Ask HN: What are unintended consequences of new tech you've noticed? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: What are unintended consequences of new tech you've noticed?

#181

Post by munmaek » Sat, Oct 26, 2019, 4:23 AM UTC

SteveNuts wrote: post #120

nperez wrote: post #106

For me, tech has turned into a crutch when I don't know what to do. I've caught myself in the middle of automatic behavior and it's a bit scary - opening Reddit or HN, closing it because I've already read everything on the front page, then opening it again a few seconds later without even thinking about it. I wonder what I would be doing without it. Creating art? Going out? I'd have to do something. It's something I…

I feel the same way, I instinctually open my phone to ease even the slightest twinge of boredom. I don't think it would be SO bad if the news wasn't so depressing and horrible. There are at least 2 incredibly sad stories on the front page of Reddit at all times it seems. I wish there was something positive to fill the gaps.

It’s called unsubscribing from those subreddits. Reddit is exactly what you want to make out of it.

Re: Ask HN: What are unintended consequences of new tech you've noticed?

#182

Post by toopickydamit » Sat, Oct 26, 2019, 4:24 AM UTC

tartoran wrote: post #152

logicalmonster wrote: post #64

The biggest societal altering impacts may be in terms of dating and reproduction. This has major cultural consequences. * There’s more than 1 reason for this, but approach patterns have changed. Men approaching women in real life is now rarer than it was in favor of online meeting through Apps. * Many relationships now happen based on online dating. In a sense, a series of algorithms are already dictating human repro…

Average men should seek average women and the reverse should be true. There are a lot more variables than just looks. I don’t think dating apps are necessarily the problem here but the skewed expectations that were enforced through media: actors, models, etc. I had a roommate who confessed to me he had never been in a relationship. He was 30, average looking or around that and it turned out he was rejecting any avera…

I have this problem but I don't think it's so related to looks. Maybe it's where I live. I haven't had a real relationship in 16years (yes, no sex, no hugs, no kisses, no handholds, nothing. Was married short term a long time ago > 25yrs.

I've fallen for women who haven't fallen for me and vice versa . I don't feel like I'm looking for too attractive. In fact too attractive, as in model looking, is generally a turn off as I'm prejudice to believe they'll be high maintenance.

Rather I keep looking for a "soul mate" type and as an atheist science oriented geek, at least in my circles, it's hard to find my female counterpart. It's a selfish reason I wish there were more women in tech. Every job I've had has been 90-98% men. In general the women I meet are either spiritual/superstitious (believe in things I can't support as a partner) or they just have zero common interests. I'm not looking for a clone but I'd love to meet someone who can share a few passions more than just generic "travel" and "food" but they are few and far between.

I'm sure I am "self sabotaging" but "I found myself attracted quite often to people’s personalities such that I am totally blinded to what they look like" matches me to some extent. I can't say I'm totally blinded but it's definitely a huge attractive attribute, more than looks.

Re: Ask HN: What are unintended consequences of new tech you've noticed?

#183

Post by aaron695 » Sat, Oct 26, 2019, 4:25 AM UTC

By allowing Democracy to be implemented better, it's worse.

Re: Ask HN: What are unintended consequences of new tech you've noticed?

#184

Post by munmaek » Sat, Oct 26, 2019, 4:28 AM UTC

zonidjan wrote: post #146

un_montagnard wrote: post #141

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is depressingly relatable. Sometimes when I'm walking back home, I end up checking Instagram, Reddit, work mail at every crosswalk while I'm waiting for the signal to turn green. And I'm not happy because either there's nothing new or because I realize what I'm doing and I tell myself "look what you've become, you're not even capable of waiting 30 seconds without pulling out your phone".

Would you be any happier if you were, instead, standing there staring at traffic waiting for the light to change?

Yes. You have two main options, among others.

1) choose to focus on the sensory input you’re receiving. The view of the scenery around you, the noise around you, the wind on your skin. Cars and their passengers can be interesting in their own right- people watching still exists.

2) meditate or think about something.

Those are substantially better than refreshing HN, Instagram, etc for the hundredth time that day.

Being bored is a choice. It takes work to not reflexively pull open Reddit. I still struggle with this from time to time.

Re: Ask HN: What are unintended consequences of new tech you've noticed?

#185

Post by WrtCdEvrydy » Sat, Oct 26, 2019, 4:29 AM UTC

sethammons wrote: post #79

As tech gets more and more advanced and we get higher and higher levels of abstraction, I've noticed more and more programmers just don't understand _what_ their code is doing. There can be a lack of understanding of how calls translate to system calls and machine instruction. The abstraction is good, it allows you to do more and do it quickly. But when you don't understand what the abstraction is, then you are progr…

I should write a medium article on the questions we asked during interviewing and what the success rate was for each question (spoiler: it was depressing).

Re: Ask HN: What are unintended consequences of new tech you've noticed?

#186

Post by munmaek » Sat, Oct 26, 2019, 4:31 AM UTC

muzani wrote: post #162

flyinghamster wrote: post #143

One of the big things for me is the demise of trustworthiness in just about everything. Extremely cheap phone calls plus Caller ID spoofing has made the telephone almost useless (raise your hand if you only answer callers in your contact list!), email has never been trustworthy, and the internet has made it possible for hoaxes to spread farther and faster than ever.

There's an app for that: Truecaller. It crowdsources who is calling.

Why would I hand over my contact info to some app?

Re: Ask HN: What are unintended consequences of new tech you've noticed?

#187

Post by bryanmgreen » Sat, Oct 26, 2019, 4:36 AM UTC

Good comments from personal perspectives.

From a professional one, an absolute uncontrollable addiction to unprecedented amounts of data.

I'm not much of a Star Wars fan, so forgive me if my analogy is a little off, but here it goes... It's like the Force. Everyone wants it but few can handle it. Of the few who can, the ones who use it for good are constantly fighting a battle against those who wield it recklessly or with malice.

And with modern infrastructure, that data can captured and leveraged in astonishingly quick ways that make it very hard to stop.

Re: Ask HN: What are unintended consequences of new tech you've noticed?

#188

Post by mattrp » Sat, Oct 26, 2019, 4:39 AM UTC

Upgrading to ios 13 and realizing they broke find my iPhone. It used to be I would log in to find my wife’s phone the half dozen times a day she’s forget where she put it. Now... I have to go to iCloud.com in a browser... another irony- her credentials are stored in my passwords whereas the old find my iPhone had no option but to forget credentials...

Re: Ask HN: What are unintended consequences of new tech you've noticed?

#189

Post by corodra » Sat, Oct 26, 2019, 4:41 AM UTC

Progress before people.

While the Industrial Revolution is the accepted era as the real beginning of progress before people, I feel the new age of technology will make the Industrial Revolution look like an humanitarian endeavor without a PR team, in comparison. In 2 or 3 decades, we'll look back and at the Industrial Revolution as good old times, even with all its utter failures.

I'm sad to see that people don't see beyond modern PR. Even with the recent Silicon Valley scandals and failures... people say they don't believe in religion... but they traded one religion for another. They all pray and tithe to the silicon valley titans and think that's okay.

Re: Ask HN: What are unintended consequences of new tech you've noticed?

#190

Post by shantly » Sat, Oct 26, 2019, 4:44 AM UTC

greggman2 wrote: post #164

shantly wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you don't have to have home Internet service and an Internet-connected phone for work... shut off those services. It's fine. There's more stuff to do without the Internet than a person can reasonably do, anyway, even if you're pretty picky.

I find that advice hard to accept. I'm older so I spent plenty of time as an adult without the internet (unless you count BBSes). I use the internet to find things to do. Meetups to go to, events on facebook, events and parties friends invite me to, restaurants to go do, etc... I don't know how I would do it without the internet at this point. Maybe it used to be I'd look in the local paper like SF Weekly or LA Weekl…

Well if it's helping you socialize, don't take that advice. Everyone's different. I'd ditch it if I could (for work reasons, for me and for my spouse, I cannot) but then texting is the most technological thing I really need to keep in touch these days, and maybe the occasional e-mail check-in or phone call, and entertainment and diversion's laughably abundant even without it so that's not a concern. If I were finding meetups and such on the Internet that'd be different.