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My lizard brain is no match for infinite scroll

alexanderell.is

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Re: My lizard brain is no match for infinite scroll

#281

Post by stevage »

sh4rks wrote: post #44
eointierney wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Read books I'm not joking, it's the best antidote to the thought-theft of "social media". Pick a subject in which you're interested, find a representively excellent text, and read. And then re-read, because unless you're a genius you won't absorb everything first time. Also it's wonderful to just curl up with a book and a cup of tea and let time pass you by as you ... learn the considered thought of others! This is c…

I would love to do this, but years of mindlessly browsing social media has seriously shortened my attention span. I used to read books all the time. I remember staying up late as a kid just to read the new Harry Potter book. Nowadays I pick up a book, read a few pages, then immediately lose interest and go do something else. Anybody know how to get back into reading?

I found it helpful to put myself in situations where the book is the best alternative. Leave your phone, get the book, walk to a park, sit down with a beer. Every time you get bored and restless, you'll put the book down, remember you have no phone and pick it up again.

Re: My lizard brain is no match for infinite scroll

#282

Post by ejj28 »

morgante wrote: post #83
sodality2 wrote: post #24

I'm still young so maybe my mind hasn't matured enough to where I can combat this well. So I went heavy-handed - I have a button on my desk that when I press it, my server's DNS server (through which all my devices and router resolve) begins rejecting requests to reddit, instagram, twitter, hackernews, news.google.com, etc. For the next two hours, there is nothing I can do outside of SSH'ing through my mobile device…

What stops you from just changing your DNS server?

I suppose one could just block port 53 outbound, forcing you to use the local DNS server

Re: My lizard brain is no match for infinite scroll

#283

Post by blessingdusk »

Infinite scrolls and other features are classified as dark patterns, meaning it is a feature that is designed to engage the user as much as possible. The common denominator of all dark patterns are that they benefit the service provider or business at the detriment of the consumer. It helps being able to define what infinite scrolling does, because once you can recognize what a dark pattern entails, it will be much easier to spot and accordingly adjust your behaviors. Moderating your own behaviors when dealing with dark patterns is key.

Mobile games are notorious for this; the market for mobile games are flooded with "Log in everyday to get your dailies!" Initially I was enthralled by mobile gaming as a middle schooler. I got to play Clash of Clans in my classroom and away from my home computer. I am now in sophomore year of college. The novelty of mobile games wear off as soon as you realize that mobile games back then and still today are designed to monopolize your time. I like to think that mobile game developers do it because they are passionate about it, but their passion gets bogged down at their first gamedev job because of company politics and the fact that dark patterns make money.

Come to think of it, I really resonate with this author because dark patterns are everywhere. It is as if every single service provider is trying to monopolize your time. It happens with YouTube, computer games (notably Path of Exile), Discord, TikTok, Twitter, Instagram and so much more. Dark patterns are definitively not conducive to a healthy populace. Thinking of my own time as a finite resource really helps. Is this dark pattern worth my time? It is ridiculously easy to sink 8 hours of your time watching reality TV on YouTube. I would even go as far as to say that they are designed to keep the working and lower class poor. If anyone wants to inquire further about that statement, please reply.

Re: My lizard brain is no match for infinite scroll

#284

Post by giorgioz »

On many platforms there are ways to disable the infinite scroll/auto play:

Netflix: https://streamersworld.com/enable-disable-auto-play-next-epi...

Disable News Feed: - Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn - YouTube - Instagram - Y-Combinator News (Hacker News) - Reddit - Github https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/news-feed-eradicat...

Re: My lizard brain is no match for infinite scroll

#285

Post by InCityDreams »

thenerdhead wrote: post #62
sodality2 wrote: post #24

I'm still young so maybe my mind hasn't matured enough to where I can combat this well. So I went heavy-handed - I have a button on my desk that when I press it, my server's DNS server (through which all my devices and router resolve) begins rejecting requests to reddit, instagram, twitter, hackernews, news.google.com, etc. For the next two hours, there is nothing I can do outside of SSH'ing through my mobile device…

The Freedom app has similar options where you can disable turning it off during a session or even disable Task Manager / Activity Monitor while it's active too. https://freedom.to/ Anything that pisses me off works. Usually that's fully logging out of an app in a browser and not using any mobile apps.

I eventually found the pricing section...the green bit at the bottom, after 'try for free', behind 'freedom premium'. Thanks to my off button (and several comments herein), i now so much more appreciate how my off button is free. As in cost to use, and availability.

Re: My lizard brain is no match for infinite scroll

#286

Post by shinycode »

pjerem wrote: post #245
sodality2 wrote: post #24

I'm still young so maybe my mind hasn't matured enough to where I can combat this well. So I went heavy-handed - I have a button on my desk that when I press it, my server's DNS server (through which all my devices and router resolve) begins rejecting requests to reddit, instagram, twitter, hackernews, news.google.com, etc. For the next two hours, there is nothing I can do outside of SSH'ing through my mobile device…

Does this works for you ? (Blocking) I’ve tried it and even closed all my social media accounts. It sort of worked. For social medias… But it changed nothing, I found other addictions on the internet. It’s just … the smartphone. I blocked a little portion of the infinity that is the internet, but my lizard brain is smart enough to know that infinite content is still there, more easily accessible than letting my mind…

Infinite scrolling feels just like eating only pure sugar. It’s not quality food but really addictive. To fight this addiction physical blocking is one part of the solution. The other part is psychological and thus personal. What works for me and make me change might not me the same for you. That is why reading a book like Atomic Habits might help, but maybe you’ll need a few others to understand what needs to be changed to fight this. For me, one day I tried to remember what content I saw and what I got from spending tens of ours scrolling. The answer was nothing. I learned nothing and got nothing from it. Just like eating pure sugar all evening vs going out a bit walking and feeling refreshed or biking or whatever. I don’t want to be filled with empty stuff anymore. I don’t want socials to steal hours of sleep anymore. I don’t want to have the feeling that I’m giving McDonald’s every day to my brain. I found the ratio to feel satisfied is more like 10-5% rather than 80% of my free time on it. I deleted every single social app and I never ever missed it. Because they provide really nothing for my life and I have so much better to do around me or with other sources of content. That’s just me

Re: My lizard brain is no match for infinite scroll

#287

Post by executesorder66 »

eointierney wrote: post #84
sh4rks wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would love to do this, but years of mindlessly browsing social media has seriously shortened my attention span. I used to read books all the time. I remember staying up late as a kid just to read the new Harry Potter book. Nowadays I pick up a book, read a few pages, then immediately lose interest and go do something else. Anybody know how to get back into reading?

Just f*cking read :)

I'm sorry but I have to ask this every time I see it. I have yet to receive an answer.

What is the point of censoring 1 letter in an otherwise extremely obvious word?

You are not redacting the word. People reading the word don't bleep it out in their head. You know you are saying 'fucking', we know you are saying 'fucking'. HN doesn't block posts with "naughty" words in them.

So what are you trying to achieve? Please tell me.

Re: My lizard brain is no match for infinite scroll

#288

Post by ZYinMD »

Wiseacre wrote: post #182
ZYinMD wrote: post #180

I find these apps much healthier than games, because they're easy to put down, because there's no continuity between two items when you scroll. Some games are impossible to put down once you get hooked, and even when you're not playing them you still constantly think about "I'll do this and this next time".

Do you play them the moment you wake up in the morning?

Yes when I get addicted. The problem is it's hard to refrain even if you try. Social media on the other hand are totally easy to refrain from opening if you know you have more important things to do.

Re: My lizard brain is no match for infinite scroll

#289

Post by gernb »

I feel like I could say the same about infinite news which I'd define as a site I can check several times a day and see new "top stories". This would include Reddit and HN. I find it super addicting to check too many times and then get sucked into spending too much time reading comments and sometimes articles. Rarely am I actually better off for it .

Contrast to 20-30yrs ago where at best you got a newspaper once a day or if you were like me you got a few magazine subscriptions and once you browsed each one, that was it for your monthly article consumption.

Re: My lizard brain is no match for infinite scroll

#290

Post by carlmr »

sandermvanvliet wrote: post #255
LAC-Tech wrote: post #203

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I mean you can doom scroll on a desktop or laptop machine as well.

Interestingly I find that while you can doom scroll on a laptop for me it doesn’t “work”. Perhaps because my laptop is work territory (both actual work and hobby) so I automatically don’t doom scroll there or maybe it’s just that lots of content is optimised for mobile and the experience is “better”.

Also, I always carry my phone, I don't carry my laptop most of the time. Pulling out your non-work laptop in a boring meeting is also something you don't do.
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