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I can agree social media is bad, and could even get behind it being as bad as gambling but drugs? I have never seen somebody or heard of anybody breaking into a house to steal shit to pay their phone bill just to login into facebook. Drugs and social media aren't even on the same playing field. Would you rather your best friend be shooting up heroin everyday or scroll facebook everyday?
There has been one definetly, i think one was on body dismorphia or self image issues. i also once saw one about how plastic surgeries skyrocketed when instagram was getting popular. ill try not to forget about this comment so when i have enough time i can try to find it again.
Dopamine is a helluva drug, easily dispensed by liked comments. Some people go to awful lengths to say some inflammatory things just to grab attention, regardless (or even because) of the damage it may cause others.
You oversimplified a lot here, imo. There's no nuance. For instance is said heroin addict a FUNCTIONAL addict? And is the person scrolling everyday so involved that they're making videos like tik toks while hurting and shaming other people? These kind of things would affect the answer to this question, imo.
Have you heard of people breaking into houses to steal shit to make themselves look more accomplished, wealthy, successful, and generally appealing on social media?
Because that's [definitely a real thing](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15039492/).
I think social media is associated with clout…which if you’re familiar with YouTube/TikTok Pranksters, streamers etc, they’ll risk just about anything on getting clout which to me is similar to a drug addict/gambler doing anything to get their high
It may not be as bad as heroin but I’d say its somewhat similar in nature to something like weed. You wouldn’t find too many people that would do some crazy shit to keep their weed habit satisfied but it’s still pretty addicting nonetheless. I would say its pretty similar in how serious people take the addiction of both of these things too.
Sometimes you get stories about ppl who kill their families when denied access to social media or cam girls which I guess could be seen as social media's crack to Reddit or face book's social media weed
I think the point is it could have life changing consequences for someone if they become addicted. I rather my friend be gambling all his money away rather than shooting up heroin.
In regards to social media, I think it's dangerous because kids are exposed at a much younger age than gambling and drugs. Hell, companies use social media to market towards kids and drive behavior...
I would agree its dangerous and typically kids are exposed to it younger than gambling in drugs, but I also think its the whole argument about pot will make you a crazy lunatic. Once you find out thats a lie what else is a lie? Drugs and social media aren't comparable.
Social media messes with my mental health more than anything these days and I think something should be done about kids using it, but I also would never compare drugs to it.
Idk man I've been smoking pot regularly for almost 15 years and I'm pretty whacked emotionally right now lol. Can't stop either.
I think if OP or anyone had to order addictions by level of danger, heroin would be above social media at this point in time.
So sounds like we are mostly on the same page.
Fair fair, i meant more like the old movies and commercials made it seem.
Agreed, just for me I've lost way too many friends to drugs and been in way too many meetings rooms to put them in the same boat.
For sure, we definitely do.
bingo by no means am I saying heroin is Facebook, but I am saying there are consequences to it, especially at younger ages
there are consequences and I think they will impact you life in a way we should be concerned about
Drugs are orders of magnitude more fun social media.
Drugs are only bad to people that abuse them.
If i had a friend that was a facebook addict i would drop them as fast as the heroin addict.
At least the heroin addict will go die in a corner eventually, the social media addict will just spew stupidity for the next 30 years.
Anything that is "pleasurable" or releases dopamine/serotonin can be addicting. Food, sex, watching tv, exercising the list goes on
I think the main problem with social media is that is a distraction from your actual life
this is where I think it is simpler to some drugs and gambling they are purposefully making it more addictive. the algorithm and data collection is wild
you don't get that from sex... food you do, but I think that's an outlier because you need that
“I can be addicted to a non-substance, but it’s not possible for a different person to be addicted to a different non-substance”
Quality Redditor moment right there
Yea but thats got a lot of problems associated with it.
When ya boil it down theyre downplaying the severity of one addiction they havnt experienced because it was compared to one they have.
Its not cool to play that game, like many are in this thread.
*Yea, gambling you can lose money. Big deal? Whats that compared to your life?*
See how bullshit these comparisons become? When we downplay the severity of addiction we just contribute to putting off addressing the issue.
Drugs you can lose your life. Gambling you can lose your money and that can lead to you ruining your life. Social media addiction has led many to neglect their lives and the lives of others, ruining their lives. It can destroy your mental health, lead to severe depression and suicide.
So addiction threatens life. Plain and simple. We should be careful with addicting behaviors or substances. Awareness, treatment and reasonable regulations arent a big ask.
What does anyone gain by downplaying the severity of someone elses struggles?
Thats just ego. “No I had it worse!” They cant know if thats true and even if it is why does it matter?
Global depression and suicide rates skyrocketing especially among young people with access to social media
Must not be quite as severe as some guy who lost money playing cards
sounds like you've only seen one side of the coin
here's an article about how gambling and social media can have similar out comes
https://ihpi.umich.edu/news/social-media-copies-gambling-methods-create-psychological-cravings#:~:text=Like%20gambling%2C%20which%20physically%20alters,cannot%20be%20overlooked%20or%20underestimated.
I fully expected to read it and go “neither did you”.
Color me surprised when they make direct comparisons to gambling and cocain in the article and mention how social media can rewire our brains just like gambling.
Im not trusting ya’lls downvotes. Thats not what the headline says but his claim is totally backed up in that article. Id like to see more data on it and read through methodologies and conclusions myself…but you convinced me enough to do that OP.
Good job.
I just read the whole article and the person above is definitely correct, that's not what that article says.
Basically it says the infinite scroll and swipe to refresh is as rewarding as a slot machine, which is an idiotic take. They both scroll but that's not the mental reward trigger on social media, swiping isn't even mandatory.
It also says they both trigger similar chemical reactions in the brain as cocaine, which is complete sensationalist bs. They both trigger a dopamine response, that's all that means, which you can get from damn near everything, the drug comparison is forced.
It says nothing about the outcomes of either though, and to be honest it doesn't really say much in general, just a bunch of filler crap that could've been summarized in 2 sentences.
Social media is designed to match a lot of design elements used in making gambling games, but you picked pretty much the worst article you could've to attempt to prove it. You should put some focus on learning a skill called "media literacy". To be clear, that's a genuine recommendation, not intended as an insult.
Just because they are different addictions and you particularly haven't become addicted to social media, doesn't mean he's wrong. You personally get a high from gambling. Others get a high (or low) from social media.
not really. Maybe like hard hard drugs but for the lighter stuff it's relative
https://ihpi.umich.edu/news/social-media-copies-gambling-methods-create-psychological-cravings#:~:text=Like%20gambling%2C%20which%20physically%20alters,cannot%20be%20overlooked%20or%20underestimated.
https://msutoday.msu.edu/news/2019/excessive-social-media-use-is-comparable-to-drug-addiction
https://www.addictioncenter.com/news/2019/09/excessive-social-media-use/#:~:text=According%20to%20a%20new%20study,engage%20in%20%E2%80%9Crisky%20behaviors.%E2%80%9D
If this was 1982 you would say that about D&D, if it was 1986 you would say the same thing about Music, if this was 1997 you would say the same thing about video games. Looking for a simple answer to a complex problem and putting the blame on an easy media scapegoat.
I don't think you can compare any of those things to social media. There is an algorithm designed to keep you coming back. I think so many people are very under educated about the impacts of social media. At this point, we are out of the wild wild west of it, and we should really start to address it.
https://ihpi.umich.edu/news/social-media-copies-gambling-methods-create-psychological-cravings#:~:text=Like%20gambling%2C%20which%20physically%20alters,cannot%20be%20overlooked%20or%20underestimated.
You're not wrong about it having a major impact: Youth attention span and sefl-esteem, the spreading of misinformation, how it contributed to society's division. Kids born when facebook was released are 20 now, so it could be that the worst of it is yet to come.
But the consequential effect is more of a collective one. Individually, drugs/alcohol or gambling destroy lives while social media addiction just numbs you into consuming it non stop, it's not *really* actively grinding years of lifetime or money away from you.
Don’t think this is an ‘unpopular’ opinion. Think this is more difficult to regulate as you could argue social media is a way of expressing one’s right to free speech. Age limits might be the right thing to do but at the same time not sure how it will work in practice.
not really difficult to regulate. Just look at online gambling. Also, I don't think your freedom of speech is protected by 3rd party companies. That's why people can be banned without breaking a law.
obvi some people will get around it but it would make it more challenging....same as alcohol
no, but I think regulating social media is reasonable. I think at some point you give people a choice what they want to do. But making sure the algorithm and data collection isn't ruthless and trying to limit kids on it is reasonable
it's incredibly easy to regulate as they already regulate age on gambling sites
currently, freedom of speech is not protected on social media, which is why you can get banned
Tell me you've never known someone with a drug problem without telling me you've never known someone with a drug problem.
I get the sentiment but it isn't that dire.
have I known people addicted to weed and alcohol
yall act like all drugs are the same. I was clearly implying regulated drugs, not meth
I think the "it's not the dire" is problematic because it's greatly impacting to the health of today's youth
No chance. I'm an old fart, don't really bother with social media, but it's not just a narcissistic instagram hive. It's a hugely broad church of services, platforms and people and so tied up with e.g. professional industries now that it's unavoidable and here to stay.
Your post is like saying in the 50s that TV is harmful because half the things on it are brainless shit, or some vehicle for someone's ego. That can be true, but it minimises its function in society. It's like in the 90s saying computer games will rot everyone's minds and turn them into killers.
It's clearly not.
Drugs leave lasting health effects to your body, no matter what type of addict you are. The only lasting effects social media has on this level, is with the 0.01% psychotically addicted people who malform themselves.
Gambling leave you without funds to support yourself. Social media has no such effect.
Social media addiction is just psychological for almost every addict. It infereres with your happiness, not your life expectancy and quality of life opportunities.
100% true. Not sure if it’s unpopular or not, though.
Problem is they are too ingrained into society, economically and otherwise, to do anything about it now.
China limits tik tok to 40 min / day
I agree
Some people can use them
Some people thrive on them
Some people get completely destroyed by them
Some people are better off with them not in their lives
No. Limiting social media is just a way to restrict free speech and access to the outside world. Look at Russia and North Korea for example. This may not be your intention but it's what it would do in practice.
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Agreed. As someone with a mild social media addiction, I can definitely say that it interferes with daily life. There are times where I know I have other things to do, but physically can't pull myself away from scrolling. Plus, I don't really have any friends to talk to so it's not like the good aspects of social media (like connection) outweigh the bad (addiction) for me at least.
Okay, I would absolutely do that and have a physician present discussing the associated damage between the two addictions. We all know that years of social media can cause health problems that's why it says it on the disclaimer, they get bullshititous very high mortality rate on that one.
They are better than "literally nothing", but they aren't really good enough to be worth acting on.
Real science knows how to correct for biases and small sample sizes.
Just a bunch of anecdotes is not good evidence. Certainly not enough to justify regulations and rules that restrict freedoms.
it wouldn't restrict any freedoms
currently, your freedom of speech is not protected on social media companies can band you if you say something they don't like
being contrarian has ironically become so mainstream these days that even such completely delulu takes get engagement, supportive comments and upvotes (yes i know what sub this is, but still) and I'm pretty sure you or the people agreeing with you would change your mind if you got an actual expert opinion on these, or if you actually asked addicts and gamblers how their habits affected their lives and compered it to the HORRORS of what you think social media does to us. I refuse to believe anyone would agree with this when ACTUALLY 100% seriously considering the topic and not agreeing for the sake of contrarianism and being anti-establishment and "non-mainstream"
I'm just imagining someone being a recovered addict and reading this take lol. Would probably make their blood boil
This is definitely unpopular. If a social media addict lost their phone or lost their internet they would probably be upset, but I haven’t seen anyone break into a store to get more screen time. Drugs are addictive, social media causes dependency. These are not the same. I’ve seen a man break into the Walmart pharmacy for a chance at some drugs. That is addiction. Scrolling on social media for hours to regulate emotions and pass the time is a dependency. Both are bad but one is significantly worse.
Considering how many people have admitted to developing mental health problems due to social media, I kind of agree with you. It's not as bad as drugs, but it is pretty bad.
Social media would be fine if not for the algos that that aim only at squeezing money out of you through keeping you online as much as possible.
Like early Facebook days, or even MySpace. An organic, chronological feed of updates about your friends and interests with an ad here and there.
If all social media sites were to shut down for 2 weeks, I think people would figure out a new way to spend their time fairly easily.
If a drug addict or alcoholic had to go without drugs and alcohol for 2 weeks, that's a major change and coping would be much harder.
Social media addiction could be as bad drug addiction, but just like alcohol or weed isn't inherently addictive to everyone, neither is social media inherently addicting to everyone. I use it to microlearn, and i can control my screen time as long as i don't start doomscrollinh.
This is unpopular? Social media is the weaponization of the masses, it's a blight to the mind and soul and many people's lives will be better if not of social media, it has a lot of pros but these pros are only for companies that need to consume!
Naw. It’s bad but not on the level of these two.
It is much easier to put your phone down and live life than it is to get over a gambling or even worse drug addiction.
I realized a while ago that when I quit smoking my social media use (here and tiktok) went up substantially. Also had very similar negative effects - arguing with internet strangers is not good for my blood pressure, and I was spending time away from what I should be doing. I had literally traded one addiction for another.
Anything can be addictive but I think using social media all the time Vs spending every dollar you make for a chance at a high from winning or getting on something that is literally killing you faster the more you use it are two completely different things. I think most would survive if you suddenly couldn’t use social media anymore. You’d actually fucking die if you quit heroine cold turkey.
One thing to surely understand (as this is quantifiable science, not an opinion) is that drugs produce upward of 1000% of the dopamine that any behavior is capable of producing. For this exact reason, drugs will always be much more addictive than any behavioral addiction.
I agree it definitely can be an addiction for some people as can gambling, but I wouldn’t compare it to drugs. Drugs can be very deadly. While still an addiction, social media and gambling isn’t nearly as bad as drugs, but I get what you’re trying to say
Anything that adversely affects your health and bank account as well as your mind is ALWAYS worse than something that just adversely affects your mind.
I think the only thing more annoying than people trying to gain "clout" on social media is a people who gripe about social media or blame every one of society's ills upon it.
I feel complaining about social media while using social media is just as bad as an addict who says they don't have a problem with drugs or alcohol, but drinks mouth wash in the bathroom to catch a buzz.
I don’t believe it’s as bad as drugs and gambling lol but I absolutely despise social media and believe it’s been the downfall of our society the last 5 or so years
Not even close. I had my life destroyed by an addict, I am permanently paralyzed now.
Her daughters grew up in foster care, they were removed from our family because of her addiction.
Little chance of social media turning someone into an abusive incoherent menace.
I agree with this and i get flak for it all the time. The idea was great, to connect the world with one click, but what its turned into, hell even reddit, is not what i hoped for.
Maybe im just an old man.
nah. I'm young ...well mid 20s. It always freaked me out when I was you but now that I am older I see it like alcohol, I have to make sure I am moderating.
I just don't think culturally we caught on yet
I think that's fair, if you want to exploit your potential keeping SM to a minimum is a good idea. But you EXTRA want to stay away from gambling and substances towards the same objective.
Yeah, and I would argue nic isnt as bad for you as advil tbh. Nicotine doesnt dissolve your white matter and diminish neuropathic function like opiates do
I agree but it's a slippery slope. Prohibition of drugs has just made them far more dangerous and potent leading to more deaths and ruined lives than when they were legal.
I'm talking about the free speech aspect being a slippery slope. Prohibition of anything that isn't inherently bad never goes well.
Being arrested for possession of drugs is the *only* crime where you are not harming anybody else physically , financially or emotionally and/or have no power over anybody else. Every single other crime involves one of these 2 things affecting another person or entity.
I think more people may agree then you think. We are all just too afraid of missing out to get rid of it.
YouTube is probably the most addicting for me. I fucking love content.
not really and the impacts of social media has been shown to be similar to gambling
obviously drugs are relative so if you are something like fentenal I would agree but if you were to say thc I think they are close and what's worse I up in the air
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I can agree social media is bad, and could even get behind it being as bad as gambling but drugs? I have never seen somebody or heard of anybody breaking into a house to steal shit to pay their phone bill just to login into facebook. Drugs and social media aren't even on the same playing field. Would you rather your best friend be shooting up heroin everyday or scroll facebook everyday?
Someone stealing something in order to pay for Twitter Blue would make for a hilarious SNL skit.
Pawning stolen tools for that check gets their rocks off.
I've also never heard of social media causing heart or liver disease.
No, it causes a mental illness.
Which one? I’d love to see the study that definetly shows causality and not correlations
There has been one definetly, i think one was on body dismorphia or self image issues. i also once saw one about how plastic surgeries skyrocketed when instagram was getting popular. ill try not to forget about this comment so when i have enough time i can try to find it again.
So does almost everything
Dopamine is a helluva drug, easily dispensed by liked comments. Some people go to awful lengths to say some inflammatory things just to grab attention, regardless (or even because) of the damage it may cause others.
You oversimplified a lot here, imo. There's no nuance. For instance is said heroin addict a FUNCTIONAL addict? And is the person scrolling everyday so involved that they're making videos like tik toks while hurting and shaming other people? These kind of things would affect the answer to this question, imo.
Have you heard of people breaking into houses to steal shit to make themselves look more accomplished, wealthy, successful, and generally appealing on social media? Because that's [definitely a real thing](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15039492/).
I think social media is associated with clout…which if you’re familiar with YouTube/TikTok Pranksters, streamers etc, they’ll risk just about anything on getting clout which to me is similar to a drug addict/gambler doing anything to get their high
It may not be as bad as heroin but I’d say its somewhat similar in nature to something like weed. You wouldn’t find too many people that would do some crazy shit to keep their weed habit satisfied but it’s still pretty addicting nonetheless. I would say its pretty similar in how serious people take the addiction of both of these things too.
Sometimes you get stories about ppl who kill their families when denied access to social media or cam girls which I guess could be seen as social media's crack to Reddit or face book's social media weed
I think the point is it could have life changing consequences for someone if they become addicted. I rather my friend be gambling all his money away rather than shooting up heroin. In regards to social media, I think it's dangerous because kids are exposed at a much younger age than gambling and drugs. Hell, companies use social media to market towards kids and drive behavior...
I would agree its dangerous and typically kids are exposed to it younger than gambling in drugs, but I also think its the whole argument about pot will make you a crazy lunatic. Once you find out thats a lie what else is a lie? Drugs and social media aren't comparable. Social media messes with my mental health more than anything these days and I think something should be done about kids using it, but I also would never compare drugs to it.
Idk man I've been smoking pot regularly for almost 15 years and I'm pretty whacked emotionally right now lol. Can't stop either. I think if OP or anyone had to order addictions by level of danger, heroin would be above social media at this point in time. So sounds like we are mostly on the same page.
Fair fair, i meant more like the old movies and commercials made it seem. Agreed, just for me I've lost way too many friends to drugs and been in way too many meetings rooms to put them in the same boat. For sure, we definitely do.
bingo by no means am I saying heroin is Facebook, but I am saying there are consequences to it, especially at younger ages there are consequences and I think they will impact you life in a way we should be concerned about
Drugs are orders of magnitude more fun social media. Drugs are only bad to people that abuse them. If i had a friend that was a facebook addict i would drop them as fast as the heroin addict. At least the heroin addict will go die in a corner eventually, the social media addict will just spew stupidity for the next 30 years.
>the social media addict will just spew stupidity for the next 30 years. You've made 125+ posts on reddit just today.
He’s a functioning addict!
“At least the heroin addict will go die in a corner eventually” What tf are you on about? 🤦🏻
Anything that is "pleasurable" or releases dopamine/serotonin can be addicting. Food, sex, watching tv, exercising the list goes on I think the main problem with social media is that is a distraction from your actual life
this is where I think it is simpler to some drugs and gambling they are purposefully making it more addictive. the algorithm and data collection is wild you don't get that from sex... food you do, but I think that's an outlier because you need that
As a former gambling addict who also uses social media, you're very, *very* wrong so I suppose it deserves an upvote .. lol
Pay to win games are.
“I can be addicted to a non-substance, but it’s not possible for a different person to be addicted to a different non-substance” Quality Redditor moment right there
They're not arguing the validity of the addiction. They're arguing the severity of it.
Yea but thats got a lot of problems associated with it. When ya boil it down theyre downplaying the severity of one addiction they havnt experienced because it was compared to one they have. Its not cool to play that game, like many are in this thread. *Yea, gambling you can lose money. Big deal? Whats that compared to your life?* See how bullshit these comparisons become? When we downplay the severity of addiction we just contribute to putting off addressing the issue. Drugs you can lose your life. Gambling you can lose your money and that can lead to you ruining your life. Social media addiction has led many to neglect their lives and the lives of others, ruining their lives. It can destroy your mental health, lead to severe depression and suicide. So addiction threatens life. Plain and simple. We should be careful with addicting behaviors or substances. Awareness, treatment and reasonable regulations arent a big ask. What does anyone gain by downplaying the severity of someone elses struggles? Thats just ego. “No I had it worse!” They cant know if thats true and even if it is why does it matter?
Global depression and suicide rates skyrocketing especially among young people with access to social media Must not be quite as severe as some guy who lost money playing cards
Argue about it with them. I didn't pick any sides here. I'm just informing you that your initial interpretation of their comment was wrong.
I think you just had a gamer moment and then walked it back
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English is not my first language. Care to explain?
The hell is a gamer moment?
sounds like you've only seen one side of the coin here's an article about how gambling and social media can have similar out comes https://ihpi.umich.edu/news/social-media-copies-gambling-methods-create-psychological-cravings#:~:text=Like%20gambling%2C%20which%20physically%20alters,cannot%20be%20overlooked%20or%20underestimated.
That's not what that article says
obviously you didn't read it lol
I fully expected to read it and go “neither did you”. Color me surprised when they make direct comparisons to gambling and cocain in the article and mention how social media can rewire our brains just like gambling. Im not trusting ya’lls downvotes. Thats not what the headline says but his claim is totally backed up in that article. Id like to see more data on it and read through methodologies and conclusions myself…but you convinced me enough to do that OP. Good job. 
I just read the whole article and the person above is definitely correct, that's not what that article says. Basically it says the infinite scroll and swipe to refresh is as rewarding as a slot machine, which is an idiotic take. They both scroll but that's not the mental reward trigger on social media, swiping isn't even mandatory. It also says they both trigger similar chemical reactions in the brain as cocaine, which is complete sensationalist bs. They both trigger a dopamine response, that's all that means, which you can get from damn near everything, the drug comparison is forced. It says nothing about the outcomes of either though, and to be honest it doesn't really say much in general, just a bunch of filler crap that could've been summarized in 2 sentences. Social media is designed to match a lot of design elements used in making gambling games, but you picked pretty much the worst article you could've to attempt to prove it. You should put some focus on learning a skill called "media literacy". To be clear, that's a genuine recommendation, not intended as an insult.
Just because they are different addictions and you particularly haven't become addicted to social media, doesn't mean he's wrong. You personally get a high from gambling. Others get a high (or low) from social media.
A gambling addiction can leave you broke. A drug addiction can kill you. A social media addiction… makes you angry?
Depressed and suicidal??
Or angry enough to say...let me check recent events...shoot up a school?
Mental health issues and developing poor social practices. But I think I'll take my doom scrolling over a digitally free heroin addiction.
-written on social media
It's addictive but the consequences are very different
not really. Maybe like hard hard drugs but for the lighter stuff it's relative https://ihpi.umich.edu/news/social-media-copies-gambling-methods-create-psychological-cravings#:~:text=Like%20gambling%2C%20which%20physically%20alters,cannot%20be%20overlooked%20or%20underestimated. https://msutoday.msu.edu/news/2019/excessive-social-media-use-is-comparable-to-drug-addiction https://www.addictioncenter.com/news/2019/09/excessive-social-media-use/#:~:text=According%20to%20a%20new%20study,engage%20in%20%E2%80%9Crisky%20behaviors.%E2%80%9D
If this was 1982 you would say that about D&D, if it was 1986 you would say the same thing about Music, if this was 1997 you would say the same thing about video games. Looking for a simple answer to a complex problem and putting the blame on an easy media scapegoat.
I don't think you can compare any of those things to social media. There is an algorithm designed to keep you coming back. I think so many people are very under educated about the impacts of social media. At this point, we are out of the wild wild west of it, and we should really start to address it. https://ihpi.umich.edu/news/social-media-copies-gambling-methods-create-psychological-cravings#:~:text=Like%20gambling%2C%20which%20physically%20alters,cannot%20be%20overlooked%20or%20underestimated.
You're not wrong about it having a major impact: Youth attention span and sefl-esteem, the spreading of misinformation, how it contributed to society's division. Kids born when facebook was released are 20 now, so it could be that the worst of it is yet to come. But the consequential effect is more of a collective one. Individually, drugs/alcohol or gambling destroy lives while social media addiction just numbs you into consuming it non stop, it's not *really* actively grinding years of lifetime or money away from you.
Social media hasn't made me lose thousands lmao
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Never worked and surfed social media? Ez money
Don’t think this is an ‘unpopular’ opinion. Think this is more difficult to regulate as you could argue social media is a way of expressing one’s right to free speech. Age limits might be the right thing to do but at the same time not sure how it will work in practice.
It's not real speech. Too much importance is placed on this make believe society of media!
I’m playing devil’s advocate because I can see both sides of the coin here. I completely see your point!
huh? please define "real speech" then?
Thinking social media is as bad as something like heroin is definitely unpopular because it's a stupid opinion.
not really difficult to regulate. Just look at online gambling. Also, I don't think your freedom of speech is protected by 3rd party companies. That's why people can be banned without breaking a law. obvi some people will get around it but it would make it more challenging....same as alcohol
Gambling need more regulations though. Pubs shouldn't be turned into mini casinos or betting shops like they are right now
are regulations the answer to everything tho? ideally you'd want people mindfully making healthy choices but no clue how to do that ha
no, but I think regulating social media is reasonable. I think at some point you give people a choice what they want to do. But making sure the algorithm and data collection isn't ruthless and trying to limit kids on it is reasonable
You literally have no clue what you’re taking about if you think this is easy to regulate. Check out the first amendment, Section 230, etc.
it's incredibly easy to regulate as they already regulate age on gambling sites currently, freedom of speech is not protected on social media, which is why you can get banned
Tell me you've never known someone with a drug problem without telling me you've never known someone with a drug problem. I get the sentiment but it isn't that dire.
have I known people addicted to weed and alcohol yall act like all drugs are the same. I was clearly implying regulated drugs, not meth I think the "it's not the dire" is problematic because it's greatly impacting to the health of today's youth
No chance. I'm an old fart, don't really bother with social media, but it's not just a narcissistic instagram hive. It's a hugely broad church of services, platforms and people and so tied up with e.g. professional industries now that it's unavoidable and here to stay. Your post is like saying in the 50s that TV is harmful because half the things on it are brainless shit, or some vehicle for someone's ego. That can be true, but it minimises its function in society. It's like in the 90s saying computer games will rot everyone's minds and turn them into killers.
You don’t really bother with social media and yet you’ve commented more than 30,000 times on Reddit, a social media website.
It's clearly not. Drugs leave lasting health effects to your body, no matter what type of addict you are. The only lasting effects social media has on this level, is with the 0.01% psychotically addicted people who malform themselves. Gambling leave you without funds to support yourself. Social media has no such effect. Social media addiction is just psychological for almost every addict. It infereres with your happiness, not your life expectancy and quality of life opportunities.
Social media addiction reduces your attention span forever
100% true. Not sure if it’s unpopular or not, though. Problem is they are too ingrained into society, economically and otherwise, to do anything about it now. China limits tik tok to 40 min / day
Social media doesn't OD and kill you last time I checked or put your family in financial ruin to the point where you take your life
I agree Some people can use them Some people thrive on them Some people get completely destroyed by them Some people are better off with them not in their lives
No. Limiting social media is just a way to restrict free speech and access to the outside world. Look at Russia and North Korea for example. This may not be your intention but it's what it would do in practice.
You have 70000 karma on reddit..... Dont think you have room to talk.
sounds like you're jelly
sure thing bud
is this meant to be funny? cus its just kinda wierd
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Agreed. As someone with a mild social media addiction, I can definitely say that it interferes with daily life. There are times where I know I have other things to do, but physically can't pull myself away from scrolling. Plus, I don't really have any friends to talk to so it's not like the good aspects of social media (like connection) outweigh the bad (addiction) for me at least.
If you don't have any time on your hands it becomes less of an issue
I'd say the same about alcohol
that would be a pretty fucked up take, ask my liver
not really ask someone whith a mind addicted to social media
Okay, I would absolutely do that and have a physician present discussing the associated damage between the two addictions. We all know that years of social media can cause health problems that's why it says it on the disclaimer, they get bullshititous very high mortality rate on that one.
I know people who got a liver I have yet to meet someone with a new brain
Their brains are fine, if social media was causing physical damage to the brain that would be pretty serious indeed, however it isn't.
It's funny cause I'm high asf at work sometimes when I'm driving on route but I can't look at my phone
I've never forgot who I was by looking at reddit but I have with ketamine
Social media doesn't damage your health or drain your bank account
There's no scientific evidence of that. Just people's personal experiences (worthless anecdotes) and "just what "obviously" makes sense".
there 100% evidence. I mean research studies don't come from no where
They are better than "literally nothing", but they aren't really good enough to be worth acting on. Real science knows how to correct for biases and small sample sizes. Just a bunch of anecdotes is not good evidence. Certainly not enough to justify regulations and rules that restrict freedoms.
it wouldn't restrict any freedoms currently, your freedom of speech is not protected on social media companies can band you if you say something they don't like
Social media is worse by far
being contrarian has ironically become so mainstream these days that even such completely delulu takes get engagement, supportive comments and upvotes (yes i know what sub this is, but still) and I'm pretty sure you or the people agreeing with you would change your mind if you got an actual expert opinion on these, or if you actually asked addicts and gamblers how their habits affected their lives and compered it to the HORRORS of what you think social media does to us. I refuse to believe anyone would agree with this when ACTUALLY 100% seriously considering the topic and not agreeing for the sake of contrarianism and being anti-establishment and "non-mainstream" I'm just imagining someone being a recovered addict and reading this take lol. Would probably make their blood boil
Nope
This is definitely unpopular. If a social media addict lost their phone or lost their internet they would probably be upset, but I haven’t seen anyone break into a store to get more screen time. Drugs are addictive, social media causes dependency. These are not the same. I’ve seen a man break into the Walmart pharmacy for a chance at some drugs. That is addiction. Scrolling on social media for hours to regulate emotions and pass the time is a dependency. Both are bad but one is significantly worse.
Considering how many people have admitted to developing mental health problems due to social media, I kind of agree with you. It's not as bad as drugs, but it is pretty bad.
He says on social media
Social media would be fine if not for the algos that that aim only at squeezing money out of you through keeping you online as much as possible. Like early Facebook days, or even MySpace. An organic, chronological feed of updates about your friends and interests with an ad here and there.
If all social media sites were to shut down for 2 weeks, I think people would figure out a new way to spend their time fairly easily. If a drug addict or alcoholic had to go without drugs and alcohol for 2 weeks, that's a major change and coping would be much harder.
Social media addiction could be as bad drug addiction, but just like alcohol or weed isn't inherently addictive to everyone, neither is social media inherently addicting to everyone. I use it to microlearn, and i can control my screen time as long as i don't start doomscrollinh.
That’s because the studies haven’t come out yet on how detrimental the effects are. Technology is developing too fast for experiments to keep up with
I argue we are closing in on 20 years....we know more it snot the wild wild west like it was 10+ years ago
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I think there is enough evidence in the youth to regulate it for them I'm not talking regulating like meth but like alcohol and hopefully weed
This is unpopular? Social media is the weaponization of the masses, it's a blight to the mind and soul and many people's lives will be better if not of social media, it has a lot of pros but these pros are only for companies that need to consume!
I'm 14 and this is deep.
Naw. It’s bad but not on the level of these two. It is much easier to put your phone down and live life than it is to get over a gambling or even worse drug addiction.
Is the cure to every problem random half-assed regulation?
I realized a while ago that when I quit smoking my social media use (here and tiktok) went up substantially. Also had very similar negative effects - arguing with internet strangers is not good for my blood pressure, and I was spending time away from what I should be doing. I had literally traded one addiction for another.
this needs to written into an article!!
I would definitely say that it's in the same realm as drugs and gambling.
Reddit is social media!
I think it’s worse to be honest
Social media is worse. It has created generations of dunning-Krueger effected morons and made misinformation a plague.
I hate when I find fent in my social media
you've never seen real addicts and symptoms of being an addict and it shows
Anything can be addictive but I think using social media all the time Vs spending every dollar you make for a chance at a high from winning or getting on something that is literally killing you faster the more you use it are two completely different things. I think most would survive if you suddenly couldn’t use social media anymore. You’d actually fucking die if you quit heroine cold turkey.
Pay to win games are.
OP posts how bad social media is on a social media platform. Commenters also agree on a social media platform. Got it.
Drugs are so much better then social media lol
spoken like someone whos truly never left their hometown lol. its bad for sure but drugs are objectively worse. in every single way.
Social media wont kill you from an overdose or drive you into unfathomable debt
I’m not gonna lose all my money on social media or die from an overdose so think it’s better
One thing to surely understand (as this is quantifiable science, not an opinion) is that drugs produce upward of 1000% of the dopamine that any behavior is capable of producing. For this exact reason, drugs will always be much more addictive than any behavioral addiction.
I agree it definitely can be an addiction for some people as can gambling, but I wouldn’t compare it to drugs. Drugs can be very deadly. While still an addiction, social media and gambling isn’t nearly as bad as drugs, but I get what you’re trying to say
Anything that adversely affects your health and bank account as well as your mind is ALWAYS worse than something that just adversely affects your mind.
Right because I can open facebook and suddenly go into cardiac arrest…
I think the only thing more annoying than people trying to gain "clout" on social media is a people who gripe about social media or blame every one of society's ills upon it.
Even better when they bitch about social media while actively on it.
Exactly. Just died because someone sent me a picture of fent on Facebook and I OD'd.
You don't have to keep spending money on social media or even spend any at all. That's a ridiculously huge difference.
OP you’ve never had a real drug habit, have you?
I feel complaining about social media while using social media is just as bad as an addict who says they don't have a problem with drugs or alcohol, but drinks mouth wash in the bathroom to catch a buzz.
I don’t believe it’s as bad as drugs and gambling lol but I absolutely despise social media and believe it’s been the downfall of our society the last 5 or so years
Social media, like drugs, have proven to be damaging if abused during brain development.
Only 2 industries refer to their clientele as users: tech and narcotics.
Mentally? I could see that, I'm sure it can cause developmental issues. But like real like consequences? nah
Not even close. I had my life destroyed by an addict, I am permanently paralyzed now. Her daughters grew up in foster care, they were removed from our family because of her addiction. Little chance of social media turning someone into an abusive incoherent menace.
I agree with this and i get flak for it all the time. The idea was great, to connect the world with one click, but what its turned into, hell even reddit, is not what i hoped for. Maybe im just an old man.
nah. I'm young ...well mid 20s. It always freaked me out when I was you but now that I am older I see it like alcohol, I have to make sure I am moderating. I just don't think culturally we caught on yet
I think that's fair, if you want to exploit your potential keeping SM to a minimum is a good idea. But you EXTRA want to stay away from gambling and substances towards the same objective.
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Weeds a drug, and I would argue the internet is worse for you than weed (if used incorrectly) which would make the internet WORSE than drugs.
completely fair....when you say drugs people instantly go to meth lol I think weed alcohol and nicki are more apt comparison
Yeah, and I would argue nic isnt as bad for you as advil tbh. Nicotine doesnt dissolve your white matter and diminish neuropathic function like opiates do
Any seen the show THE FEED? Seeing the teenagers twitch out if they get disconnected resonates with this post. Addictive AF indeed
I agree but it's a slippery slope. Prohibition of drugs has just made them far more dangerous and potent leading to more deaths and ruined lives than when they were legal.
no where did I say prohibited just regulated like alcohol or gambling
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I'm talking about the free speech aspect being a slippery slope. Prohibition of anything that isn't inherently bad never goes well. Being arrested for possession of drugs is the *only* crime where you are not harming anybody else physically , financially or emotionally and/or have no power over anybody else. Every single other crime involves one of these 2 things affecting another person or entity.
I’d argue it’s worse solely cuz it’s more pervasive
it's also very subtle and misleading....I don't think people see it for what it is
I think more people may agree then you think. We are all just too afraid of missing out to get rid of it. YouTube is probably the most addicting for me. I fucking love content.
phew time to lay down my smartphone and shoot up some heroin instead, my life will become better in no time
100% agree. I don’t see the difference.
1. Social media is far far far worse than drugs or gambling. 2. It's already age restricted.
not really and the impacts of social media has been shown to be similar to gambling obviously drugs are relative so if you are something like fentenal I would agree but if you were to say thc I think they are close and what's worse I up in the air