Thank you! That's the first time I heard a sensible explanation of the word that's being used so much. That's indeed something different and malevolent.
> When it gets to a device that you are carrying with you 100% of the time it's a whole other level and degree of an issue.
But if social media was non-existent, then people would carry these devices with them for traditional broadcasts.
Let me make a comparison that I think is very on-topic: Alcohol is a traditional drug, less addictive and less harmful than many of the worst drugs. But more addictive and more harmful than many other drugs. Wouldn't it be strange if governments, regulators and rulers only focused on the other drugs and said nothing about alcohol? Would I be a Russian, Chinese or Iranian spy or a jew (as another poster just insinuated) if I said "Hey, what about alcohol?".
Traditional mass media regulation vs Internet regulation is not only an EU issue. What I said about the EU regulators could just as much be said about any other government doing the same. I don't think it's unjustified conspiratorial thinking to look at how rulers want to control speech and the flow of information for their own benefit. It's expected. If screen addiction was what they truly wanted to fight, then the EU Commission would also act against traditional broadcasts in the same way they act against social media. Just like rulers and regulators have acted in all kinds of ways against alcohol, including prohibition and other extreme measures.