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In my experience, people that have been absorbed into the collective must decide for themselves to leave it. Some may not have the will power or desire to do s

In my experience, people that have been absorbed into the collective must decide for themselves to leave it. Some may not have the will power or desire to do so and some may be oblivious to the effects it has on them. In my opinion, this is nearly identical to seeing friends hooked on powerful drugs. I can't tell them it's hurting them. They have to experience enough negative effects to reach out for help themselves. Some choose to ignore many of the harmful effects. Usually a significant amount of damage has occurred by the time they accept something is wrong.

Lionsion 9y ago
> They have to experience enough negative effects to reach out for help themselves. I think, when it comes to social media, the harmful effects are much more subtle and harder to identify and articulate than those for addictive drugs. There's a benefit in pointing out and elucidating them, as well and the mechanisms by which they operate. For instance, until someone told me, I didn't realize the Facebook app works just like a slot machine, except it dispenses small amounts of social affirmation and novelty rather than small amounts of money. I just hadn't made the connection.
- LinuxBender 9y ago
  In principal, I completely agree with you. I have just found the effort futile. This could be the circle of friends I have are just drawn to this. I see it as a dystopian story unfolding in real time. Then again, I saw the FB campus as highly dystopian and couple of my friends understood why.
  - Lionsion 9y ago
    > In principal, I completely agree with you. I have just found the effort futile. This could be the circle of friends I have are just drawn to this. Yeah, I think it's more of a marathon than a sprint. Right now, I'm satisfied if someone's engagement is knocked down a level (e.g. heavy to moderate, moderate to light, light to none, none to deleted).

Lionsion 9y ago

> They have to experience enough negative effects to reach out for help themselves. I think, when it comes to social media, the harmful effects are much more subtle and harder to identify and articulate than those for addictive drugs. There's a benefit in pointing out and elucidating them, as well and the mechanisms by which they operate. For instance, until someone told me, I didn't realize the Facebook app works just like a slot machine, except it dispenses small amounts of social affirmation and novelty rather than small amounts of money. I just hadn't made the connection.

LinuxBender 9y ago
In principal, I completely agree with you. I have just found the effort futile. This could be the circle of friends I have are just drawn to this. I see it as a dystopian story unfolding in real time. Then again, I saw the FB campus as highly dystopian and couple of my friends understood why.
- Lionsion 9y ago
  > In principal, I completely agree with you. I have just found the effort futile. This could be the circle of friends I have are just drawn to this. Yeah, I think it's more of a marathon than a sprint. Right now, I'm satisfied if someone's engagement is knocked down a level (e.g. heavy to moderate, moderate to light, light to none, none to deleted).