Pincus defends Facebook against addiction claims, blames parents modeling phone behavior

What was said

"I don't blame Facebook for this. I don't think it's like cigarettes and it's a drug, or I don't blame games. I think it is a part of our culture and society that we— what are we modeling for them? We're on our phones constantly. It's like we're smoking cigarettes and then we blame the cigarette companies for our kids smoking."

Mark Pincus, whose company Zynga pioneered mobile gaming mechanics often criticized as addictive, argues phone and app addiction is primarily a parenting issue rather than a tech company problem. He contends that parents hypocritically blame platforms like Facebook while constantly modeling phone usage themselves. Pincus acknowledges screens cause isolation and sadness in his own children but maintains the responsibility lies with parents, not companies.