[OkayPhysicist]

It's definitely a coordination problem. While all the kids might be better off without access to social media, the one kid who doesn't when everybody else does gets a significant alienation downside, probably more than cancelling out the benefits.

[MichaelZuo]

That seems more like an upside if their 'peers' are indeed so easily addicted.

It seems preferable to be alienated from such a coordinated network of addicts.

[Aerbil313]

It’s not a fault of their peers to be so easily addicted, rather the blame is on engineers working hard to make 2d images and text into dopamine drugs. Otherwise you’re right. People are so oversocialized that the very thought of alienation scares them. As if today’s society is the absolute pinnacle of goodness and everyone _must_ indulge in it as much as possible.

[OkayPhysicist]

Humans are social creatures. Loneliness due to be alienated from your peers puts you at risk for mental health issues, potentially more so than the social media you alienated yourself from your peers to avoid. Hence the coordination problem.

[MichaelZuo]

Nearly half of all possible human actions puts one at risk for mental health issues, to varying degrees, so that doesn't seem like a sufficient justification for intentionally addicting oneself.