I think people doubt the power and threat of social media (and online porn[0]) because of their physical properties: They are images on a screen - how much harm

I think people doubt the power and threat of social media (and online porn[0]) because of their physical properties: They are images on a screen - how much harm can such things do? They are not intravenous drugs. But what if social media, or some aspect of it, or online porn had the same cognitive, emotional, and/or physical effects on people as heroin? In fact, isn't that what online businesses spend so much on, and a generation of smart people work so hard on - addictive engagement? If someone developed engagement that powerful, do you think they'd stop themselves and say, 'this is too much'? My point is not that social media and online porn have the same effects as heroin; they do not. Whatever their effects, they are at least different. My point is that we shouldn't dismiss their danger based on our preconceptions about the medium by which their effects are delivered. [0] https://www.theverge.com/2017/12/11/16761016/former-facebook-exec-ripping-apart-society https://www.theverge.com/2017/12/11/16761016/former-facebook...