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Show HN: I made a website that makes you cry

cryonceaweek.com

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Re: Show HN: I made a website that makes you cry

#241

Post by CMay »

moralestapia wrote: post #195
CMay wrote: post #176

I've been collecting videos for years that make me shed tears. I don't easily shed tears if it feels a little too manufactured. Usually what works best for me is just seeing actual genuine unprompted emotion, though sad scenarios without any emotion can do it if the sentimentality is balanced well. Tried maybe 5-6 videos on the site and none of them worked. :/ Just watched one of my old videos, boom, instant tears. D…

I'm curious. Can you share one of those videos? (None of the videos on the site made me feel bad, even slightly.)

Here's an example: https://youtu.be/y02xPRX6vCE?t=1376

Re: Show HN: I made a website that makes you cry

#242

Post by Alifatisk »

johnnymaroney wrote: post #235
Alifatisk wrote: post #222

Would be nice if I could hold and download the videon on the phone to share it

You should be able to share the vimeo links

My friends are lazy as hell, they rarely click on links. It's like a burden for them.

Re: Show HN: I made a website that makes you cry

#243

Post by pmarreck »

johnnymaroney wrote: post #229
pmarreck wrote: post #225

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, that's probably part of the issue- I seem unable to have a good cry, and haven't had one in years frankly, even when my mom died

Could be an emotional block for some reason. I'm working on a new project that goes deeper and helps you identify the root causes of things like this so you can better process and release your emotions. Would love for you to test it out when it's ready if you want. You are kind of who I'm building this for: https://www.feelapp.io

oooh. wow. yeah, I am the target market lol. I'm looking now! Just signed up for the waitlist.

Not sure if related, but I had kind of a miserable childhood (authoritarian parents, difficulty in fitting in due to being an insecure runty nerd, being a late bloomer due to late-onset hormones caused women to not be interested until much later, etc.) and I used to cry, I'd say, a lot, and then one day I suddenly stopped (not sure why, but just kind of got fed up with doing it?), and I basically haven't had a good cry since. Not through relationship breakups, not through my mom passing away, not through pet losses. I'd tear up a little, maybe while listening to a song that touched me, that's it. I reckon I haven't had a good, long, sincere cry in almost 40 fucking years.

My parents are German and pretty stoic, not sure if related. When my dad's parents and brother and sister died, I didn't see him cry. The ONLY time I saw him cry (which was jarring, as a kid) is when his beloved sailboat washed up on the rocks during a hurricane. He did kind of wail when he was walking the dog that got away from him and which then got immediately run over, but...

Re: Show HN: I made a website that makes you cry

#244

Post by teddyh »

throwanem wrote: post #232
teddyh wrote: post #230

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your reading comprehension seems to be lacking. Maybe you should read more books? What I meant to convey, seven years ago , when writing that comment making the analogy to Zen Buddhism (as described by Alan Watts at least) was that there are those who come to understand technology and immediately go off and despise and belittle all the people who don’t understand it. There are also those who come to understand techno…

You're right. Seven years is a long time. I'm not the one who brought it up. Why do you keep using forty words where two or three would serve?

I have no idea what you are talking about. I certainly did not bring up Alan Watts again; you did. It also takes a lot of words to convey my thoughts accurately to someone who seems bent on misunderstanding them.

Re: Show HN: I made a website that makes you cry

#245

Post by johnnymaroney »

bejd wrote: post #181
FireInsight wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not gonna lie, this whole "Feel - Emotions on Demand" thing sounds like a slightly dystopian scifi concept. Maybe like a Black Mirror -style parody of how even emotions can be manufactured nowadays.

Sounds like the "Penfield Mood Organ"[0] from Philip K. Dick's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep . Characters "dial" emotions, from basic to extremely specific (e.g. "481. Awareness of the manifold possibilities open [...] in the future", or "888 [...] The desire to watch TV, no matter what's on it") [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penfield_mood_organ

It could be considered similar to this. In a way the Penfield Mood Organ could be seen as something that gives people emotional autonomy and optimization, not too different than choosing the right music for the moment to shift your mood.

Of course with something like this there are also concerns about emotional conformity and losing authenticity. And questions about what is considered a real authentic emotional experience vs a manufactured one.

Some might consider what we're building "manufactured" emotional experiences. But are emotions elicited from music and movies manufactured? Just because something is happening on a screen or coming through speakers doesn't make it any less meaningful. Our brains don't know the difference and the feeling is real.

Media influences our emotions probably more than anything right now and for the most part is currently being fed to us by algorithms designed to prey on our most vulnerable feelings. What we're building gives you the ability to regain control over your emotions and inner world. It's more about using art, audiovisual, media, storytelling, and guided practices to move you through something real. It's about emotional awareness, exploration, and transformation more than artificially induced control. Of course like any tech it's up to people how they choose to use it. But we are trying to design it in a way that prioritizes the emotional benefit and personal growth of each user.

It's an interesting philosophical conversation that could go much deeper. I appreciate the feedback and reflection.

Re: Show HN: I made a website that makes you cry

#246

Post by johnnymaroney »

pmarreck wrote: post #243
johnnymaroney wrote: post #229

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Could be an emotional block for some reason. I'm working on a new project that goes deeper and helps you identify the root causes of things like this so you can better process and release your emotions. Would love for you to test it out when it's ready if you want. You are kind of who I'm building this for: https://www.feelapp.io

oooh. wow. yeah, I am the target market lol. I'm looking now! Just signed up for the waitlist. Not sure if related, but I had kind of a miserable childhood (authoritarian parents, difficulty in fitting in due to being an insecure runty nerd, being a late bloomer due to late-onset hormones caused women to not be interested until much later, etc.) and I used to cry, I'd say, a lot , and then one day I suddenly stopped…

Thanks so much for signing up and sharing this with me.

When you say "not sure if related" I would say most probably yes. Most emotional issues come from our childhood. It's interesting that your parents are German too. There have been a few other Germans that said the site didn't work for them and they have trouble crying. Seems like definitely a cultural thing there.

Many of us as kids are told things like "don't cry, cheer up, calm down" etc, etc by our parents and other adults who we are desperately seeking approval from and reliant on for care and survival. So we may not even realize it at the time, but we conform and change to please them. We feel like we need to be a certain way in order to receive their love and care and attention.

I think the answer could be in that one day you suddenly stopped crying. It's interesting that you say you're not sure why. Sometimes we can forget moments like this because they can seem insignificant at the time but they actually are meaningful. Sometimes it can be more difficult than people who experienced something super traumatic and are able to pinpoint that that was when things changed.

What often happens is we either experience or suppress an emotion without much awareness, and rather than letting it pass or move through us, we ruminate on it and get caught in emotional loops. Then that emotion or the suppression of it becomes a mood. Then that mood becomes a personality trait. Then that personality trait becomes who we are. And years later we can find ourselves wondering why we feel the way we do or how the hell we ended up this way, because it was something that started when we were kids and we didn't understand how all this stuff works and unfortunately no one really told us or guided us.

I'm really excited for you to try the app. We are designing it so you can input things like this and it can help guide you to deeper understanding while processing and releasing necessary emotions. I'm building it for people like you where you are now, and also for younger people so they can catch these issues before 40 years fly by without shedding a single tear. It's never too late though. It's great that you are recognizing all this and I hope the app is able to help you.

Re: Show HN: I made a website that makes you cry

#249

Post by throwanem »

teddyh wrote: post #244
throwanem wrote: post #232

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're right. Seven years is a long time. I'm not the one who brought it up. Why do you keep using forty words where two or three would serve?

I have no idea what you are talking about. I certainly did not bring up Alan Watts again; you did. It also takes a lot of words to convey my thoughts accurately to someone who seems bent on misunderstanding them.

I restated them yesterday in https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44757634, assuming at the time that if you found any error there you would say so. Here's another chance to explain where I've actually failed to grasp your thesis, rather than that I'm pointing out you have overdressed a triviality with pretentious overcomplication.

But it's less interesting to me that you brought up Alan Watts seven years ago than that you did so again yesterday. What do you need from him? Why bring him up if you don't want to talk about him? Or is it that no one is allowed to have an opinion that contradicts yours, including when that involves looking askance at needless reference to dead prophets?

Re: Show HN: I made a website that makes you cry

#250

Post by pmarreck »

johnnymaroney wrote: post #246
pmarreck wrote: post #243

Earlier quoted context omitted.

oooh. wow. yeah, I am the target market lol. I'm looking now! Just signed up for the waitlist. Not sure if related, but I had kind of a miserable childhood (authoritarian parents, difficulty in fitting in due to being an insecure runty nerd, being a late bloomer due to late-onset hormones caused women to not be interested until much later, etc.) and I used to cry, I'd say, a lot , and then one day I suddenly stopped…

Thanks so much for signing up and sharing this with me. When you say "not sure if related" I would say most probably yes. Most emotional issues come from our childhood. It's interesting that your parents are German too. There have been a few other Germans that said the site didn't work for them and they have trouble crying. Seems like definitely a cultural thing there. Many of us as kids are told things like "don't c…

Hey, really appreciate it! I will keep an eye out for the invite. If you're feeling generous, my email that I signed up on the waitlist for is lumbergh@gmail.com

Also, thanks for pushing in this direction.

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