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Why our outdated brains are making us unhappy

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Re: Why our outdated brains are making us unhappy

#51

Post by bluntfang »

wambotron wrote: post #45
bluntfang wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>A far simpler solution is available to all of us: stop using Instagram. Easier said than done, no? That's basically saying "opt out of modern society," which I personally agree with, but it's not a reasonable solution. These companies that spend b/millions on psychological research to condition consumers is not going away anytime soon.

In what way is instagram "modern society?" You can stop using it, you won't even notice.

>You can stop using it, you won't even notice.

You're deliberately ignoring the idea of addiction, consumerism, and conditioning to feel superior because you think you can "quit" being influenced by our culture and society.

Re: Why our outdated brains are making us unhappy

#52

Post by caseysoftware »

JD557 wrote: post #32
thewarrior wrote: post #7

What I've noticed is that Instagrams recommendation algorithms are creepily accurate. If you like browsing pictures of butts you'll get lots of butts and of the exact kind that you'd like. I'm not sure how they do it. I don't even post on Instagram. And yet I'm addicted now to the Explore tab. They've genuinely managed to build something addictive in a way that other networks are not. Also Instagram is completely san…

I don't have a Facebook account (never did) but eventually "had" to create an Instagram account. I was baffled when I saw their recommendations: They recommended me some old classmates and my university without having any direct interaction from me. I understand how cookie syncing/matching works and I know Facebook probably knows a lot about me even without an account, but that still got me by surprise.

It's not just that.. anyone you know who ever imported their contacts list would be connected to you. With enough data points about them, FB/IG can infer quite a few things about you pretty easily.

If your university's alumni association imported their contact list, it's even worse.

Re: Why our outdated brains are making us unhappy

#53

Post by graycat »

To read the original post (OP), I had to look up the meaning of the acronym PPL -- "push, pull legs".

I never did see what "the 'gram" meant.

Uh, we have the Roman alphabet, the English language we can write using the Roman alphabet, and dictionaries where we can look up words in the English language written with the Roman alphabet. Commonly we can also use Google to look up such meanings.

Then acronyms such as PPL and abbreviations such as "the 'gram" are not in an English dictionary and, thus, are obscure and poor means of communications. Similarly for icons.

So, in the interest of clear communications, ease of use, and a good user experience (UX), the Web pages for my startup are in English using the Roman alphabet and have no acronyms, abbreviations, or icons, obscure or otherwise.

Doing the same, the OP would be easier to read.

Re: Why our outdated brains are making us unhappy

#54

Post by codingdave »

rtx wrote: post #50
thewarrior wrote: post #7

What I've noticed is that Instagrams recommendation algorithms are creepily accurate. If you like browsing pictures of butts you'll get lots of butts and of the exact kind that you'd like. I'm not sure how they do it. I don't even post on Instagram. And yet I'm addicted now to the Explore tab. They've genuinely managed to build something addictive in a way that other networks are not. Also Instagram is completely san…

As for the butt point, maybe you are not unique and are just seeing whats popular.

No, I post and look at almost exclusively photos of the outdoors in the western USA. I have no recommendations for butts, and few for photos of people of any kind -- they accurately point me to other nature and landscape photographers, and not much else.

Re: Why our outdated brains are making us unhappy

#55

Post by krisdol »

rtx wrote: post #50
thewarrior wrote: post #7

What I've noticed is that Instagrams recommendation algorithms are creepily accurate. If you like browsing pictures of butts you'll get lots of butts and of the exact kind that you'd like. I'm not sure how they do it. I don't even post on Instagram. And yet I'm addicted now to the Explore tab. They've genuinely managed to build something addictive in a way that other networks are not. Also Instagram is completely san…

As for the butt point, maybe you are not unique and are just seeing whats popular.

I never see butts on instagram :/, but I just use it to occasionally share photos I'm proud of, and that's usually the only time I also happen to browse what my friends have posted. I have zero interest in any social/communication aspect that instagram may offer.

Re: Why our outdated brains are making us unhappy

#56

Post by krisdol »

overcast wrote: post #24
graphitezepp wrote: post #17

Nobody will even bother to listen to me talk about social media anymore, because I am always telling people it is unhealthy and they should get off it (and yet I'm here). It is the worst fast food imaginable for our human need to socialize, transient and shallow.

I think comparing a discussion on HN to liking photos, and notifications on Instagram. Is a bit far fetched. You can easily argue about the addictiveness of an online forum, and social interaction. We are social creatures after all. But social media sites like IG, Facebook, Twitter, specifically target those weaknesses in our brain.

I've completely quit facebook and noticed that I just replaced its usage entirely by reddit. With facebook I usually just saw what my friends were up to; with reddit, I just see a bunch of strangers and recurring figures, and threads where everyone is an keyboard comedian. I think my reddit usage is extremely unhealthy because I just browse the same things over and over again in my free time. But most of the time I feel like I just don't know what to do (or don't have time to do what I know I should) on the internet anymore.

Re: Why our outdated brains are making us unhappy

#57

Post by zitterbewegung »

Why are people treating engagement as a new thing?

AdTech companies use the same strategies that newspapers used to use. Yellow journalism has become fake news. Tabloids are now blogs fueled by rumor mills. Newspapers trying to promote celebrities are the same as having a twitter / snapchat / instagram account.

A rose by any other name is still a rose.

Re: Why our outdated brains are making us unhappy

#58

Post by zzalpha »

bluntfang wrote: post #43
zzalpha wrote: post #35

Didn't add much to the discussion, unfortunately. The post is just material copied from Hooked (which is a creepy book worth reading!), plus observations that have already been made (social media causes us to compare ourselves to everyone else's highlight reel), followed by a bunch of generic, currently popular fads/lifestyle advice (keto diet, exercise, meditate, stoicism). A far simpler solution is available to all…

>A far simpler solution is available to all of us: stop using Instagram. Easier said than done, no? That's basically saying "opt out of modern society," which I personally agree with, but it's not a reasonable solution. These companies that spend b/millions on psychological research to condition consumers is not going away anytime soon.

> That's basically saying "opt out of modern society,"

Hahahaha... oh man... at what point did a photo sharing social media website become "modern society"?

> These companies that spend b/millions on psychological research to condition consumers is not going away anytime soon.

Look, if you're already considering drastic measures like fundamentally altering your diet, your exercise regime, or the very way you perceive the world and interact with people, I think it reasonable to suggest smaller, more achievable changes like opting out of the very things that are making you unhappy.

Simply removing the apps from your phone, which will take you mere seconds, would go a long long way by limiting exposure. Disabling or deleting your account entirely takes only seconds more, if you're willing to take the leap. This isn't like trying to kick a crack habit. You have a choice.

Re: Why our outdated brains are making us unhappy

#59

Post by theEXTORTCIST »

In society we have an endless amount of social warnings, "Don't drink too much, you'll get ill. Don't do drugs, you'll become an addict. Don't drive without your seatbelt, you can die. Don't watch too much TV, it's not good for you."

But we still lack any sort of warning in the greater contemporary society about the risks of overuse of the hyper stimulus that comes along with social media. I am definitely beginning to see this take shape in our society (with people rejecting social media applications, articles like this, the way people speak to the overuse of such platforms)

Re: Why our outdated brains are making us unhappy

#60

Post by taternuts »

devrandomguy wrote: post #48
jathu wrote: post #22

I've been reading a lot about this "ancestral hijacking" lately and have tried to cut out on a lot of them. My phone now only has two possible notifications: phone calls and Things app. I have 0 social apps or games. I am also slowly cutting out sugars and extra carbs. I think you guys should read about supernormal stimulus [1]. There is this comic [2] about supernormal stimulus that shows how man, and man alone, has…

There are times, when I can't honestly claim that my behavior is any smarter than that of the houseflies that die in front of the window, or the salmon that spends the remainder of its life searching for a way past a dam. The environment might be more complex, but the behavior is not. It is helpful to have a name for the system that is responsible, makes it much easier to recognize and derail it. I believe Sir Mix-A-…

One of the books that really allowed me to think differently and sometimes overpower my train of thought is called "The Power of Now". The rhetoric can be super flowery at times (especially in the beginning), but the point he tries to get across was incredibly novel to me and there's strategies in there to help you control your brain and use it more as a tool.

I often think that salmon has it better than us humans. The salmon is focused on doing what it's doing at the moment, and doesn't have the time or capacity to build a sense of 'self' that they are proud or ashamed of, that colors their actions and gives them pain in the moment because it wasn't what they wanted or thought it would be. They just want to get up stream.

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