addiction to technology has some similar mellowing effects as drugs. Some research indicates that smartphone addiction is also related to low self-esteem and avoidant attachment [1] and that smartphones can become an object of attachment [2]. The replacement of drugs by technology is not surprising as it significantly strengthens…

If everyone is switching from drugs to social media, then that's progress. Twitter and Facebook won't harm your body. They're also free, so your habit will never make you poor and desperate. This kind of revolution in improving our health makes me proud to work in the tech industry. The worst that can happen is you'll feel sad if people bully you online, but that's the fault of people, not the technology. We can impr…

> This kind of revolution in improving our health makes me proud to work in the tech industry.

I can say with some amount of confidence that the number of people wasting their talent and life in making up bullshit engagement algorithms, who thought about it as a way of getting people away from drugs, has been exactly zero. So, it is definitely not something to be proud of, but maybe something to think of as a funny coincidence, provided that the premise actually holds.

> The worst that can happen is ...

That you'll remain or become an idiot, or suffer physically and mentally as a result of being inactive while consuming the garbage your proud tech workers shove down your head.

Re: Decline in teen drug use continues, surprising experts

#234

Post by athrowaway3z »

vouaobrasil wrote: post #6

I wonder if the new drug of choice is actually technology. In some ways I think that the addiction to technology has some similar mellowing effects as drugs. Some research indicates that smartphone addiction is also related to low self-esteem and avoidant attachment [1] and that smartphones can become an object of attachment [2]. The replacement of drugs by technology is not surprising as it significantly strengthens…

It does replace a demand of people who want to mellow out.

The same tech completely disrupts how drug-use spreads as well. There is nobody to offer a first hit if you're hanging out online.

---

Though I would caution taking tech as _the_ cause. Things like demographics and the general zeitgeist shouldn't be ignored.

Maybe the kids are really into DARE.

Re: Decline in teen drug use continues, surprising experts

#235

Post by melagonster »

rurp wrote: post #75
jart wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If everyone is switching from drugs to social media, then that's progress. Twitter and Facebook won't harm your body. They're also free, so your habit will never make you poor and desperate. This kind of revolution in improving our health makes me proud to work in the tech industry. The worst that can happen is you'll feel sad if people bully you online, but that's the fault of people, not the technology. We can impr…

I strongly disagree with this. Social media companies are incredibly valuable specifically because they are effective at getting people to spend their money on things they otherwise wouldn't have. Depression, suicide, and other serious mental health disorders are strongly linked with social media use. Is that better than more kids drinking and smoking pot? I don't know, it's complicated. It's certainly not clearly be…

Hello, depending on data from the CDC, we have:

>Number of alcohol-induced deaths, excluding accidents and homicides: 51,191 Alcohol-induced deaths, excluding accidents and homicides per 100,000 population: 15.4

>All suicides Number of deaths: 49,476 Deaths per 100,000 population: 14.8

Apparently, not all suicides are caused by social media, and accidents may be more important here. I just want to offer some data that can be easily fetched.

Re: Decline in teen drug use continues, surprising experts

#237

Post by bowsamic »

nemo44x wrote: post #129

Isn’t this good? We’ve literally told teenagers to not use drugs or have sex for decades and it’s obviously working. The consequences are far higher today or at least more well understood and the messaging is getting through. We’ve trained younger generations to be extremely risk adverse and they’ve listened. I line they’re probably dangerously exposed to other risks that we don’t have generational knowledge of yet.

Yeah I think it’s just this. We learnt that alcohol is actually really bad for you in many ways, and we taught our children, and they listened. I think it’s pretty funny that our instinct is somehow to be slightly horrified that they stopped drinking or using drugs. I guess they can’t do anything right

Re: Decline in teen drug use continues, surprising experts

#238

Post by mindcrime »

Klonoar wrote: post #106
vouaobrasil wrote: post #6

I wonder if the new drug of choice is actually technology. In some ways I think that the addiction to technology has some similar mellowing effects as drugs. Some research indicates that smartphone addiction is also related to low self-esteem and avoidant attachment [1] and that smartphones can become an object of attachment [2]. The replacement of drugs by technology is not surprising as it significantly strengthens…

It is somewhat amusing that Leary had a period of saying that computers were the new drugs (“PC is the new LSD” or something)

"Turn on, boot up, jack in" ~~ Timothy Leary

Re: Decline in teen drug use continues, surprising experts

#240

Post by Mistletoe »

genezeta wrote: post #76
achairapart wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Suddenly I remember this movie from the 90s where people drugged themself with some kind of minidisc. “Strange Days”, maybe? Anyhow, I always found the plot weird, but maybe they actually were onto something…

The discs had -in the movie- the memories of another person, and you would experience that memory and sensations as if you were living it. So, e.g. someone would record themselves doing something risky and you would get the adrenaline rush from watching it. So... Maybe in some way one could argue that social media gives some sort of connection were you get some feelings from what others are doing/showing. I mean, tec…

This is exactly the parasocial way my girlfriend's niece and friends experience life. No relationships of their own, it is all celebrities and their lives, ingested on their phones. I don't have the heart to tell them that 95% of it is stuff created by PR firms.
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