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> People are responsible for what they choose to consume. People are influenced by advertising. Especially those under the age of 25 such as yourself where the

> People are responsible for what they choose to consume. People are influenced by advertising. Especially those under the age of 25 such as yourself where the prefrontal cortex (the part of the brain that involved with decision making) is usually not completely developed yet. "People are responsible for what they choose to consume" only takes you so far when people's ability to decide what to consume is shaped by their peers, the advertising they see and ten million other factors in their life. I remember thinking the way you do... and then I grew up and realised people are infinitely more complex than I had given thought to.

Smithalicious 7y ago
Don't you see how extremely patronizing it is to say, essentially, "you can't make your own decisions, your brain isn't fully developed"? I get that this is occasionally necessary to say to actual kids, but it does not seem appropriate to say to anyone we deem capable enough to vote and drive a car.
- blub 7y ago
  Just because someone's capable of voting or driving a car it doesn't mean they're doing a good job at it - it's just that they're now past the bare minimum required to qualify. Anyway, the biggest problem here's not the brain, since adults get addicted just as well. The problem's that some truly evil people have created yet another addictive product, spent a lot of money to market it and now the poor sods using it are stuck with the ill health and addiction. And the rest of us have to pick up the pieces while the miserable bastards which invented this get rich. Oh how I hope they're thrown in a dungeon.
- __s 7y ago
  They even add on the old "I was like you, then I changed, so obviously you too may one day be so fortunate as to advance into being like me"
  - jackvalentine 7y ago
    It's true, shrug. I distinctly remember thinking "Why don't other people make the right decisions?". I'll admit including it is patronising and in itself immature. Maybe this is my "Why don't people realise that other people are complex beings?" moment and in another dozen years I'll be chiding my past self again!
- noah_boy 7y ago
  Patronizing or not, it's true. And it's better to admit that amongst ourselves so that we can protect adolescents as they're developing. Otherwise, you might end up with companies taking advantage of this fact and getting teenagers addicted to something pretty much everyone knows is terrible for you now, and those very same teenagers might start defending them, making cases for personal responsibility when they don't even have the proper brain parts to have any
- Throw_Away_5385 7y ago
  I think the last paragraph referred to people in general and not only to young people.
goatlover 7y ago
If people are infinitely more complex and there are ten million other factors in life, then how can the advertising be singled out?
- jackvalentine 7y ago
  https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2011/08/why-good-advertising-works-even-when-you-think-it-doesnt/244252/ https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2011/08/why-goo...
seattlebarley 7y ago
> people are infinitely more complex than I had given thought to Well, you must have been a particularly naive kid. The basic flow of attraction into addiction is not very hard to understand, especially when you're constantly warned about it. But the fact remains that nicotine is a satisfying nootropic that half of the world enjoys, and it doesn't have any proven effect on neurological development. Kids have been picking up smoking in high school for ages, and you're complaining that they're using a healthier alternative instead. You wanna stop kids from getting fucked up on substances? Why don't we take a closer look at prescription amphetamine or weed?
averros 7y ago
"People are influenced by advertising." OK, let's ban Google, Facebook, and Amazon. Because people are influenced by advertising, and advertising is all about goading people into buying stuff they otherwise wouldn't.

Smithalicious 7y ago

Don't you see how extremely patronizing it is to say, essentially, "you can't make your own decisions, your brain isn't fully developed"? I get that this is occasionally necessary to say to actual kids, but it does not seem appropriate to say to anyone we deem capable enough to vote and drive a car.

blub 7y ago
Just because someone's capable of voting or driving a car it doesn't mean they're doing a good job at it - it's just that they're now past the bare minimum required to qualify. Anyway, the biggest problem here's not the brain, since adults get addicted just as well. The problem's that some truly evil people have created yet another addictive product, spent a lot of money to market it and now the poor sods using it are stuck with the ill health and addiction. And the rest of us have to pick up the pieces while the miserable bastards which invented this get rich. Oh how I hope they're thrown in a dungeon.
__s 7y ago
They even add on the old "I was like you, then I changed, so obviously you too may one day be so fortunate as to advance into being like me"
- jackvalentine 7y ago
  It's true, shrug. I distinctly remember thinking "Why don't other people make the right decisions?". I'll admit including it is patronising and in itself immature. Maybe this is my "Why don't people realise that other people are complex beings?" moment and in another dozen years I'll be chiding my past self again!
noah_boy 7y ago
Patronizing or not, it's true. And it's better to admit that amongst ourselves so that we can protect adolescents as they're developing. Otherwise, you might end up with companies taking advantage of this fact and getting teenagers addicted to something pretty much everyone knows is terrible for you now, and those very same teenagers might start defending them, making cases for personal responsibility when they don't even have the proper brain parts to have any
Throw_Away_5385 7y ago
I think the last paragraph referred to people in general and not only to young people.

goatlover 7y ago

If people are infinitely more complex and there are ten million other factors in life, then how can the advertising be singled out?

jackvalentine 7y ago
https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2011/08/why-good-advertising-works-even-when-you-think-it-doesnt/244252/ https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2011/08/why-goo...

seattlebarley 7y ago

> people are infinitely more complex than I had given thought to Well, you must have been a particularly naive kid. The basic flow of attraction into addiction is not very hard to understand, especially when you're constantly warned about it. But the fact remains that nicotine is a satisfying nootropic that half of the world enjoys, and it doesn't have any proven effect on neurological development. Kids have been picking up smoking in high school for ages, and you're complaining that they're using a healthier alternative instead. You wanna stop kids from getting fucked up on substances? Why don't we take a closer look at prescription amphetamine or weed?

averros 7y ago

"People are influenced by advertising." OK, let's ban Google, Facebook, and Amazon. Because people are influenced by advertising, and advertising is all about goading people into buying stuff they otherwise wouldn't.