It’s Alex Massie with the latest insanity:

consider this question, asked by the Irish Labour MEP Nessa Childers:

There has been an explosion in the usage of this online social networking tool across Europe: unfortunately many people have crossed the line from social networking to social dysfunction. This is a real health issue and I am calling upon the Commission to take action. Visiting your Facebook page frequently actually causes what psychologists refer to as ‘intermittent reinforcement’. Notifications, messages and invitations reward you with an unpredictable high, much like gambling. That anticipation can get dangerously addictive. Many people access their Facebook page once or twice a week; however, for others it has turned into a compulsion — and it is a compulsion to dissociate yourself from your real world and go and live in the Facebook world. Moderate usage is not a problem at all for most people, however some people do not seem to realise that it is not real life. With the passing into force of the Lisbon Treaty, the EU now has increased powers to legislate when there is a threat to public health in Europe. Will the Commission submit proposals to Parliament to address this growing threat to the mental health of European citizens?

I was uneasy when Elizabeth Edwards took to my teevee to explain how we must treat mental health like physical health and get with the nationalized health care. Not that I expect Congress to pass an anti-Twitter measure, complete with patriotic acronym, anytime soon. But I do expect to continue to see this pressure burden our idea of law — the notion that everyone is sick in some way, and with each sickness comes a new degree of regulation and official care. What greater invitation to meddlesome micromanagement is there than an obsession with public mental health?