Historically, warning labels on tobacco products were the first step in lowering smoking rates (at least in the US.) Then came advertising bans, enforced age re

Historically, warning labels on tobacco products were the first step in lowering smoking rates (at least in the US.) Then came advertising bans, enforced age restrictions, more and more taxes on the consumer, and finally heavy restrictions on smoking areas. Before smoking was banned in most bars and restaurants in the early 2000's, it had already become socially unacceptable to smoke in many places (in the 1970's and earlier you could smoke just about anywhere, just as scrolling on your phone anywhere is now acceptable.) It was all of these things together that really lowered smoking rates. Algorithmic social media is following a similar path, this is just the very first step. We also shouldn't expect the social media companies to change by themselves - their incentives, as with tobacco companies, are to make money. And nothing makes money like addictive drugs. Expect more testimony of social media CEO's like the famed 1994 Congressional testimony of the tobacco company CEO's: https://senate.ucsf.edu/tobacco-ceo-statement-to-congress https://senate.ucsf.edu/tobacco-ceo-statement-to-congress. These guys outright lied to everyone's faces to protect their harmful industry. It was a joke even then.