Modern Media Is a DoS Attack on Free Will • Hacker News Board

Re: Modern Media Is a DoS Attack on Free Will

#421

Post by dredmorbius » Tue, Nov 21, 2017, 7:55 AM UTC

pantalaimon wrote: post #243

jacobra2 wrote: post #145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've done something similar with my Android phone, and it's worked out decently. One problem I encountered though - I spent a lot of time on Reddit, and would check it subconsciously, so I deleted it. Now I find that I'm using Google Now, the left swipe off the home screen. In effect I took the attention from Reddit and gave it to Google. I'm not convinced that was a worthwhile trade. Given I can't delete Google Now,…

> I spent a lot of time on Reddit, and would check it subconsciously, so I deleted it. How can you delete a website? No seriously, how do you keep the browser from hooking you? I don't have any apps installed and I often fall into a reddit-hn-local_news1-local_news2-it_news1-it_news2 cycle that I start all over when I'm done with it just to check if something new happened in the meantime! Especially on Weekend mornin…

Block the host at your firewall or in /etc/hosts (or system equivalent).

dnsmasq is rather good for this.

Re: Modern Media Is a DoS Attack on Free Will

#422

Post by StanislavPetrov » Tue, Nov 21, 2017, 8:03 AM UTC

free_everybody wrote: post #256

Stop carrying your smartphone. Leave it at home. If you must because your family/work depends on you, then delete every app. Use your laptop as your main driver. If you need to, get a laptop with better battery life. Start developing a personal philosophy of internet usage. Here is mine: Category 3 [Abstain from completely] Reddit (Yes, all of reddit), Facebook ... Category 2 [Check once every couple days ~15 min tot…

Been a techie for more than three decades. Never saw the appeal in a smartphone or social media. I don't understand the fascination in broadcasting all of your personal information to the world (both via facebook and via wi-fi from your "smartphone") at all times. We all have desktops and laptops, why the need for a smartphone? I'd be willing to wager that I enjoy my leisurely train ride with my newspaper and my coffee far more than people who have their face glued to their phones. I believe there is more value in talking to a friend or a family member that you haven't seen in several months to catch up, rather than to be spammed daily with the inconsequential details of their lives (and they with yours). And god forbid you send a letter through snail mail! Life should be like a good meal or a fine wine, consumed slowly, thoughtfully, and with enjoyment.

Re: Modern Media Is a DoS Attack on Free Will

#423

Post by zmb_ » Tue, Nov 21, 2017, 8:03 AM UTC

csharpminor wrote: post #309

free_everybody wrote: post #256

Stop carrying your smartphone. Leave it at home. If you must because your family/work depends on you, then delete every app. Use your laptop as your main driver. If you need to, get a laptop with better battery life. Start developing a personal philosophy of internet usage. Here is mine: Category 3 [Abstain from completely] Reddit (Yes, all of reddit), Facebook ... Category 2 [Check once every couple days ~15 min tot…

I have a similar strategy and highly recommend Self Control App: https://github.com/SelfControlApp/selfcontrol/ Once I started blocking sites from myself I realized I was reflexively jumping over to distraction sites, particularly when I felt stuck or discouraged. Don't fall into the trap of thinking that willpower is the only way to get more focused. Use software to level the playing field. Another thing that's help…

For me it was very useful to understand that there are three things that need to coincide for an action to occur: 1) motivation, 2) ability, 3) trigger. Remove any one of them and the action won't occur.

When trying to get rid of undesired actions, many people (and guides) focus on the first one -- willpower. But that is the most fickle and difficult one to attack. It is much more effective to attack the other two: remove the ability (multiple layers of blocking certain websites, for example) and the trigger (identify the trigger and either find ways to avoid it or reprogram it by internalizing if-X-then-Y behaviors where X is the trigger).

This also works for building desired actions: make it as easy as possible to take the action, and program triggers to start them.

Re: Modern Media Is a DoS Attack on Free Will

#424

Post by _rpd » Tue, Nov 21, 2017, 8:16 AM UTC

HoppedUpMenace wrote: post #120

"The First Amendment protects freedom of speech, but it doesn’t necessarily protect freedom of attention." Are you suggesting that people's free will is so easily lost that we needed to have, in the First Amendment, a clause stating "freedom from external thought influences"? "Modern Media is a DoS Attack on Your Free Will" Only if you allow it to be, just like with any other compulsive activity, if it starts affecti…

> "Modern Media is a DoS Attack on Your Free Will"

> Only if you allow it to be, just like with any other compulsive activity, if it starts affecting your life negatively, you should probably make some personal life changes.

I think this belief - "you can't look away" - is so prevalent among journalists because (i) the idea that vast sections of the public pay no attention to them for extended periods of time is anathema and (ii) journalists are more likely to be from the group that "can't look away."

Re: Modern Media Is a DoS Attack on Free Will

#425

Post by pvdebbe » Tue, Nov 21, 2017, 8:16 AM UTC

dhd415 wrote: post #160

jacobra2 wrote: post #145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've done something similar with my Android phone, and it's worked out decently. One problem I encountered though - I spent a lot of time on Reddit, and would check it subconsciously, so I deleted it. Now I find that I'm using Google Now, the left swipe off the home screen. In effect I took the attention from Reddit and gave it to Google. I'm not convinced that was a worthwhile trade. Given I can't delete Google Now,…

FWIW, you can disable Google Now on your phone. On the more recent versions of Android, you long-press an empty spot on your home screen, select "Settings", and then locate and disable the "Your feed" item.

Moto G5, Android 7.0, the long press on home screen -> settings has no other settings but one. But I did locate the settings by going through Google Now's settings. Thanks for pointing this out!

Re: Modern Media Is a DoS Attack on Free Will

#426

Post by austinjp » Tue, Nov 21, 2017, 8:18 AM UTC

senko wrote: post #128

tribune wrote: post #34

I've been coming to resent my smartphone more and more, essentially because of this. I recently quit using tobacco. I remembered all the warnings from my school health classes about how hard it was to quit once you start, how there's a physical dependence and all that. It was uncomfortable at times, and there were plenty of cravings to get over, but I was ultimately successful. I can compare this to the couple of tim…

Here's how I (try to) keep the Internet-based distractions to a minimum: * Uninstall twitter, facebook and other social apps from your phone; only use the computer (or other device that's not constantly in your pocket). * Even on your computer, log out of twitter, facebook and others. Only log in when you want to look into something (eg. check the social events, send a message), and use private/incognito mode for thi…

> Even on your computer, log out of twitter, facebook and others. Only log in when you want to look into something... use private/incognito mode... use 2FA... it's an extra hurdle so you won't default to "quickly check"

Absolutely. Latest Firefox helps here. There's an option to use private by default for all windows. This means when you close it (another habit to develop perhaps) you don't stay logged in to these social media sites.

Re: Modern Media Is a DoS Attack on Free Will

#427

Post by austinjp » Tue, Nov 21, 2017, 8:21 AM UTC

senko wrote: post #128

tribune wrote: post #34

I've been coming to resent my smartphone more and more, essentially because of this. I recently quit using tobacco. I remembered all the warnings from my school health classes about how hard it was to quit once you start, how there's a physical dependence and all that. It was uncomfortable at times, and there were plenty of cravings to get over, but I was ultimately successful. I can compare this to the couple of tim…

Here's how I (try to) keep the Internet-based distractions to a minimum: * Uninstall twitter, facebook and other social apps from your phone; only use the computer (or other device that's not constantly in your pocket). * Even on your computer, log out of twitter, facebook and others. Only log in when you want to look into something (eg. check the social events, send a message), and use private/incognito mode for thi…

> ignore content that you know is junk but that tends to drag you in. I suspect this is slightly different for anyone, mine is: anything cute...

I've actually started deliberately looking at the cute stuff. It's a welcome antidote to the outrage apparent in other threads/sites. I have enough natural spleen already without needing to top it up.

Re: Modern Media Is a DoS Attack on Free Will

#428

Post by Modj » Tue, Nov 21, 2017, 8:37 AM UTC

Free will is a big subject, so I'll skip that one, but regardless, we can't escape our cognitive processes. Each new tech revolution has provided new choices and exposed systemic exploitation (printing press, translation of the bible, 30 years war). Often the result was the establishment of new forms of exploitation with more complexity and division while at the same time maintaining the previous form or forms of exploitation for as long as they were useful. For me, the larger problem is not the time associated with attention, nor the exploitation of that time, but exploitation itself. Our attention, wills and... are bound by common factors within separate groups of similar cognitive processes. These groups are formed and formative. I'll cut short here, because I don't want to exploit anyone :-), but it is up to us and them and the others to focus on common factors within different cognitive processes, rather then using the divisive factors in different cognitive processes as a form of control. It seems to me that the amount of time spent, the attention time, is less of a problem than the exploitation of that attention time in the sense that the problem of the shadows on the wall remains anyway, and there are always people who will reject the new shadows for the old ones, and people who will use dubious methods to keep one group staring at these shadows and another group staring at those shadows and another... And the collection plate has always existed, and it will always be passed around. Thing is, the shadows don't care, and the flame keepers, they seem, more often than not, to fall in love with their shadows. Time's up.

Re: Modern Media Is a DoS Attack on Free Will

#429

Post by letsgetphysITal » Tue, Nov 21, 2017, 8:39 AM UTC

vvanders wrote: post #284

eckza wrote: post #264

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I love this, I love this, I love this. Right now, I am about a month along with no Facebook or Messenger. Previously I spent hours per day on both, running a pretty large community group and supporting its members. I disappeared; no explanation. Stress levels are down, I have so much more time to do things, and I have so much more attention for the things that really matter. Anybody that needs me, has my phone number…

I love my Pebble for the same reason and I'm really dreading when they will become hard to come by. I already lost one Time Round to a swelling LiPo and nothing else has a similar form factor.

Fitbit killed the original Pebble, or at least I couldn't get my Pebble connected reliably to my iPhone. Apple watch is a great upgrade.

Re: Modern Media Is a DoS Attack on Free Will

#430

Post by dredmorbius » Tue, Nov 21, 2017, 8:40 AM UTC

tareqak wrote: post #233

Is there a way to see a history of notifications in both Android and iOS at all? It would be nice to be able to actually disable notifications permissions for apps that are more spammy than I expected them to be.

Not AFAIK.

This, by the way, is something that bugs the heck out of me about Google. Massively data-driven firm. Denies the public access to data about its own use of tools.