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I strongly disagree with this. Social media companies are incredibly valuable specifically because they are effective at getting people to spend their money on

by rurp 2y ago

I strongly disagree with this. Social media companies are incredibly valuable specifically because they are effective at getting people to spend their money on things they otherwise wouldn't have. Depression, suicide, and other serious mental health disorders are strongly linked with social media use. Is that better than more kids drinking and smoking pot? I don't know, it's complicated. It's certainly not clearly better and might be significantly worse. Hand waving away these costs is putting on some seriously rose colored glasses.

dpndencekultur 2y ago
They are also really valuable at building/generating personality models of large swaths of the population, the data can be said knows us better than we know ourselves. Since the memory of our patterns can be mined for discovery or narrative creation. That's why they really exist. Just follow the money.
Clubber 2y ago
Drug addicts sell their children (in the worst way) for the next hit. It's not the same.
- anigbrowl 2y ago
  And likewise child porn trade/child trafficking is a nagging problem on social media platforms. Stereotyping is rarely illuminating.
- meiraleal 2y ago
  > It's not the same. I would not be so sure of that: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/farmville-playing-mom-admits-she-killed-infant-who-interrupted-facebook-game/ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/farmville-playing-mom-admits-sh...
melagonster 2y ago
Hello, depending on data from the CDC, we have: >Number of alcohol-induced deaths, excluding accidents and homicides: 51,191 Alcohol-induced deaths, excluding accidents and homicides per 100,000 population: 15.4 >All suicides Number of deaths: 49,476 Deaths per 100,000 population: 14.8 Apparently, not all suicides are caused by social media, and accidents may be more important here. I just want to offer some data that can be easily fetched.
- addicted 2y ago
  The problem with alcohol is that it’s a drug that isn’t just legal and tolerated, it’s a drug that’s celebrated and encouraged.

by rurp 2y ago

dpndencekultur 2y ago

They are also really valuable at building/generating personality models of large swaths of the population, the data can be said knows us better than we know ourselves. Since the memory of our patterns can be mined for discovery or narrative creation. That's why they really exist. Just follow the money.

Clubber 2y ago

Drug addicts sell their children (in the worst way) for the next hit. It's not the same.

anigbrowl 2y ago
And likewise child porn trade/child trafficking is a nagging problem on social media platforms. Stereotyping is rarely illuminating.
meiraleal 2y ago
> It's not the same. I would not be so sure of that: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/farmville-playing-mom-admits-she-killed-infant-who-interrupted-facebook-game/ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/farmville-playing-mom-admits-sh...

melagonster 2y ago

Hello, depending on data from the CDC, we have: >Number of alcohol-induced deaths, excluding accidents and homicides: 51,191 Alcohol-induced deaths, excluding accidents and homicides per 100,000 population: 15.4 >All suicides Number of deaths: 49,476 Deaths per 100,000 population: 14.8 Apparently, not all suicides are caused by social media, and accidents may be more important here. I just want to offer some data that can be easily fetched.

addicted 2y ago
The problem with alcohol is that it’s a drug that isn’t just legal and tolerated, it’s a drug that’s celebrated and encouraged.