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Dopamine Fracking

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Re: Dopamine Fracking

#351

Post by a3c9 »

igmn wrote: post #281
Aurornis wrote: post #232

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> There's a certain irony in coining the term on discord And the section in the middle where they start praising a YouTube video series that validated his anger and encourages us to go watch it. You can sense the author’s struggles with self-regulation at the center of this article, but they have a blind spot for the content and apps that they really like. I think people in this situation would do better to start loo…

I agree. I’m the author, and I think freeing up my time is the core of making myself feel better. And I think it could help others. Because I don’t scroll nearly as much anymore, I have less things to immediately and effortlessly distract myself with. This inadvertently forces me into creativity, mindfulness or rekindling hobbies, which are healthier and more fulfilling activities than TikTok. It also promotes experi…

> I can often “run out” of content to consume

As a reformed YouTube addict myself, that feeling of "running out" really is great. Tragically, that was its own exciting rush which has since faded. :)

Re: Dopamine Fracking

#352

Post by boringg »

skwirl wrote: post #332
sheepscreek wrote: post #258

I love this term - I think it beautifully describes the direction that at least, YouTube is heading towards. Take for example, this racket where a channel copies popular (non-kids) creators’ parody work, splits the screen in half with the content on left, adds a completely random DIY type video on the right half, and lo and behold its content for kids who are too young to know any better[1]. Another one: AI voiceover…

It is crazy to me that any parent of young children would let their kids watch YouTube videos on their own. Maybe this happened gradually enough that some parents didn't notice, but we had our first kid a couple years ago and I nope'd out of YouTube pretty quickly when I saw what was there. Even the channels known for being good - which we occasionally let the kids watch as long as we were present and choosing the vi…

Agreed - even older children shouldn't be exposing themselves to that garbage. Totally garbage in garbage out situation. Youtube can be good if its highly curated -- otherwise its just trash.

Re: Dopamine Fracking

#353

Post by zahlman »

sheepscreek wrote: post #258

I love this term - I think it beautifully describes the direction that at least, YouTube is heading towards. Take for example, this racket where a channel copies popular (non-kids) creators’ parody work, splits the screen in half with the content on left, adds a completely random DIY type video on the right half, and lo and behold its content for kids who are too young to know any better[1]. Another one: AI voiceover…

[flagged]

Re: Dopamine Fracking

#355

Post by Matticus_Rex »

sailfast wrote: post #293

The article doesn’t make it quite clear but dopamine fracking (such as described) requires both you and the companies to work. The companies are trying to make something you’ll want, and you want it! But if you allow fracking on your “property” then you will be left with poisoned aquifers and empty of substance.

> But if you allow fracking on your “property” then you will be left with poisoned aquifers and empty of substance.

So it's analogous to the mythical bogeyman version of what fracking was hyped up to be, and not how it actually turned out.

Re: Dopamine Fracking

#356

Post by kbrkbr »

subscribed wrote: post #225
BiteCode_dev wrote: post #203

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A Canadian friend brought me back 2 bottles of local maple syrup as a gift. Ok, I'm a pretentious Frenchman when it comes to food and I do think most North Americans have no idea how real food tastes. But that stuff, I didn't know how it really tasted before trying the OG thing. Globalisation gave us the illusion of experiencing the world.

I think it's worse than that. It promotes race to the bottom. I love strawberries, blueberries (bilberry variety) and tomatoes, but apart of the few times in the year when I can collect my own or visit a PYO farm I'm not eating them at all. Every shop (small and huge alike) only sells the fake, hyper-accelerated garbage (sorry Spain and Morocco, but that stuff is just gross), or - in season - locally grown similarly…

But what happens here, let me point that out for completeness, is not a dark conspiracy. At least not on this level.

People go to the grocery store and buy the cheapest thing that does the trick, probably because they can't afford something else. Bills want to be payed.

Re: Dopamine Fracking

#357

Post by ryandrake »

regexorcist wrote: post #265
drcongo wrote: post #237

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I posted something very similar on here last year after a visit to Ibiza - as we sat eating lunch in the castle in Ibiza old town, a group of young women spent the entire time we were there, maybe an hour and a half, in turn posing for photos next to a plant. Each time one went in for the pose, they'd pass their phone to a friend to take the pictures. It went on and on. The two things that really struck me about this…

These days, go anywhere in the world with a pseudo famous landmark and watch the same thing. I've been travelling long enough to remember people being present and taking in the experience. Now it's literal queues for the perfect spot to take 100 near identical photos of themselves, and choose a few later for social media.

I've never understood the need to take a picture of yourself. I know what I look like--I don't need a photo to remind me. The rare times I ever even take a picture of something, it's because that thing is interesting or unique, and I'd like to look at it carefully later.

Re: Dopamine Fracking

#358

Post by nyantaro1 »

overgard wrote: post #330
PowerElectronix wrote: post #267

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It does, but as you really can't get money out of it in a reliable way by exploiting the user addictive behaviors, it doesn't have that effect on society. It's just a cool place to visit now an then an check cool stuff out.

Man, I wish. It used to be that, but I suspect now that there's a lot of astroturfing and probably bots.

I also notice that. I don't really know where else to go now

Re: Dopamine Fracking

#359

Post by ryandrake »

lagrange77 wrote: post #105

I've noticed as a kid, that strawberry flavoured candy doesn't actually taste like strawberries. They are clearly and collectively recognisable as strawberry candies, but that's just pattern matching and conditioning on wording. The flavour has not much to do with actual strawberries, even the sweetness is vastly exaggerated. The synthetic aroma is much less complex, as the author noted. We just fell into the habit (…

I think all "fruity" candies are pretty much the same sugar, and our brain merely looks at the color and packaging and fills in a "flavor" for it. Maybe my taste buds are just not working, but I don't think I could do a blind taste test and identify a candy's claimed flavor.

Re: Dopamine Fracking

#360

Post by webdoodle »

nlanier wrote: post #321

I've found that this engineered optimization has a more pernicious side effect: killing curiosity. Lack of complexity stunts the desire to become curious - to give reasons to look closer, ask questions, compare experiences - and ultimately develop 'taste'. When everything is optimized into its most obvious, frictionless, immediately-rewarding form, the sum of all experience becomes more 'pleasant' but harder to care…

Interesting take. Do you think they are intentionally killing curiosity? If so, why?
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