Is Social Media The Tobacco Industry Of The 21st Century? http://ift.tt/2lz9pPM Remember the Marlboro Man, that big cowboy hunk who ended up a shriveled husk in a hospital bed, wracked by lung cancer, having spent the last years of his life on an anti-tobacco crusade? Or Yul Brynner, reaching out from beyond the grave to beg people not to smoke? The mea culpas of late from former Facebook executives have made me think of these images from my childhood, the staying power of big industries, and what turns the tide when it comes to public health. An addiction that pours money into the pockets of powerful elites is a hard thing to break -- something to keep in mind as the public health concerns about social media grow. MarketWatch recently reported:
It’s hard to see how America or American business would be the same if most people unwound social media from their lives. But back in 1964, when the surgeon general officially identified the health risks of tobacco, it would have been hard to imagine life without cigarettes. That year, 42% of Americans smoked. Today, 17.8% do. Tobacco companies sponsored game shows and cartoons, and cigarette ads featured endorsements from doctors, dentists and celebrities, according to this CNN article. It took 60-plus years and a combination of information, regulation, and lawsuits to drive the smoking rate down. The most important factor, perhaps, are the emotional narratives, like the Marlboro Man or Yul Brynner. We haven't seen those yet from the social media backlash, but we are close. As with tobacco in the mid-to-late 20th century, there are crises burning all over the social media world, from questions about social media’s role in the 2016 election scandal, to the platforms’ effect on public life, to research showing social media’s effect on mental health. Last spring, Harvard Business Review published a piece titled: The More You Use Facebook, the Worse You Feel. Former Facebook vice president of user growth Chamath Palihapitiya said that social media is “eroding the core foundations of how people behave” and that he feels “tremendous guilt” about creating tools that are “ripping apart the social fabric.” Facebook defended itself, noting that Palihapitiya hasn’t worked at the company for six years, and may not be aware of how the company is working to live up to its responsibilities. Business via Forbes - Entrepreneurs http://ift.tt/dTEDZf December 31, 2017 at 03:34PM
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