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TikTok settles just before social media addiction trial to begin

bbc.com

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Re: TikTok settles just before social media addiction trial to begin

#51

Post by AppleBananaPie »

SunshineTheCat wrote: post #21

I 100% agree with the premise that TikTok is addictive and even dangerous to consume in large amounts (that's why I don't consume it at all). But I feel the exact same about cheeseburgers. Should I be able to sue McDonalds if I let my kid eat 100 of them in one sitting? Again, I get the danger here, and I don't like TikTok as a whole. I just don't really know where the line is between something that the parent is all…

My personal vice is junk food. I wish they banned junk food. I'm not sure how the law would work but it would be objectively better for me as a human if they did.

(This is completely disregarding how practical such a ban would be)

Re: TikTok settles just before social media addiction trial to begin

#53

Post by Mordisquitos »

jader201 wrote: post #45
SunshineTheCat wrote: post #21

I 100% agree with the premise that TikTok is addictive and even dangerous to consume in large amounts (that's why I don't consume it at all). But I feel the exact same about cheeseburgers. Should I be able to sue McDonalds if I let my kid eat 100 of them in one sitting? Again, I get the danger here, and I don't like TikTok as a whole. I just don't really know where the line is between something that the parent is all…

> But I feel the exact same about cheeseburgers. The problem with analogies to things like cheeseburgers, gambling, drugs, cigarettes, etc., is: 1. Availability -- you have to go somewhere to acquire/participate in these things* 2. Cost -- you have to have money to spend. That is, it's not something you can consume/participate in for free -- you have to have money to spend. * Gambling is theoretically freely availabl…

To your points I would add the following difference between TikTok on the one hand and cheeseburgers, drugs, cigarettes, etc. on the other.

3. Targeting -- even under the (debatable) premise that they are intentionally designed to be addictive, cheeseburgers, drugs and cigarettes do not actively target each addict by optimising their properties to their individual addiction.

If I am addicted to smoking, the tobacco industry does indeed try to keep me hooked, among other things by offering me many flavours and alternatives. However, the cigarettes I personally consume are not constantly adjusting their formula, appearance and packet design specifically to satisfy my tastes and desires.

Re: TikTok settles just before social media addiction trial to begin

#54

Post by SchemaLoad »

henryfjordan wrote: post #47
thinkingtoilet wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm trying to read this with the best of intentions, but you're saying you really can not tell the difference social media and a cheeseburger in terms of access, addiction, and damage?

Cheeseburgers are everywhere, are addictive to some, and eventually eating enough will kill you. Put another way: If McDonalds sees I eat 5 cheeseburgers a day, at what point do they have to stop serving me for my own health? Do they need to step in at all? If Facebook knows I'm scrolling 6 hours a day, at what point do they have to stop serving me?

Cheeseburgers are not everywhere. I'm sitting at my desk, social media is here but cheeseburgers are not. Social media is always with me other than in the shower. Cheeseburgers are not.

Re: TikTok settles just before social media addiction trial to begin

#55

Post by buellerbueller »

OGEnthusiast wrote: post #4

Why is TikTok always singled out in these social media addiction lawsuits? Instagram and YouTube are just as guilty, if not more so.

TikTok is not being singled out in this trial; the plaintiff is suing all the Socials; TikTok is merely the one to have settled most recently:

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/01/tiktok-settles-h...

Re: TikTok settles just before social media addiction trial to begin

#56

Post by DavidPiper »

SunshineTheCat wrote: post #21

I 100% agree with the premise that TikTok is addictive and even dangerous to consume in large amounts (that's why I don't consume it at all). But I feel the exact same about cheeseburgers. Should I be able to sue McDonalds if I let my kid eat 100 of them in one sitting? Again, I get the danger here, and I don't like TikTok as a whole. I just don't really know where the line is between something that the parent is all…

You're getting some mild heat in sibling comments here. Jonathan Haidt's book The Anxious Generation goes into a lot of detail on this exact point about parental responsibility.

There are others that touch on personal vs. societal responsibility too and the difficulties with parental/personal moderation and change (Stolen Focus by Johann Hari and Dopamine Nation by Anna Lembke off the top of my head).

There is an enormous amount of nuance that goes into answering your questions and addressing your assumptions that HN is probably not a great medium for, if you're serious about understanding the answers.

Re: TikTok settles just before social media addiction trial to begin

#57

Post by SchemaLoad »

jader201 wrote: post #19
publicdebates wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

TikTok's algorithm is significantly better and therefore more addictive. I'm speaking from personal experience, having spent about 12-14 hours a day on TikTok for probably 360 days during 2024. Getting banned from it was one of the best things that ever happened to me. Too bad it only happened in Jan 2025. Will never get that year back, or the mental health I lost from it. (I'm not going to sue, though I could defini…

> having spent about 12-14 hours a day on TikTok for probably 360 days during 2024 That's a mind blowing statistic, and I'm sure this is much more common than we think. This is why I hope we wake up and realize that social media is going to be the ruin of our society. I hope this trial is the beginning of the end of social media platforms that prey on addictive behaviors.

Sometimes when I notice friends drop off from attending things or talking in group chats, if it's because they have fallen in some pit of social media / internet addiction. I agree it's probably more common than we think because the people who have fallen in to this state are the least visible.

Re: TikTok settles just before social media addiction trial to begin

#58

Post by buellerbueller »

publicdebates wrote: post #11
OGEnthusiast wrote: post #4

Why is TikTok always singled out in these social media addiction lawsuits? Instagram and YouTube are just as guilty, if not more so.

TikTok's algorithm is significantly better and therefore more addictive. I'm speaking from personal experience, having spent about 12-14 hours a day on TikTok for probably 360 days during 2024. Getting banned from it was one of the best things that ever happened to me. Too bad it only happened in Jan 2025. Will never get that year back, or the mental health I lost from it. (I'm not going to sue, though I could defini…

Please, sue them. They are harming people, yourself included.

Re: TikTok settles just before social media addiction trial to begin

#59

Post by brailsafe »

zeroonetwothree wrote: post #26
SunshineTheCat wrote: post #21

I 100% agree with the premise that TikTok is addictive and even dangerous to consume in large amounts (that's why I don't consume it at all). But I feel the exact same about cheeseburgers. Should I be able to sue McDonalds if I let my kid eat 100 of them in one sitting? Again, I get the danger here, and I don't like TikTok as a whole. I just don't really know where the line is between something that the parent is all…

The evidence doesn’t seem to support your claim that cheeseburgers are as addicting as social media. Maybe if you had picked gambling or alcohol…

I have doubts most overconsumers of fast food are just getting burgers... like effectively nobody. Is it more likely that people damage themselves with cheeseburgers or the soda that comes with them?

I tried to eat as many cheeseburgers as I could in one sitting (I easily eat double the amount of food of others in one sitting normally), and tapped out at 10 or something, which is impractical and gross, there's a physical limit unless you have certain conditions

If you only go to fast food once a week or less with your kid as a treat, I feel like you could probably exclude soda and fries and tell them to get as many burgers as they want, but they have to eat them all, and it would be more of a lesson than anything lol

Re: TikTok settles just before social media addiction trial to begin

#60

Post by johnnyanmac »

Mordisquitos wrote: post #53
jader201 wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> But I feel the exact same about cheeseburgers. The problem with analogies to things like cheeseburgers, gambling, drugs, cigarettes, etc., is: 1. Availability -- you have to go somewhere to acquire/participate in these things* 2. Cost -- you have to have money to spend. That is, it's not something you can consume/participate in for free -- you have to have money to spend. * Gambling is theoretically freely availabl…

To your points I would add the following difference between TikTok on the one hand and cheeseburgers, drugs, cigarettes, etc. on the other. 3. Targeting -- even under the (debatable) premise that they are intentionally designed to be addictive, cheeseburgers, drugs and cigarettes do not actively target each addict by optimising their properties to their individual addiction. If I am addicted to smoking, the tobacco i…

Yes. Target the algorithms, not the method of delivery. Hacker news also counts as social media, but here we all are seeing the same feed on the same site with minimal (if not zero) tracking to try and extract info from the audience.

Even a first step of requiring transparency in the algorithms would quickly shatter this stronghold on people's minds.

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