Social Media is a Cigarette, and Engagement is Code for Addiction
The recent ruling against Meta and Google is a big deal. The jury found that Meta and Google (and likely TikTok and Snap, though they settled out of court):
- Knew their products were addictive.
- Knew that they were particularly addictive to teens, tweens, and other underage users (see: children).
- Knew that underage users were using their products.
- Continued to "optimize engagement" for them anyways.
As reported by NPR, internal documents from Meta said "If we wanna win big with teens, we must bring them in as tweens", and Meta's own research showed "....that 11-year-olds were four times as likely to keep coming back to Instagram, compared with competing apps, despite the platform requiring users to be at least 13 years old."
And as TechCrunch reported, "...Meta understood how addictive its platforms could be among teens in particular and that it was actively researching the issue and using its findings to increase engagement among young users."
Let's do a little exercise.
...Philip Morris understood how addictive its cigarettes could be among teens in particular and that it was actively researching the issue and using its findings to increase addiction among young users.
These multi-trillion dollar tech companies have the staff, time, and budget to conduct all the research they could ever want. We know that they've known about the harms of their platforms for years, but they have apparently only used those findings to further "optimize" their addiction engagement pipeline.
At its peak in 1965, 42.4% of U.S. adults smoked cigarettes; smoking was incredibly normalized. Big tobacco companies swore up and down that their products weren't addictive, of course; that they had benefits for their users - they even swore in front of congress! Does that sound similar to anything going on today?
I know firsthand how difficult it is to stop scrolling. The urge to check my phone in every moment of free time; the guilt of not staying up to date on the latest acts of atrocity; the mood swings, anxiety, and discomfort without the easy buffet of distractions; the fear of missing out on the latest trends, memes, and life updates from friends and family. It's remarkably similar as the urge to smoke, the mood swings and anxiety without nicotine, and the loss of the social smoke break ritual with friends and coworkers.
Silicon Valley holds unimaginable power over not only our lives, but the infrastructure and communication used the world over. The internet is not an inherently evil thing; but it has been co-opted into a tool of surveillance, control, and placation of the people. I oftentimes feel hopeless, especially with the proliferation of AI slop, weaponized misinformation, and the endless scrolling addiction which so many people unknowingly struggle with.
Maybe it's helpful to remember that big tobacco once wielded horrible power over the common person, polluting public health and well-being, even for non-smokers. It likely felt like it was here to stay. Yet today, smoking is generally frowned upon and pushed out of the public. Public education campaigns have dropped the number of smokers to only 11.6% as of 2022. The likelihood of any immediate change feels pretty low for obvious reasons, but hopefully that will change as time goes on.
If you're struggling with digital attachment, try some analog alternatives to the things you'd normally use your phone, computer, or TV for. Get an analog/dumb watch (Timex and Casio are good, budget-friendly options); write your to-dos and miscellaneous thoughts in a physical notebook; read a book (I'm LOVING Frankenstein right now, and it's free on Project Gutenberg!); take a walk if you're able to.
Despite how overwhelming, scary, and frustrating things may be, there is still a beautiful world outside with friendly people. Give it a chance.