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The history of Commercial Social Media has some similarities to the history of Tobacco – we are now at the stage where we are discussing whether this habit (phone addiction) is good for children, in the same way as one of the public health responses to cigarettes was to try to prevent their use by children.
Everybody does it – all my data is out there anyway
At one time smoking was common in every enclosed space, a person could not go to a bar or restaurant, get on a bus, work in an office, without being exposed to second hand smoke – so why not join the crowd, rather than being a weird non-smoker.
It is good for your health
In its earliest days tobacco was promoted as a medicinal herb, and cigarettes were part of the rations soldiers received during the First World War.
Staying in touch with others does have great mental health advantages, the problem comes when that is moderated through a third party which is deliberately designing the systems people are using to make them addictive.