No, it isn't. Tobacco is a physical substance that alters users' biochemistry and creates a physical dependence. Social media is information conveyed via a computing device. You can criticize social media for what it is in its own right, without having to engage in these kinds of disingenuous equivocations.
Sounds like you need to read up on dopamine and addictions a bit more.
Gambling isn’t introducing substance into user system it is making use of existing brain chemicals.
Social media companies engineered every piece of addictive mechanisms from gambling to alter brain chemistry or reactions of users.
You're blurring the lines a bit. Gambling isn't inherently an addiction. Just like a good TV show isn't inherently addictive either. Social media trying to be more engaging shouldn't really be viewed as an evil action anymore than HBO trying to create compelling content is.
The problem with comparing social media use to tobacco is that they are completely different. It's like saying weed is just like heroin because they both make you feel good. It's reductive and not productive.
The completely anti-social media stance ignores the good parts of social media. People can connect from across the planet and found others who shares the same views or experiences. People who are marginalized can find community where none may exist in their local area. So we should approach this more carefully and grounded.
Maybe this will make it more clear, so big difference is that people can connect across the planet without "big social media".
There are internet forums, chats, e-mail, blogs, there is no inherent need for "big social media" as we know. I do understand those companies made it much easier for average person to participate but still using internet forum or e-mail isn't exactly rocket science.
Here we are on HN, where no one is changing the layout and not doing much to drive engagement. Some days I don't even open any discussion because there is a lot of stuff that is not interesting for me.
"Big social media" companies had already multiple people speaking up explaining that they specifically made changes to drive engagement to hook people up and keep them scrolling without "creating compelling content". They specifically tuned feed algorithms to promote lowest common denominator trash content that makes people react in anger/frustration/whatever and not "creating/promoting compelling content".
Comparing internet forums, chatrooms, email, and blogs to Facebook and TikTok seems like a bad joke. I don't think you recognize how impactful "Big Social Media" is. Facebook brought about the ability to easily reconnect with people you had lost touch with and stay in touch with them. Things like Instagram made photo sharing and discovery significantly easier than simply looking at what the most recent posted photos on Photobucket. TikTok mass marketed bite sized videos and community trends. These things either did not happen on other platforms or could not happen on them.
I think most people remember the earlier days of Twitter where having a centralized place with strong discoverability led to unique communities forming and expressing themselves. I shouldn't need to say this but, it obviously wasn't all sunshine and rainbows. So I'm not saying these platforms were perfect or without major issues. I am say that their unique nature is not something that can be replicated via other mediums. It simply doesn't scale.
Honestly I'm not seeing the issue with these platforms wanting to maximize time users spend on them. That's the goal of every business. What seems to get lost though is self control. TikTok being fun and enjoyable does not mean that you are incapable of closing the app. It's like banning phones from leaving your house because you are so addicted to texting and apps. You cannot fully control what comes up on most social media. But as any therapist will tell you, all you can control is your response. I just think there is a space for big social media sites in the world. I don't even use them, but I can recognize the impact they have made with the good and the bad.
Nothing is inherently an addiction. You can smoke a cigarette without it being an addiction.
I don't think I implied that. Of course, but the ability to regulate usage is hampered by nicotine. That does not mean one cigarette and you're addicted though.
May I introduce you to the delta-FosB gene?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FOSB#DeltaFosB
Can I ask what exactly you're intending to say? I'd rather try to guess what you're implying.
You can make the point that social media has real positive benefits as well as negatives without minimizing the well proven fact that gambling creates a form of addiction in a significant proportion, though not all, of its users, one every bit as devastating as heroin or alcohol.
Seems like you're overestimating how many people are addicted to gambling. Much in the same way those who are anti-alcohol will conflate responsible drinking with alcoholism. Gambling can be just as terrible, but it is different than heroin and alcoholism since it does not have a chemically addictive component. Reducing all addictions to being the same thing is damaging to addicts and addiction recovery. Much the same way reducing all crime to the same thing is for inmates of the prison system. You're removing nuance and difference which helps promote understanding.
You’re right, it’s actually worse than tobacco. Tobacco simply makes your body sick, but social media attacks the most vital part of us. Even the CDC has studied this: https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/73/su/su7304a3.htm
the mechanisms by which that information is being conveyed have been shown to be addictive as well, no?
Comparing Tobacco to Social Media is like comparing me to LeBron James. I'd rather have my kid smoke a pack of day than have social media accounts
Yes, it is: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24579498