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Decline in teen drug use continues, surprising experts

(arstechnica.com)
349 points pseudolus | 7 comments | 17 Dec 24 23:44 UTC | HN request time: 0.891s | source | bottom
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vouaobrasil ◴[20 Dec 24 19:19 UTC] No.42474017[source]▶
I wonder if the new drug of choice is actually technology. In some ways I think that the addiction to technology has some similar mellowing effects as drugs. Some research indicates that smartphone addiction is also related to low self-esteem and avoidant attachment [1] and that smartphones can become an object of attachment [2]. The replacement of drugs by technology is not surprising as it significantly strengthens technological development especially as it is already well past the point of diminishing returns for improving every day life.

1. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S07475...

2. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S07475...

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1. card_zero ◴[21 Dec 24 08:56 UTC] No.42478352[source]▶
This is a massively overstated, trendy, technically incorrect thing to say.
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2. vouaobrasil ◴[21 Dec 24 11:25 UTC] No.42479030[source]▶
Even if technological "addiction" is not like real drug addiction, it is something strange. People constantly checking, scrolling without any real purpose. There's some sort of conditioned behaviour in it that has some facets of addiction.
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3. astura ◴[21 Dec 24 14:51 UTC] No.42480000[source]▶
How do you know they don't have a purpose? Seems like you're projecting your insecurities on strangers.
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4. nvarsj ◴[21 Dec 24 15:00 UTC] No.42480050[source]▶
Agreed. The original comment just made me think "good grief".

No, scrolling on a website is not the same as doing lines of coke in the club bathroom.

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5. 1986 ◴[21 Dec 24 15:18 UTC] No.42480136[source]▶
No, it's not, but there's a spectrum of drug experiences. Scrolling social media is more like sitting in a shitty motel by yourself on a meth binge, or being on the nod.
6. casey2 ◴[21 Dec 24 16:51 UTC] No.42480676[source]▶
You should read some absurdist literature, people doing things without any real purpose is very common.

Nobody cared about drug addiction until it was politicized. US politicians have a long history of using drug users as scapegoats to win elections to disastrous results. Prohibition, drug war, next are social media bans. The insanity will never end.

7. vouaobrasil ◴[21 Dec 24 17:47 UTC] No.42481040{3}[source]▶
A lot of people have the same feeling about technology. I personally regulate my technological use fairly stringently. I almost never carry a smartphone with me for instance. It's got nothing to do with personal insecurities. I'm just interested in contributing to a more critical discussion on technology.