I agree that these platforms are an issue, but I think it's also a matter of how you use them. I spent a couple years on Twitter/X and regret every minute, whereas my time on Instagram has been great. That's because I fed my X algorithm all sorts of rage bait and political content through my interactions and follows, and likewise my Instagram is full of friend's posts, comedy skits, and poetry/literature due to mindful interactions with content. I'm not saying the platforms aren't at fault, because they definitely are, but it's also possible to curate your feeds for stuff that's healthier.

That being said, we shouldn't have to put effort into curating our feeds to ensure we don't become mentally unwell. I'd be happy if every social network disappeared and we went back to chatrooms and maybe 2013 Instagram / some way to share photos with friends.

I'm an older gen-z and I see my younger peers starting to become mindful of the harms of social media. I don't know if it will ever be seen as harmful as smoking, but I have a feeling that the younger crowd is ready for a more mindful form of social media. Anecdotal, but it feels like my generation mostly uses Snapchat, Instagram, and TikTok, FB and X are more for millennials. We're aware of doomscrolling and stuff, perhaps in the near future we will drop our usage of TikTok and a new, more mindful form of social media will emerge.

edit: just realised I wrote "mindful" 50 million times