171–180 of 322 posts
You could also save yourself a lot of effort (and avoid being the constant subject of manipulation and exploitation) and not use centralized, capitalistic platforms like Instagram. Try Pixelfed ( https://pixelfed.org/ ) or something.
You could also save yourself a lot of effort (and avoid being the constant subject of manipulation and exploitation) and not use centralized, capitalistic platforms like Instagram. Try Pixelfed ( https://pixelfed.org/ ) or something.
And I want to be where my people are. So I choose to make informed trade-offs.
1. Don't show recommended content at all--I want to view only the content I've specifically asked for (or searched for) in this session
2. Recommend only content that I've chosen (e.g., by following), where there is a finite amount of it
You'd like such things to be part of the basic wiring of your device, though writing an app to regulate how other apps work is often not easy to implement today, so efforts like this are super valuable. What if a device could look after your attention and ensure you have the motivation to do other things?
Another way these kinds of switches could get built by requiring them as child safety features, like "Watch the YouTube video for school, but don't get an assault of Shorts after" or "See the single TikTok your friend sent, but don't spend five hours scrolling after"
It's pretty clear "willpower" does not suffice.
You could also save yourself a lot of effort (and avoid being the constant subject of manipulation and exploitation) and not use centralized, capitalistic platforms like Instagram. Try Pixelfed ( https://pixelfed.org/ ) or something.
When it feels like you constantly have to fight against the platform to try and scrap together a usable experience maybe its time to consider why you even use that platform. pixelfed is great and its such a breathe of fresh air compared to instagram.
- Tiktok: "I don't want or need this" -> Delete forever.
- Pixelfed: "I don't want or need this" -> Don't install.
- Instagram: "Still get a ton of value from seeing updates come in from family, don't want the option of getting deep into reels" -> Strict daily timer.
- YouTube: "Still get a ton of value from the network of content published to the platform consistently, don't want the option of getting deep into shorts" -> ??? self control.
The dilemma I have with YouTube feels like exactly what the OP's app is intended to solve.
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Earlier quoted context omitted.
Unfortunately, we're well past that era. Certain tech is so "good", we need to actively fight it and, sadly, the only solution is more tech. Not related, see also media and nutrition.
I don't agree. More tech will always have snickets we can bypass our best self-imposed gaols. The mitigations that work well for me are purely encouraging endogenous dopamine production. Hiking (or anything outdoors). Sleep improvement through regular rituals (no phone in bed). And, indeed, nutrition. Basically, the old adage of eat well, sleep well, get some exercise. That's how you get your groove back.
It's just that, sadly, the economic drivers (atm) for social media, food, news, and (most) traditional media are at odds with creating products for healthy consumption.
In the interim, we can counter that exposure when requisite interaction is mandated with tech (ad-blocking, nutrition information, etc.).
I do have hope that many of these economic drivers are starting to wane and there's still a chance of avoiding "Idiocracy" ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idiocracy ) as a documentary.
This is one of those things that should be unnecessary if we all had perfect self-control, but the reality is these apps are engineered explicitly to bypass that. It feels a bit silly to need guardrails for something as trivial as scrolling. Shameless personal plug: I wrote about it here. https://nabraj.com/blog/swipe-scroll-repeat-addiction/
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Because you can describe the chemical interactions of nicotine with the human body to a high degree of accuracy, while the psychology of human attention in the 21st century is a subject that is very far from that cut and dry. That's why we invented a pill that helps with the former, but we might never have one that helps with the latter (although that would be nice)
Nicotine is not very addictive. Cigarettes is about the physical addiction.
There is the additional addiction of the physical action just like addicts can get addicted to the act of using a needle, but this is in addition to the severely addicting nature of the substance itself.
Any drug that affects dopamine has the potential to be highly addictive. Nicotine is one such drug.
As others have said, the permissions required to make this work are scary and require a lot of trust. The fact YouTube and Instagram don't allow you to disable endless algorithmic short form content is straight up evil.