Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Social Media Is the New Smoking

theroamingmind.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

101–110 of 222 posts

Re: Social Media Is the New Smoking

#101

Post by strken »

irrational wrote: post #83
Nightshaxx wrote: post #72

I think that the basic idea of the article is frighteningly true; social media is becoming that thing I use when I feel sick, bored, or just want to escape reality. The problem is smoking feels the same wiether 1 person is doing it or 1 million people do it; social media only really works when everyone you know does it. This makes it even scarier when you realize this will make it exponentially harder for we as a soc…

I get so many invitations to join Linkedin as well as questions about why I'm not on Facebook or other social media platforms that it drives me nuts. Why am I considered strange for not participating? It's like tattoos. Everyone where I live has multiple tattoos and I'm considered a freak because I don't have any. Maybe I just want to be a special butterfly.

It's a question of social norms. Most people I know use Facebook as a messenger and event calendar tool but ignore the dopamine-hacking feed, and most people I know use LinkedIn as a rolodex and recruitment tool but ignore the... whatever else LinkedIn does.

From the perspective of someone who uses Facebook almost entirely to organise weekend drinks and birthday parties, refusing to use Facebook is like refusing to read a pdf or respond to text messages, because it forces your friends to use other tools to stay in touch with you, just to solve a problem they don't have.

YMMV of course.

Re: Social Media Is the New Smoking

#102

Post by habosa »

I think the analogy is true, but in a much more serious way. Smoking is the defining health issue of the previous generation. Everyone did it, and nobody knew (or wanted to admit) that it was slowly killing them. The companies knew, but there was too much money at stake.

I think social media addiction and general internet addiction is destroying the mental health of millions of people around the developed world and nobody is doing much about it. Just as we look back now and go "oh my god they used to smoke in restaurants!" our children may say "holy crap look at this picture of my parents on the phone while they walk!". It's all-consuming.

Re: Social Media Is the New Smoking

#103

Post by brandon272 »

dawhizkid wrote: post #9

I'm so, so glad I grew up in a world without social media (with the exception of maybe Myspace blowing up when I was in HS). I can't imagine that growing up with an iPhone and access to FB/IG/Snap from elementary school onward is a healthy experience for kids from a mental health/social anxiety POV. I guess only time will tell. I'd also imagine being a teacher these days would suck because of phones. I don't know how…

I'm probably around your age but I remember being a kid and always fantasizing about having some kind of "personal technology" like a phone or device you could take anywhere with you. For the longest time the computer I used was owned by my entire family and was in a common room in our house. I didn't buy my own computer, a laptop, until I was an adult. I didn't have any cell phone until I bought my own as an adult.

But now every 10 year old has their own smartphone, and they are dialed into Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and the internet-at-large 24 hours a day, and while there are obvious benefits in terms of convenience, there is also an "ick" factor to it for me.

Re: Social Media Is the New Smoking

#104

Post by ido »

ghurtado wrote: post #93
Nightshaxx wrote: post #72

I think that the basic idea of the article is frighteningly true; social media is becoming that thing I use when I feel sick, bored, or just want to escape reality. The problem is smoking feels the same wiether 1 person is doing it or 1 million people do it; social media only really works when everyone you know does it. This makes it even scarier when you realize this will make it exponentially harder for we as a soc…

> The problem is smoking feels the same wiether 1 person is doing it or 1 million people do it Smoking also requires millions of people doing it to work. You need enough consumers so that the manufacture of cigarettes is viable, and both acquiring the habit and continuing it are highly dependent on the number of smokers that you surround yourself with. It would be very difficult to be the only smoker in a large enoug…

Smoking regularly is also terrible for your health, which i think is the main reason it's become so maligned. Despite all the supposed harm social media is not nearly as damaging.

Re: Social Media Is the New Smoking

#105

Post by FooHentai »

WheelsAtLarge wrote: post #13

If Social Media Is the New Smoking then I'm smoking 12 packs a day. HELP! Seriously,there is truth in this statement. People are sinking into their phones and computers and we all think it's amusing. Living peacefully in a society is hard enough when we have to learn to deal with one another. What will happen when we lack those abilities because all we need to do is interact with our technology? Red lights need to be…

>What will happen when we lack those abilities because all we need to do is interact with our technology? Red lights need to be popping up all over the place.

It might not be entirely tinfoil to believe it would lead, in to the words of O'Brien, to this: "If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face — forever."

The vision put forward in 1984 was fundamentally enabled by a breakdown/loss of empathy, and that's our main ability that's gonna be lost if society develops in the way you've suggested.

Re: Social Media Is the New Smoking

#107

Post by toomanybeersies »

mrisoli wrote: post #39

> Will browsing your phone anticipating the next notification become a dirty habit that others will shun you for? It is already frowned upon in some social circles, occasional browsing is okay but some people can go completely off reality when going through their Facebook feed, I have some friends like this(very introverted), when we met at a bar or restaurant we would make a "phones on the table" rule, first to reac…

I'm always having to tell people to put their phones away. I purposely have a really cheap phone, because I don't want to sit on my phone and use social media all day.

Sometimes I'll be sitting in a group with a few friends, and I'll be the only one not looking at my phone. I have to tell them to stop trying to socialise with people hundreds of miles away, when there's people right here.

As for travel, I've never bothered taking photos of landmarks, everyone has seen pictures of them before, probably better pictures than I can take.

Re: Social Media Is the New Smoking

#108

Post by toomanybeersies »

thesuitonym wrote: post #56

I don't know about you, but I don't find that I'm missing out on anything by pulling my phone out when I'm waiting for my car to warm up. I don't think I'm wasting time because when I start getting bored with a movie that I'm watching, I pull out my phone and check my messages. I don't miss the ten minutes of watching the news before leaving for work that has been replaced with ten minutes of Facebook. Maybe reading…

You're missing having mental quiet time by always being attached to your phone. Take a minute or two to contemplate what's around you while you wait for your car to warm up.

Re: Social Media Is the New Smoking

#109

Post by kerkeslager »

thesuitonym wrote: post #56

I don't know about you, but I don't find that I'm missing out on anything by pulling my phone out when I'm waiting for my car to warm up. I don't think I'm wasting time because when I start getting bored with a movie that I'm watching, I pull out my phone and check my messages. I don't miss the ten minutes of watching the news before leaving for work that has been replaced with ten minutes of Facebook. Maybe reading…

I find that when my social media usage is under control, the short down times which aren't long enough to engage in something are spent just being me, in my own head. It's rarely a transcendental experience, but I usually feel more relaxed afterwards, and occasionally I have insights on what's going on in my internal life or observations of my surroundings. Each of these moments is inconsequential, but the cumulative effect of all these moments over weeks is huge. I notice the rich life full of people and experiences that I have. I am more focused and creative. I notice problems sooner and address them. I'm more attuned with my own goals and less swayed by manufactured desires or social pressures.

My control over my social media engagement ebbs and flows. I haven't achieved nirvana. But I've at least disengaged long enough and enough times that I can see the value in the time you are talking about.

Re: Social Media Is the New Smoking

#110

Post by bogomipz »

>"After watching a man almost wander into the street while browsing his phone, my wandered a bit; will social media become the new smoking?"

The opening sentence is about not paying attention and yet it contains two glaring errors, spelling and grammatical.

Did this individual really not even bother to proof read their opening sentence? Maybe the author might be better asking "is blogging the new fast food?"

Post reply on HN