Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

I don't enjoy the Internet any more

btao.org

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

31–40 of 108 posts

Re: I don't enjoy the Internet any more

#31

Post by somenameforme »

rockskon wrote: post #9
akersten wrote: post #4

I'm simultaneously hearing that the internet is more addicting than cigarettes to the point where multiple states are finding success levying gigantic fines on companies for having too good of a product, and also that the internet is boring and drab. Are we on two different internets? Is the author simply immune from the hypnosis of social media? Anyway, the real internet is and always has been/will be smaller forums…

"Too good of a product" is an odd way to put it when you could apply the same logic to slot machines.

Exactly the example I was going to use. People do not get addicted to things because those things are too enjoyable. Watching people who are addicted to slots is just depressing, they just sit there gloomily depositing every single penny they have - until they have nothing. They just have a compulsion to engage with the slots. Engage, engagement, the exact thing big tech has been trying to optimize for since day 1. It's always just been a euphemism for addiction, and they succeeded.

People report spending obscene amounts of time on social media while also saying that social media makes them feel worse. So captain obvious says why not just quit? Well that's because they're addicted to it. This is probably also why you see overwhelming support for age restrictions of social media, even amongst demographics that would otherwise be quite reluctant to give the government yet more power - people don't want their children to end up being another one of these stats.

Re: I don't enjoy the Internet any more

#32

Post by ColdStream »

protocolture wrote: post #17
ColdStream wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I will say this with ditching the smart phone. I have done it but also gone back to it. But it is merely used for specific tasks. SMS, a camera, weather report, the occasional podcast or audio book. And that's about it. Things that are difficult to do on a flip phone but alright on a 'smart' phone. I have said it many times. Look at the original iPhone presentation. It was a device that was very deliberate. It wasn't…

I really liked my Windows Phone, mostly because it didnt have apps on it. Although it did have facebook, it was facebook delivered by Microsoft engineers and was missing a lot of features.

I absolutely loved Windows Phone. It hit all the right notes on usability even if it didn't have the best app support.

Still bitter about that over a decade later.

Re: I don't enjoy the Internet any more

#33

Post by CGamesPlay »

akersten wrote: post #4

I'm simultaneously hearing that the internet is more addicting than cigarettes to the point where multiple states are finding success levying gigantic fines on companies for having too good of a product, and also that the internet is boring and drab. Are we on two different internets? Is the author simply immune from the hypnosis of social media? Anyway, the real internet is and always has been/will be smaller forums…

> Are we on two different internets? Is the author simply immune from the hypnosis of social media?

Yes; and either yes or the author is separating walled social network gardens from "the internet". The "real internet", as you say, is not the addictive algorithmic feeds.

I believe that the "real internet" you're talking about is larger than it's ever been, but the signal-to-noise ratio of the whole internet has been killed by even larger amounts of noise. So it's difficult to find these smaller forums and get involved with them.

Re: I don't enjoy the Internet any more

#34

Post by sibeliuss »

This is how I feel completely, having also grown up online all the way from BBSs onwards. I literally don't even have websites to visit any more. I get on my computer, scan hacker news for a bit, check twitter for a few minutes, scan some world news site, and thats it.

I still spend a lot of time programming (and thus a lot of time on the computer) but other than that, absolutely nothing appeals. Its a wasteland in my mind.

Re: I don't enjoy the Internet any more

#35

Post by ColdStream »

sickophancy wrote: post #12
xvxvx wrote: post #8

Last week I finally deleted my LinkedIn account, the last social account I had. This week, I'm close to deleting my YouTube account. There's less content I want to see and more slop than ever. Apple Music is on the chopping block. These days, I only use it to preview vinyl records that catch my eye. Once my iPhone dies, I'm done with smartphones. The internet had so much potential. Shame.

What's the rationale behind ditching musicapp? It just delivers files to you with some UI fluff on top.

That is a fair take. Personally, I use my android basically an iPod. Only offline files via VLC.

Never hopped on the streaming bandwagon for anything but the most throw away stuff. Yes, I kept all my DVD's from decades back.

Re: I don't enjoy the Internet any more

#36

Post by smokel »

akersten wrote: post #4

I'm simultaneously hearing that the internet is more addicting than cigarettes to the point where multiple states are finding success levying gigantic fines on companies for having too good of a product, and also that the internet is boring and drab. Are we on two different internets? Is the author simply immune from the hypnosis of social media? Anyway, the real internet is and always has been/will be smaller forums…

A ⊆ X ∧ p ∈ X ⇏ p ∈ A

Re: I don't enjoy the Internet any more

#38

Post by seydor »

ColdStream wrote: post #20
King-Aaron wrote: post #3

> Learning about the world through 500-character snippets, or 30-second videos, is not a serious way to engage with knowledge. It triggers our worst instincts in terms of tribalism and groupthink and makes us intellectually lazy. I can't agree more with this.

Brevity is an art form, one that most do not have. Just because something is short doesn't mean it is bad so long as it is sculpted just right. 99.9999% of stuff nowadays is not sculpted it is just simplified for quick reactions.

you are correct, there is a difference between a hot take and a laconic statement.

the issue is with attention-seeking. Platforms willingly turn their forums to competition for likes, instead of encouraging compromise, which is what drives interesting discussions.

Re: I don't enjoy the Internet any more

#40

Post by linkjuice4all »

akersten wrote: post #4

I'm simultaneously hearing that the internet is more addicting than cigarettes to the point where multiple states are finding success levying gigantic fines on companies for having too good of a product, and also that the internet is boring and drab. Are we on two different internets? Is the author simply immune from the hypnosis of social media? Anyway, the real internet is and always has been/will be smaller forums…

There are two internets: the one on your phone (ruined by outrage and mobile slop) and the one on your computer (ruined by marketing slop). They’re both dangerous and disappointing for different reasons - but mostly because independent voices got drowned out.
Post reply on HN