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I'd say it's more like the link between secondhand smoke and cancer, which is to say widely believed and seriously overstated.

This stuff was trending upward far before social media. See e.g. Putnam in Bowling Alone for a far more convincing explanation.

Facebook is the snake oil you're being sold as the cure for something that was already on its way up.

You're misinformed when it comes to secondhand smoke. From the NIH:

"The U.S. Surgeon General estimates that living with a smoker increases a nonsmoker’s chances of developing lung cancer by 20 to 30 percent."

"There is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke."

Not really the point of this thread. Analogies should elucidate, not distract. My bad.

Maybe we'll get a chance to argue it another time :)