The apps that Americans search to “delete” the most • Hacker News Board

Re: The apps that Americans search to “delete” the most

#141

Post by testmasterflex » Wed, Mar 08, 2023, 6:24 PM UTC

hiidrew wrote: post #125

nlh wrote: post #41

A personal anecdote: I use Instagram for my hobby/business (coin & paper money collecting & dealing). I have mercilessly curated my feed to be ONLY people who post content purely related to the numismatic world. No real-life friends, no travel posts from random semi-friends, no selfies, none of that garbage. If someone starts posting it, I unfollow them. And for the ads -- I click on ads related to cat toys and pet f…

This reminds me of a tweet about a guy complaining about Instagram models in bikinis on his feed. Unaware of how recommendation algorithms work... Related image that I love - https://ifunny.co/picture/thank-you-for-ruining-my-life-i-m-...

My dad on family dinner last week :D

Re: The apps that Americans search to “delete” the most

#142

Post by mbesto » Wed, Mar 08, 2023, 6:26 PM UTC

yodsanklai wrote: post #140

notShabu wrote: post #17

Instagram democratizes the mental illness that used to only affect child stars and the hollywood famous. Who people think we are is who we are because identity is a reflection, not an actual thing in reality (similar to colors not existing in reality). Having access to a extra mirrors at first creates a sense of control. You know your mom and dad won't give you a "non-distorted" reflection so the reflection from stra…

> However when the mirrors are mass produced and cheap and you have no control over their place in your life, you have control to not use this application. It's not like you're forced to use it. You can also go there casually to see your friends pictures without thinking too much about it.

You also have control to not be a celebrity and avoid the paparazzi. This is the parent's point. While you may have free will, it's hard to argue that having cheap access to fame is not appealing to everyone.

Re: The apps that Americans search to “delete” the most

#143

Post by cmrdporcupine » Wed, Mar 08, 2023, 6:27 PM UTC

notShabu wrote: post #17

Instagram democratizes the mental illness that used to only affect child stars and the hollywood famous. Who people think we are is who we are because identity is a reflection, not an actual thing in reality (similar to colors not existing in reality). Having access to a extra mirrors at first creates a sense of control. You know your mom and dad won't give you a "non-distorted" reflection so the reflection from stra…

I think this is a great analysis, though I think in reality it's not limited at all to Instagram specifically but more broadly to the self-promotional and self-marketing aspect of our culture in general at this point. Social media throws kerosene on it, certainly, but it's a much broader phenomenon of which this experience of Instagram is only one symptom.

Capitalism turns everything into a commodity. Including ourselves. From a very early age we are taught that it's important to sell ourselves; to survive and thrive. For most people this is just a background nag, mostly ignored, or poorly executed. For some it becomes a primary drive. The internet only accelerates it.

Mediums like Twitter are just as involved; showcasing one's quips for the world. It doesn't have to be a photo or video like Instagram or TikTok.

And as others may be pointing out, Instagram isn't even the worst of it.

Anyways as a parent of teens, it's very distressing.

Re: The apps that Americans search to “delete” the most

#144

Post by renewiltord » Wed, Mar 08, 2023, 6:28 PM UTC

There are only two kinds of apps: the ones that people want to delete and the ones that people don't use

Re: The apps that Americans search to “delete” the most

#145

Post by treeman79 » Wed, Mar 08, 2023, 6:29 PM UTC

chrisgd wrote: post #138

notShabu wrote: post #17

Instagram democratizes the mental illness that used to only affect child stars and the hollywood famous. Who people think we are is who we are because identity is a reflection, not an actual thing in reality (similar to colors not existing in reality). Having access to a extra mirrors at first creates a sense of control. You know your mom and dad won't give you a "non-distorted" reflection so the reflection from stra…

I think that is an insanely insightful comment. It is very scary having an 11 year old and wondering when that day comes when his friends are on social media and he wants to participate. I am skeptical of a lot so don’t fall for get rich scams or ads on these platforms but do enjoy perusing for sometimes too long

My oldest got instagram and such at 16. She became depressed, moody, rude, and isolated. We would take the social media away, she became happy engaged, involved with friends and family.

Go right back to being depressed again as soon as she got access to Instagram.

Repeat every three or so months until she moved out. After wasting a couple years of her life she finally got off social media all together and is doing much better.

Her much younger sister is 13 wants social media. It’s a hard no. She complained to her older sister. Older sister was extremely firm on saying to stay off it.

Re: The apps that Americans search to “delete” the most

#146

Post by indymike » Wed, Mar 08, 2023, 6:29 PM UTC

Maybe people just don't like 4,211 social notifications per hour.

Re: The apps that Americans search to “delete” the most

#147

Post by snarf21 » Wed, Mar 08, 2023, 6:30 PM UTC

notShabu wrote: post #17

Instagram democratizes the mental illness that used to only affect child stars and the hollywood famous. Who people think we are is who we are because identity is a reflection, not an actual thing in reality (similar to colors not existing in reality). Having access to a extra mirrors at first creates a sense of control. You know your mom and dad won't give you a "non-distorted" reflection so the reflection from stra…

It isn't Instagram, it is like counts. But the like counts are what drives the addictive behavior and makes the product "free" to use.

This is just Goodhart's Law at a personal level. We stop being authentic to chase likes. We inherently turn the measure into a target. We have hundreds of "friends" of FB and we interact with a dozen or less regularly.

Re: The apps that Americans search to “delete” the most

#148

Post by cmrdporcupine » Wed, Mar 08, 2023, 6:31 PM UTC

chrisgd wrote: post #138

notShabu wrote: post #17

Instagram democratizes the mental illness that used to only affect child stars and the hollywood famous. Who people think we are is who we are because identity is a reflection, not an actual thing in reality (similar to colors not existing in reality). Having access to a extra mirrors at first creates a sense of control. You know your mom and dad won't give you a "non-distorted" reflection so the reflection from stra…

I think that is an insanely insightful comment. It is very scary having an 11 year old and wondering when that day comes when his friends are on social media and he wants to participate. I am skeptical of a lot so don’t fall for get rich scams or ads on these platforms but do enjoy perusing for sometimes too long

There's hope: My 12 year old son recently got his first phone. After seeing what's happened with his older sister (very bad), he steadfastly refuses to install any games or social media on it.

We'll see if he holds out...

It's extremely hard as a parent.

Younger adolescent girls are extremely vulnerable. But this stuff is very hard to lock down and manage. There are no good tools for managing it. The parental controls apps are leaky and crappy. Schools issue (and require!) devices, so even if you can lock your kids device, there's always alternate paths. And as a parent you are easily sidelined and ignored when you try to talk about it and bring up concerns.

Worst problems have been Tumblr and Pinterest, BTW, not Instagram. Both are full of eating disorder and self-harm content. Instagram is at least somewhat moderated. (Reddit and Twitter are also really bad, though less used by teens that I have seen.)

Re: The apps that Americans search to “delete” the most

#149

Post by droptablemain » Wed, Mar 08, 2023, 6:31 PM UTC

notShabu wrote: post #17

Instagram democratizes the mental illness that used to only affect child stars and the hollywood famous. Who people think we are is who we are because identity is a reflection, not an actual thing in reality (similar to colors not existing in reality). Having access to a extra mirrors at first creates a sense of control. You know your mom and dad won't give you a "non-distorted" reflection so the reflection from stra…

The first sentence is infinitely quotable.

Re: The apps that Americans search to “delete” the most

#150

Post by neslisah » Wed, Mar 08, 2023, 6:33 PM UTC

From a person who constantly deletes and reuploads the apps I have different reasons for each. Instagram is very addictive, Twitter demolishes me from the inside, Linkedin drags my confidence down, Spotify & I have a personal problem. When I feel that way with the apps I delete them to get rid of those situations and when I feel better I reupload them. Because it is my fault to feel those things not the apps. In these cycle of deleting and reuploading the apps, I built better relationship with the apps. It sounds very toxic I know but it gets better every time. Sometimes I caught up in a feeling to delete all socials, forever but it would be very bold to do that in this era.