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Comment by johnfn | Hacker News Reader

> Facebook really has little to do with this... if it wasnt facebook, it would be youtube, instagram, watching tv, or sleeping all day.

…or you could end up doing something to improve your situation, like taking a walk outside or going to the gym. It’s kinda like saying vapes aren’t a problem because you would just get a cigarette.

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In this case, if the individual is diagnosed with depression, taking away an escape from reality like Facebook doesn't solve the depression. Like they said, a depressed person will find something else to substitute Facebook. Depression needs actual treatment in most cases. The analogy to vaping and smoking doesn't exactly work.

The article literally says facebook aggravates depression. It's in the title. In this context, you can't just argue that taking away facebook doesn't help without reasons not to trust the article.

It's like a headline saying Budweiser fosters alcoholism. Yes, alcoholics will be worse off if they drink Budweiser and yes, Budweiser does in some way foster alcoholism by producing and selling alcohol, but it's a very narrow picture to paint Budweiser as the sole perpetrator, which is heavily implied by the headline.

I hate Facebook as much as the next guy, but in this case, singling it out like this is neither fair nor helpful. Just like shutting down Budweiser would do nothing to reduce alcoholism.

It’s also a bad faith argument as it ignores the positive aspect that it provides for many people.

We're discussing an article called "Facebook addiction increases depression severity". It's not bad faith, it's literally what the article says.

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