Dozens of U.S. states, including California, New York, Arizona and Indiana are suing Meta Platforms Inc. for harming young people’s mental health and contributing the youth mental health crisis by knowingly designing features on Instagram and Facebook that addict children to the platforms.
You’re absolutely not wrong, but I think they’re making the case that it’s like tobacco or gambling which society kinda agrees is stupid but allows adults to have the freedom to indulge in. Honestly I think it’s a good comparison.
It is a good comparison, but it goes to show how the framing of individual freedom supremacy warps any discussion about the collective. As soon as you hit “freedom age” magic number, suddenly you can’t hold accountable the powers at play anymore.
To an extent, but it’s also not like tobacco or gambling are wholly uncountable in the way that Meta largely is. I would be much happier with companies like Meta if their products at least came with a warning about potential for addiction/depression etc. When they pretend they are places to “connect” and have “friends” it feels kinda like if a casino was allowed to present itself as an “investment opportunity”.