
Facebook is the new cigarettes - MichaelKSpencer
https://medium.com/futuresin/facebook-is-the-new-cigarettes-d9a13c7d591c
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greenspot
Could quit FB (took around 2-3 years and wasn't easy) but now I am super
addicted to some Reddit subs such as r/mechanicalkeyboards.

Addiction is higher than with FB but it doesn't make me feel miserable.

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antisthenes
I believe that's what is called a _hobby_.

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0xdeadb00f
I wouldn't class looking at hobby subreddits a hobby. Actually building,
replacing keys, fixing or taking photos of keyboards is the hobby part.

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owlninja
Quitting Facebook was 1000X easier than quitting cigarettes for me.

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alaskamiller
Good insight but way too old.

In the 00's we already knew Facebook was the new cocaine. Us being the 20
somethings that spent all our lives online creating content in the UGC web 2.0
days.

Everyone wanted to try it.

Cool if you had it.

Fun for parties.

But then we got old.

Now funny enough it's passed on to the old old (40, 50+ and the mainstream),
and to them it's reality.

It didn't get passed to the younger kids (18 and below), and the young folks
(20-27's) are bored with it.

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stuaxo
We can look forward to the same tactics cigarette and fossil fuel companies
used being repeated, from funded papers being released, to the same law firms
etc etc

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johnchristopher
I am in my own bubble but I rarely see any papers that claims positive things
about Facebook. Do you have any exanples ?

edit: woops, I wasn't reading with enough attention and missed the "forward"
word (you know what I am going to blame), sorry.

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majewsky
Grandparent said "we can look forward", so that's probably just a prediction.

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analyst74
Maybe contrary to the trend, but I've never hated facebook, it provides a
utility for me to stay connected with friends, especially new ones I would
have lost track of in my phone contact.

I tried really hard to understand why some people hated it, and at least for
some people I know, it seems to stem from the fact that they are trying very
hard to impress everyone in their circle / follower, which takes a ton of time
and can even be stressful.

It seems there is no way Facebook or other social media can make those people
happy, because they are drawn to the attentions they can get, but many
eventually grown to hate the work they have to do to maintain it. Only if
there is a way to stay popular without constant hard work!

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bobbygoodlatte
I'm not sure why Facebook is always singled out with these comparisons.

If FB is the new cigarettes (which feels like an absurd comparison), then
Twitter and Youtube are just as bad — and they've done even less to counter
the negative externalities their engagement algorithms create.

I think Twitter dodges this criticism mostly because of how popular the
platform is with journalists.

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czardoz
I wonder what the author thinks about WeChat (which he prominently mentions
just below his name).

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intopieces
WeChat has low penetration in the US and also is not HQ’d there; thus, even if
you think it ought to be regulated - probably outside the scope of the US
government.

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thrill
and AdBlock is the HEPA filter.

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dawhizkid
More like the nicotine patch made and sold by big tobacco

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RickS
This metaphor doesn't make any sense. Adblock is removal without substitution.

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SippinLean
Maybe they meant Adblock specifically (vs, say uBlock)

[https://medium.com/varanida/is-your-ad-blocker-selling-
you-o...](https://medium.com/varanida/is-your-ad-blocker-selling-you-
out-497b8db0761c)

