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> how many of the other kids As a proud owner of two kids and as a former kid myself: their prefrontal cortex is still developing. Either they cannot stop the

> how many of the other kids As a proud owner of two kids and as a former kid myself: their prefrontal cortex is still developing. Either they cannot stop themselves or they don’t notice the danger or don’t believe it applies to them. Kids will happily walk into traffic without realizing they’re in any danger at a much older age than it would seem reasonable. I think this is one of the reasons cigarette companies keep getting caught marketing to kids, as if they wait until people have more ability to reason and more agency, then they would decide to not start smoking. It’s almost as if they are preying on that weakened mental state to build a pipeline of lifelong customers.

dirtyhippiefree 3y ago
Almost? That’s almost funny, except for how sad it is…
cubefox 3y ago
Well, as I said, I was their age myself when I couldn't understand their irrationality. Perhaps some of them wanted to look cool or rebellious. But I suspect some people just can't really imagine what "addicted" means. Prefrontal cortex issue perhaps. "You can't stop but you can totally stop?? Makes no sense!" A previous poster mentioned something like this.
- schneems 3y ago
  > I was their age myself Gotcha. It’s hard to reason about in that case and I agree it’s really frustrating when you’re in the same peer group. As much as I struggle to understand why someone would fall for something as obviously bad as smoking, I have ADHD and routinely have to explain why things that are easy for others are hard for me. We all have strengths and weaknesses. One of the only universal weaknesses is that we are all bad at understanding what is hard for others. I teach 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders. Executive function is a skill. Some people are better at it than others. I think the ULTRA hard thing to realize about other people is that they’re not like us. Even when we are comparing a peer group. What is easy for you and me might be hard for others. The inverse is true as well. Empathy is hard. When it comes to smoking, I think of it like cult indoctrination. It doesn’t work on everyone, but it REALLY works on the people who are susceptible to it, and intelligence unfortunately has very little to do with it.

dirtyhippiefree 3y ago

Almost? That’s almost funny, except for how sad it is…

cubefox 3y ago

Well, as I said, I was their age myself when I couldn't understand their irrationality. Perhaps some of them wanted to look cool or rebellious. But I suspect some people just can't really imagine what "addicted" means. Prefrontal cortex issue perhaps. "You can't stop but you can totally stop?? Makes no sense!" A previous poster mentioned something like this.

schneems 3y ago
> I was their age myself Gotcha. It’s hard to reason about in that case and I agree it’s really frustrating when you’re in the same peer group. As much as I struggle to understand why someone would fall for something as obviously bad as smoking, I have ADHD and routinely have to explain why things that are easy for others are hard for me. We all have strengths and weaknesses. One of the only universal weaknesses is that we are all bad at understanding what is hard for others. I teach 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders. Executive function is a skill. Some people are better at it than others. I think the ULTRA hard thing to realize about other people is that they’re not like us. Even when we are comparing a peer group. What is easy for you and me might be hard for others. The inverse is true as well. Empathy is hard. When it comes to smoking, I think of it like cult indoctrination. It doesn’t work on everyone, but it REALLY works on the people who are susceptible to it, and intelligence unfortunately has very little to do with it.