Facebook is an addiction treadmill most may never be able to quit • Hacker News Board

Re: Facebook is an addiction treadmill most may never be able to quit

#191

Post by pier25 » Thu, Oct 07, 2021, 1:41 AM UTC

ed_elliott_asc wrote: post #97

captainmuon wrote: post #14

Are they taking about the same Facebook? I find it utterly boring and only use it for messenger anymore. It used to be addictive, before social media, when it was a social network. You were interacting with real people, you could meet new people, "stalk" people you know IRL, share stuff about yourself or find out stuff about others. You would try to find your crush on FB and check see if you have common acquaintances…

I think my wife is addicted, she will pick up her phone to do one thing but first goes to Facebook and scrolls, then she forgets what she was using her phone for. Maybe not addicted but she has a habit of going to Facebook every time she uses her phone.

That was me for years.

The way I quit was to log out. I compulsively kept opening a new tab but having to log in was enough to make me close the tab. The compulsion vanished much quicker than I thought. In a week or so Facebook was out of my life.

Re: Facebook is an addiction treadmill most may never be able to quit

#192

Post by m0zg » Thu, Oct 07, 2021, 1:45 AM UTC

Instagram is actually much worse. FB is not super addictive, at least it wasn't for me. But IG is, and it very clearly has been _designed_ to be that way. It took some effort for me to get off it, and my wife is unable to kick the habit even after I demonstrated to her _with data_ that her Instagram browsing is now a full blown part-time job, and that time could be put to a much better use. TikTok, FWIW, is even more addictive than that, on top of effectively being foreign intelligence spyware. This is being done deliberately much for the same reasons Big Tobacco added stuff to tobacco to make people buy more cigarettes.

There are basically two benefits to social media, in my view:

1. It de-centralizes narrative peddling from just 5 or so people who own all of the media to a much greater number, so it gets harder to "make people believe in absurdities to get them to commit atrocities". I'm sure someone will argue the opposite, but the fact is, if FB existed in early 00s, NYT would not be able to sell us the Iraq war. Ms. Haugen is arguing that the 5 people should regain that capability. I disagree with this very strongly. I'd rather have disinformation from multiple sides rather than from just one - easier to read between the lines that way.

2. It lets families and circles of friends communicate a bit more effectively than, say, an instant messenger would. I think the trend there is actually towards messengers - my friends worldwide basically have our own "feed" in Signal which we do not share with anyone else, and from which messages disappear after 4 weeks. Zuck clearly saw this trend much earlier than most people, hence the acquisition of WhatsApp for an eye popping amount of money.

IG / TikTok are borderline useless in either of those things. They just drive jealousy, depression and mental illness in people since no matter how well off you are your life won't be as exciting as the collage that consists of the best 30 seconds of someone's year. It basically looks like your life sucks and everyone else's doesn't, even though it could very well be the other way around IRL, and things intrinsically seem that way to nearly everyone who uses the product.

As a side note I'm very disappointed that Petapixel chose to participate in what is an obvious and crude political hatchet job.

Re: Facebook is an addiction treadmill most may never be able to quit

#193

Post by rafale » Thu, Oct 07, 2021, 1:46 AM UTC

khazhoux wrote: post #183

For everyone here who --like me-- has never bought into Facebook, and never gotten hooked on it, congratulations. We are free of the Facebook dopamine dispenser, unlike our poor friends and family. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go refresh the HN front page for the 10th time today, and after checking how many upvotes I got on my latest comments, don't mind if I jump back over to reddit for a while, and then b…

You made me laugh, but also think what I might be addicted to. I can't think of a single thing except porn. Highly functional addict buy still one nonetheless. I don't think I can quit.

It's odd though that it's the only thing. I've always thought that susceptibility to addiction is a personality trait that make you usually get addicted to more than one thing.

Re: Facebook is an addiction treadmill most may never be able to quit

#194

Post by rvbissell » Thu, Oct 07, 2021, 1:47 AM UTC

ewzimm wrote: post #167

rvbissell wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I suspect it depends on how much social and psychological equity you have invested in the core beliefs, when they get challenged. If you've never experienced much indoctrination, I can completely understand why it would be hard for you to relate.

I’m not sure what you would consider indoctrination, but I was raised in a traditional religion and was considering a religious career when I started debating doctrinal issues with others. It wasn’t a lightly made decision to admit that some of my opponents had better arguments, but I was more grateful to be educated than disappointed that I had been wrong. I have always preferred the knowledge that comes from losing…

My reply was influenced by my own experience & biases. While I'm generally negative towards religion overall -- because of the specific one I was brought up under-- I do have to recognize that some people have had healthier, more positive experiences with their own. So when I said 'indoctrination', I was specifically thinking of religions that shield their untenable doctrines by vilifying critical thinking skills.

Re: Facebook is an addiction treadmill most may never be able to quit

#195

Post by KingMachiavelli » Thu, Oct 07, 2021, 1:50 AM UTC

btown wrote: post #187

khazhoux wrote: post #183

For everyone here who --like me-- has never bought into Facebook, and never gotten hooked on it, congratulations. We are free of the Facebook dopamine dispenser, unlike our poor friends and family. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go refresh the HN front page for the 10th time today, and after checking how many upvotes I got on my latest comments, don't mind if I jump back over to reddit for a while, and then b…

Can you imagine if Facebook had like karma? Global GDP would almost immediately take a nosedive!

It basically does since it has likes/reactions for posts. Except it's worth because the only likes/reactions that matter are the ones people will see today which makes it seam like getting 500 or even 5000 likes per post is a totally normal 'goal'.

In comparison HN, the number of possible karma per post is pretty much an equal playing field (save for a few recognizable accounts).

Re: Facebook is an addiction treadmill most may never be able to quit

#196

Post by KingMachiavelli » Thu, Oct 07, 2021, 1:53 AM UTC

scrapcode wrote: post #175

speedybird wrote: post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If quitting facebook is framed as impossible, then those who want to quit will feel helpless. Posts like the one above are helpful because they tell people that there is hope. You can quit facebook. Should we tell alcoholics that they'll never quit and their plight is hopeless? Or do we amplify the voices of those who succeeded in quitting, in the hopes that others may find inspiration to do the same? I'll do the lat…

I grew up in "Small Town America" in a large family and was really one of the "few" to ever move away (if any). The "problem" for me is that there really isn't an alternative to Facebook for sharing pictures and videos of my son and family for my close family to be a part of. I could have a personal blog, gallery, etc, but my grandparents that are on facebook (my son's great grandparents) don't get to see how much al…

I don't think that kind of usage is a problem. If you are actually using it to share stuff occasionally then it's just a more accessible blog (well besides the privacy issues).

If you are spending hours a day trying to attract attention then that's an issue. If you spend hours a day posting every detail about your life then it might be an issue it might not - it's just a matter of deciding how you want to spend your time.

Re: Facebook is an addiction treadmill most may never be able to quit

#197

Post by pedroma » Thu, Oct 07, 2021, 1:55 AM UTC

speedybird wrote: post #173

ferrumfist wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Reddit is an amazing platform for niche hobbies and tech forums. It is fucking terrible for its political news. It's so clearly biased AND it leaks into every default subreddit.

> Reddit is an amazing platform for niche hobbies and tech forums. I tried this for a while but the flagrant low-effort karma farming even on those subreddits drove me away. The last subreddit I still read towards the end was r/skookum. It was in interesting community for a while; a lot of neat heavy industry stuff. But I had to quit after seeing about ten thousand "look I found a wrench that says skookum on it, give…

You're on the wrong website if you're trying to avoid karma farming.

Re: Facebook is an addiction treadmill most may never be able to quit

#198

Post by KingMachiavelli » Thu, Oct 07, 2021, 1:59 AM UTC

ed_elliott_asc wrote: post #97

captainmuon wrote: post #14

Are they taking about the same Facebook? I find it utterly boring and only use it for messenger anymore. It used to be addictive, before social media, when it was a social network. You were interacting with real people, you could meet new people, "stalk" people you know IRL, share stuff about yourself or find out stuff about others. You would try to find your crush on FB and check see if you have common acquaintances…

I think my wife is addicted, she will pick up her phone to do one thing but first goes to Facebook and scrolls, then she forgets what she was using her phone for. Maybe not addicted but she has a habit of going to Facebook every time she uses her phone.

Is that worse than spending time on Reddit, HN, Youtube, etc.? What about watching TV or movies?

You could make the argument that the content is worse in some way but even that is debatable since depending on who you follow on FB (groups, etc.) really changes what the content is.

Re: Facebook is an addiction treadmill most may never be able to quit

#199

Post by KingMachiavelli » Thu, Oct 07, 2021, 2:02 AM UTC

treeman79 wrote: post #37

itake wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

+1. My news feed is like 90% memes and ads. I have like 3 friends that actually make interesting text posts that foster discussions. Everything else is a waste cognitive energy.

I Facebook for support forums for autoimmune conditions. It is drastically better then Reddit for finding answers or suggestions. Every question gets dozens of answers many of which are very insightful and useful if repetitive. The sort of stuff that doctors don’t like to explain like my bloodwork says this what does that mean and what should I do next. people will have excellent answers.

Reddit used to be really great for this type of community when subreddits could customize stuff and even have a dedicated Wiki. It's really gone the opposite direction in the last few years. They still can have these things but the tools are literally 10+ years behind.

Re: Facebook is an addiction treadmill most may never be able to quit

#200

Post by pedroma » Thu, Oct 07, 2021, 2:03 AM UTC

alchemyromcom wrote: post #58

I personally found Facebook hard to quit, but not entirely impossible. I would compare it to giving up cigarettes: not easy, but I got through it. I am coming to terms with the fact that I have have a very serious and damaging internet addiction, however. Like many serious addictions, there's a lot of shame attached to my real addiction, which is 4chan. 4chan is like being addicted to heroin. Every day is a battle to…

Nobody quits that website. I've tried a few times. Meanwhile I was able to quit FB in one evening and haven't been back.