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Is social media more like cigarettes or junk food?

newyorker.com

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Re: Is social media more like cigarettes or junk food?

#71

Post by superkuh »

smogcutter wrote: post #12
superkuh wrote: post #3

[flagged]

Junk food addiction (your word, not TFA’s) is also not in the DSM V, so appealing to authority like that or hanging on the word addiction gets you nowhere as far as whether the comparison to social media is interesting. For what it’s worth gambling addiction is in the DSM-V. What’s it’s direct route to biochemically alter the brain, like nicotine and food intake?

If you believe in "Junk food addiction" then you have the same problem. Trusting for-profit gurus and hip informal internet magazines instead of the available peer reviewed evidence.

Gambling addiction is not in the DSM-V, it's gambling disorder, and it's grandfathered in as the only behavioral disorder of it's kind.

Re: Is social media more like cigarettes or junk food?

#72

Post by froh »

mariusor wrote: post #66
pjerem wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ironically (pure) nicotine is not that bad for the health, it’s just really addictive so it have been added to cigarettes for just this. It can even have some good benefits if you are chronically stressed. I wonder if it could be an alternative to benzodiazepines for occasional use. I never took nicotine so I don’t know how quick the addiction would come. With benzodiazepines it’s a really hard addiction but not if y…

> so it have been added to cigarettes for just this Erm, isn't nicotine naturally produced by the tobacco leaves? What are you on about being "added"?

gp was imprecise, it's not added indeed.

what is done though is "smoking" tobacco with ammonia, smoking as in exposing to the fumes, which will "crack" the nicotine and makes it more kicking me more addictive.

Re: Is social media more like cigarettes or junk food?

#73

Post by froh »

addicted wrote: post #63

All of the above. Here are some key factors driving social media. The misincentives are obvious once you clearly see these. 1. It is fundamentally based on one of the strongest human impulses of community. 2. The economic model of social media is based on ads, which means they need to keep you on their platforms as long as possible. 3. They have vast troves of public, private, social and secret information on individ…

5. most of them allow to target arbitrary content including political disinformation based on 3., and including unhinged hate speech

Re: Is social media more like cigarettes or junk food?

#74

Post by pjerem »

mariusor wrote: post #66
pjerem wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ironically (pure) nicotine is not that bad for the health, it’s just really addictive so it have been added to cigarettes for just this. It can even have some good benefits if you are chronically stressed. I wonder if it could be an alternative to benzodiazepines for occasional use. I never took nicotine so I don’t know how quick the addiction would come. With benzodiazepines it’s a really hard addiction but not if y…

> so it have been added to cigarettes for just this Erm, isn't nicotine naturally produced by the tobacco leaves? What are you on about being "added"?

I didn't knew so yes, I was wrong, thank you !
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