I just watched a TV series set in the 1960s. In every episode, the characters are smoking. At dinner, in bed, at restaurants, in the back of a taxi, etc. While I had to explain to my grandchildren what the ashtrays in the armrests on the airplane were last summer (their expressions of horror were priceless), I remember the Marlboro Man and Victoria Slims ads on TV and in magazines.
It’s only been recently that the tobacco companies were called out for lying to their customers for decades. For a fun trip down the rabbit hole of false advertising, look up “vintage cigarette ads.” Despite their claims, it turns out their products weren’t safe or healthy after all. Oops.
As much as we like to point fingers at “the government” as untrustworthy and deceptive, we need to remember it was the big corporations and their lobbyists that foisted those false claims on the American public for years, all in the pursuit of profit.
Today we’re pretty well-informed about the health risks posed by cigarettes and the addictive qualities of nicotine. Cigarette packs come with government-mandated warning labels, product advertising to certain demographic audiences is curtailed, and laws restrict when and where people are allowed to smoke. All of that has gradually shifted public perception.
Now we’re presented with a new product, one that’s possibly even more addictive than nicotine — and we’re just like those characters in that TV show, sitting around a table lighting up after a meal, only now the light comes from our smartphone screens as we endlessly scroll social media.
The warnings are starting to trickle out… mental illness and suicidality, sleep disruption, neurotransmitter imbalances, “text neck,” bullying, lying, false advertising, financial scams, “catfishing,” even human trafficking. But when you’re addicted, you don’t think any of those risks apply to you.
We ought to know by now that big corporations do not care about our well-being unless it affects their bottom line, and their bottom line all too often lines the pockets of the politicians who are tasked with serving and protecting their constituents.
What kind of experiment are we all unwittingly participating in, and what will be the long-term consequences? Will the social media of today be the cigarettes of tomorrow?
