I've been offline since last Wednesday, driving and camping throughout northern outback australia (escaping the vid!). I have a second rate carrier and tonight I hear my phone ping for the first time since I left. I've had reception before, but usually only while driving, usually passing through a larger town. This time I'm sitting next to the fire, near a town called Nhulunbuy in East Arnhem, aboriginal land, one of the more remote regions on the planet. I'm on a small red cliff overlooking the ocean, I've spotted a largish croc on the sand below only an hour before, and I can see the entire milky way above me (it's a new moon). As i'm writing this I just looked up and saw a satellite. The sky's been pretty similar the last week, but still it's spectacular. Anyway my phone pings and I pick it up and I end up reading the news and checking HN (for the first time in two weeks .. same old stories). What gives?
Ask HN: Is it just me? why is “news” so addictive?
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Re: Ask HN: Is it just me? why is “news” so addictive?
#2Our species has survived through millions of years of evolution by being social, and depending on others for resources. It's baked into our DNA by now. News is the ultimate form of social information, ergo, it's hard to resist.
Re: Ask HN: Is it just me? why is “news” so addictive?
#3I am in the same boat, floating the same ocean full of news.
New stuff, head lines, news flashes, breaking news, current events, notifications etc. all trigger some dopamine release and make me feel satisfied.
Re: Ask HN: Is it just me? why is “news” so addictive?
#4My understanding is it’s the little thrill your brain gets from the possibility of finding something super interesting. That’s the addicting piece. The gambling piece of it.
I read (or more likely heard on a podcast) about an experiment with mice and a food dispensing button. In one case, the button reliably dispensed food every time it was pressed. In the other case, sometimes the button wouldn’t work. The mice with the reliable button didn’t do anything odd. Whenever they were hungry, they would hit the button for some food. The mice with the unreliable button however would repeatedly hit the button, and they ended up being overweight.
My feeling is that if EVERYTHING on something like HN was super interesting, we’d only be here when we were up for some interesting reads. But the fact is, not everything is. But the possibility that something EXTRA interesting might pop up keeps us coming back in an addictive type of way.
Re: Ask HN: Is it just me? why is “news” so addictive?
#5Our species has survived through millions of years of evolution by being social, and depending on others for resources. It's baked into our DNA by now. News is the ultimate form of social information, ergo, it's hard to resist.
Yeah the social thing is real. But the relentless need for currency? It feels more like a disease than an evolution.
Re: Ask HN: Is it just me? why is “news” so addictive?
#6My understanding is it’s the little thrill your brain gets from the possibility of finding something super interesting. That’s the addicting piece. The gambling piece of it. I read (or more likely heard on a podcast) about an experiment with mice and a food dispensing button. In one case, the button reliably dispensed food every time it was pressed. In the other case, sometimes the button wouldn’t work. The mice with…
Yes. I like this. Now, how to resolve it?
Re: Ask HN: Is it just me? why is “news” so addictive?
#7It has always been. That’s why it’s called “News” not “Olds”. Getting access to the most up to date information about the world has always been compelling. Whether it’s where the best hunting or foraging grounds were, who is in a relationship to who, or which person/people are attacking our tribe. It’s all the same now.
Aggregators like people who are gossips, newspapers and now social media are all attention based. Even the structure of writing of news stories to give you the main story in the headline, then start with the conclusion and fill in the details has been making this type of information bite sized from the dawn of time.
And now of course our “news” is global, often the stories about people are not people actually in our lives (Royals? Celebrities, who cares?), and politics have cranked us vs them to 11. No wonder it’s addictive.
Add in complicated feelings that we want to avoid (how bout that pandemic?) and looking at new information also serves as a distraction from the things we can or cannot change in our lives.
Be well weary news consumer. Get off your phone and enjoy nature.
Re: Ask HN: Is it just me? why is “news” so addictive?
#8I think the whole package has been made in a such a way that it's addictive .. It's just another product being sold in the market ..
Re: Ask HN: Is it just me? why is “news” so addictive?
#9My understanding is it’s the little thrill your brain gets from the possibility of finding something super interesting. That’s the addicting piece. The gambling piece of it. I read (or more likely heard on a podcast) about an experiment with mice and a food dispensing button. In one case, the button reliably dispensed food every time it was pressed. In the other case, sometimes the button wouldn’t work. The mice with…
Yes. I like this. Now, how to resolve it?
In the words of Morrissey: Stop reading the news.
Re: Ask HN: Is it just me? why is “news” so addictive?
#10It has always been. That’s why it’s called “News” not “Olds”. Getting access to the most up to date information about the world has always been compelling. Whether it’s where the best hunting or foraging grounds were, who is in a relationship to who, or which person/people are attacking our tribe. It’s all the same now. Aggregators like people who are gossips, newspapers and now social media are all attention based.…
A distraction for sure. Luckily my battery is on 4% so I'll be forced off very soon.