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

The effect of deactivating Facebook and Instagram on users' emotional state

nber.org

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

21–30 of 527 posts

Re: The effect of deactivating Facebook and Instagram on users' emotional state

#22

Post by revskill »

throwaway48476 wrote: post #20
revskill wrote: post #2

With ai, i hope the feed is more useful to me.

The ML model exists to benefit Facebook, not you. It maximizes for your engagement with the platform, not your happiness or usefulness.

That's why i hope.

Re: The effect of deactivating Facebook and Instagram on users' emotional state

#25

Post by vippy »

throwaway48476 wrote: post #20
revskill wrote: post #2

With ai, i hope the feed is more useful to me.

The ML model exists to benefit Facebook, not you. It maximizes for your engagement with the platform, not your happiness or usefulness.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^ this right here ^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Re: The effect of deactivating Facebook and Instagram on users' emotional state

#26

Post by throwaway48476 »

revskill wrote: post #22
throwaway48476 wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The ML model exists to benefit Facebook, not you. It maximizes for your engagement with the platform, not your happiness or usefulness.

That's why i hope.

Then it is misplaced.

Re: The effect of deactivating Facebook and Instagram on users' emotional state

#27

Post by perching_aix »

nehal3m wrote: post #16
revskill wrote: post #2

With ai, i hope the feed is more useful to me.

Remember when the feed was just a reverse chronological list of stuff you told Facebook you wanted to see? That was the peak. Once they started engagement farming using recommendation algorithms the site lost all of its appeal.

Append ?sk=h_chr at the end of its URL to get that. Can also be found by dumpster diving in the UI somewhere I'm sure. Be aware that they're very intent on redirecting you to the regular feed though.

Re: The effect of deactivating Facebook and Instagram on users' emotional state

#28

Post by steve_adams_86 »

ilrwbwrkhv wrote: post #12

[flagged]

They’re regular human beings. If we believe we’re stronger than them, I think we should stand up for them rather than laugh at them.

One could just as easily write something like “lol anyone who leaves disparaging comments on the internet is so weak. Imagine not being able to resist ridiculing unfortunate people”. But the world is more nuanced than that. It requires a more constructive attitude. And it requires people looking out for one another. We can care about the people who can’t resist a random website. It was designed to be hard to resist by intelligent, competent people. It’s meant to exploit their weaknesses.

Re: The effect of deactivating Facebook and Instagram on users' emotional state

#29

Post by ryandrake »

50 years from now, we are going to be looking back at Social Media and Smartphone addiction like we currently look at smoking. “How insane were we to have allowed it and allowed it to be promoted?” our grandchildren will rightly ask!

Re: The effect of deactivating Facebook and Instagram on users' emotional state

#30

Post by safety1st »

sneak wrote: post #24

If people didn’t like the way these apps make them feel, they would stop using them. Many people prefer having anxiety about drama to being bored.

That is not the only possible explanation. A more likely explanation imho is that social media falls into the long list of things you do for a short term reward even though you know you shouldn't, like smoking a cigarette or getting drunk.

You know it is not good for you but your executive function and ability to plan long term are compromised (whether chronically or acutely), so you do it anyway, and regret it later.

Post reply on HN