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Really? Besides "feeling good" (I assume?), I would be hard pressed to think of a single beneficial thing about cigarette. Facebook certainly has more productiv

Really? Besides "feeling good" (I assume?), I would be hard pressed to think of a single beneficial thing about cigarette. Facebook certainly has more productive uses than just making you feel good... the question is whether they're worth the downsides.

save_ferris 8y ago
What benefit does Facebook provide that no other service can? When I break down the specific features of the FB platform, I'd be hard pressed to think of a single beneficial thing about FB.
- tintor 8y ago
  Network effect. Lots of people still use it.
  - akiselev 8y ago
    > Network effect. Lots of people still use it. Cigarettes are legal pretty much everywhere and easily found at any corner store. Network effect.
    - raverbashing 8y ago
      That's not the definition of network effect
    - mantas 8y ago
      The real network effect is all the chit-chat while smoking and making connections when somebody asks for a some/fire.
- collyw 8y ago
  Its a contact list. And it doesn't go out of date in the same way that phone numbers or email addresses can.
  - deleted 8y ago
    [deleted]
  - daveFNbuck 8y ago
    Lots of people stop using Facebook in exactly the same way that they stop using old e-mail providers.
skookumchuck 8y ago
> a single beneficial thing about cigarette It calms the nerves. (I'm not a smoker.)
saurik 8y ago
The smokers in my life all would go to the mat for how valuable smoking supposedly is to their lives; one person even goes so far as to think people who aren't constantly using nicotine are fundamentally misunderstanding what it means to be human. I take it you are not a smoker?
waterhouse 8y ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicotine#Uses https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicotine#Uses "Enhancing performance: Nicotine is frequently used for its performance-enhancing effects on cognition, alertness, and focus.[38] A meta-analysis of 41 double-blind, placebo-controlled studies concluded that nicotine or smoking had significant positive effects on aspects of fine motor abilities, alerting and orienting attention, and episodic and working memory.[39] A 2015 review noted that stimulation of the α4β2 nicotinic receptor is responsible for certain improvements in attentional performance;[40] ..." Not that this is how most people use it (esp. because those who do smoke are likely not allowed to do so inside an office building, meaning they couldn't be e.g. programming at their multi-monitor desk while doing it; seems the half-life of nicotine in the body is 1-2 hours, so perhaps it could be net-beneficial to go outside briefly); nor that it couldn't be done via skin patches or other delivery mechanisms.
- sebleon 8y ago
  Very interesting - the few times I've had a cigarette, I've definitely noticed a sense of clarity in thinking and alertness. For non-smokers, showers seem to be one of the rare times where one is left alone with ones thoughts to explore, while cigarette smokers may experience this with every smoking break.
  - gaius 8y ago
    Yes, I’ve never smoked cigarettes but I’ve always envied the way smokers could always just take a few minutes to gather their thoughts whenever they wanted. And smoking as a social activity cuts out all class and other boundaries.
- str33t_punk 8y ago
  This guy has it. I used to vape around the equivalent of a pack a day. It helped me with my adhd. I ended up stopping when I learned that getting up and going to vape in the bathroom constantly was becoming an even greater distraction than my own mind.
- mirimir 8y ago
  Yeah, I've used gum and patches at times, for just this reason.
krn 8y ago
> I would be hard pressed to think of a single beneficial thing about cigarette. Facebook certainly has more productive uses than just making you feel good... When I ask young people why they smoke, the most popular answer is: "I wouldn't have met so many people, if I didn't". When I ask them why they are still on Facebook, I get the same answer.
collyw 8y ago
I have noticed the smokers always seem to make more connections at work than me, even though I consider myself more extroverted than some of my smoking colleagues.
- adiusmus 8y ago
  Nicotine temporarily lowers the effects of some forms of anxiety. Socialising can be scary for people.
- stevewillows 8y ago
  When I was a smoker I found that the smoke pit was the only area in the company where senior leadership and new, low-level hires would openly converse without the typical formalities. This often lead to people being pulled into projects they wouldn't typically have access to. For me, I often received extremely valuable input from folks in other departments for the projects I was working on -- typically people in production had the most innovative ideas compared to that department's leadership.
mirimir 8y ago
Weight loss. I gained 15 kg within two years after quitting. With no change in physical activity. I did eat more, of course. Because tobacco suppresses hunger. But eventually I learned to love exercise.
adiusmus 8y ago
Plenty of good things about nicotine : - weight management (appetite suppressant) [1] - clarifies certain kinds of decision making - heightens alertness - improves attention for those with schizophrenia [2] Smoking cigarettes on the other hand is... less than optimal. [1] https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/brain-pathway-links-nicotine-weight-loss https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/brain-p... [2] http://schizophrenia.com/nicotine.benefits.htm http://schizophrenia.com/nicotine.benefits.htm
gnulinux 8y ago
I smoked for about 1 year in my life between mid-junior, mid-senior high school. I haven't touched them since then (it's been like 5 years). Smoking was the single most social thing I've ever done. I REALLY do not understand how it works, it might be some primate brain mumbo-jumbo but cigarettes are somehow very good social lubricants like alcohol, maybe even better than alcohol depending on culture. This is not US. When I moved to US (the Bay Area) I saw that literally nobody smokes here so I never had the desire to smoke. Luckily, stopping smoking was extremely easy for me: one day I just stopped smoking and never once thought about it. If you smoke for years, there is no doubt it'll cause physical dependence, it's documented with dozens of peer reviewed research. But until that dependence is developed, smoking is nothing but a social activity (and tiny bit of physical pleasure). I gained more friends this way than any other thing I ever tried socializing (and I'm pretty ok socially) DISCLAIMER: This comment does not encourage smoking, smoking is a nasty, disgusting and infinitely dangerous activity. You smell like street dog all the time and you cough like you have lung cancer. There are better ways of finding sexual mates or friends.

save_ferris 8y ago

What benefit does Facebook provide that no other service can? When I break down the specific features of the FB platform, I'd be hard pressed to think of a single beneficial thing about FB.

tintor 8y ago
Network effect. Lots of people still use it.
- akiselev 8y ago
  > Network effect. Lots of people still use it. Cigarettes are legal pretty much everywhere and easily found at any corner store. Network effect.
  - raverbashing 8y ago
    That's not the definition of network effect
  - mantas 8y ago
    The real network effect is all the chit-chat while smoking and making connections when somebody asks for a some/fire.
collyw 8y ago
Its a contact list. And it doesn't go out of date in the same way that phone numbers or email addresses can.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
- daveFNbuck 8y ago
  Lots of people stop using Facebook in exactly the same way that they stop using old e-mail providers.

skookumchuck 8y ago

> a single beneficial thing about cigarette It calms the nerves. (I'm not a smoker.)

saurik 8y ago

The smokers in my life all would go to the mat for how valuable smoking supposedly is to their lives; one person even goes so far as to think people who aren't constantly using nicotine are fundamentally misunderstanding what it means to be human. I take it you are not a smoker?

waterhouse 8y ago

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicotine#Uses https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicotine#Uses "Enhancing performance: Nicotine is frequently used for its performance-enhancing effects on cognition, alertness, and focus.[38] A meta-analysis of 41 double-blind, placebo-controlled studies concluded that nicotine or smoking had significant positive effects on aspects of fine motor abilities, alerting and orienting attention, and episodic and working memory.[39] A 2015 review noted that stimulation of the α4β2 nicotinic receptor is responsible for certain improvements in attentional performance;[40] ..." Not that this is how most people use it (esp. because those who do smoke are likely not allowed to do so inside an office building, meaning they couldn't be e.g. programming at their multi-monitor desk while doing it; seems the half-life of nicotine in the body is 1-2 hours, so perhaps it could be net-beneficial to go outside briefly); nor that it couldn't be done via skin patches or other delivery mechanisms.

sebleon 8y ago
Very interesting - the few times I've had a cigarette, I've definitely noticed a sense of clarity in thinking and alertness. For non-smokers, showers seem to be one of the rare times where one is left alone with ones thoughts to explore, while cigarette smokers may experience this with every smoking break.
- gaius 8y ago
  Yes, I’ve never smoked cigarettes but I’ve always envied the way smokers could always just take a few minutes to gather their thoughts whenever they wanted. And smoking as a social activity cuts out all class and other boundaries.
str33t_punk 8y ago
This guy has it. I used to vape around the equivalent of a pack a day. It helped me with my adhd. I ended up stopping when I learned that getting up and going to vape in the bathroom constantly was becoming an even greater distraction than my own mind.
mirimir 8y ago
Yeah, I've used gum and patches at times, for just this reason.

krn 8y ago

> I would be hard pressed to think of a single beneficial thing about cigarette. Facebook certainly has more productive uses than just making you feel good... When I ask young people why they smoke, the most popular answer is: "I wouldn't have met so many people, if I didn't". When I ask them why they are still on Facebook, I get the same answer.

collyw 8y ago

I have noticed the smokers always seem to make more connections at work than me, even though I consider myself more extroverted than some of my smoking colleagues.

adiusmus 8y ago
Nicotine temporarily lowers the effects of some forms of anxiety. Socialising can be scary for people.
stevewillows 8y ago
When I was a smoker I found that the smoke pit was the only area in the company where senior leadership and new, low-level hires would openly converse without the typical formalities. This often lead to people being pulled into projects they wouldn't typically have access to. For me, I often received extremely valuable input from folks in other departments for the projects I was working on -- typically people in production had the most innovative ideas compared to that department's leadership.

mirimir 8y ago

Weight loss. I gained 15 kg within two years after quitting. With no change in physical activity. I did eat more, of course. Because tobacco suppresses hunger. But eventually I learned to love exercise.

adiusmus 8y ago

Plenty of good things about nicotine : - weight management (appetite suppressant) [1] - clarifies certain kinds of decision making - heightens alertness - improves attention for those with schizophrenia [2] Smoking cigarettes on the other hand is... less than optimal. [1] https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/brain-pathway-links-nicotine-weight-loss https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/brain-p... [2] http://schizophrenia.com/nicotine.benefits.htm http://schizophrenia.com/nicotine.benefits.htm

gnulinux 8y ago

I smoked for about 1 year in my life between mid-junior, mid-senior high school. I haven't touched them since then (it's been like 5 years). Smoking was the single most social thing I've ever done. I REALLY do not understand how it works, it might be some primate brain mumbo-jumbo but cigarettes are somehow very good social lubricants like alcohol, maybe even better than alcohol depending on culture. This is not US. When I moved to US (the Bay Area) I saw that literally nobody smokes here so I never had the desire to smoke. Luckily, stopping smoking was extremely easy for me: one day I just stopped smoking and never once thought about it. If you smoke for years, there is no doubt it'll cause physical dependence, it's documented with dozens of peer reviewed research. But until that dependence is developed, smoking is nothing but a social activity (and tiny bit of physical pleasure). I gained more friends this way than any other thing I ever tried socializing (and I'm pretty ok socially) DISCLAIMER: This comment does not encourage smoking, smoking is a nasty, disgusting and infinitely dangerous activity. You smell like street dog all the time and you cough like you have lung cancer. There are better ways of finding sexual mates or friends.