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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

#291

Post by froh »

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?

By practice. The attention span grows back. And pick a book that you really want to read.

Re: My lizard brain is no match for infinite scroll

#292

Post by mcv »

I have noticed that infinite scroll is becoming bad for my health. I dealt with RSI issues 20 years ago and got that under control, but now it seems like scrolling on my phone is giving me different RSI pain in my thumb and shoulder.

I really should stop reading stuff on my phone that requires scrolling.

Re: My lizard brain is no match for infinite scroll

#293

Post by ILMostro7 »

gernb wrote: post #289

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 d…

Maybe sticking to a newspaper, print or digital version, or a single news program on tv is what everyone should be doing. It might even cut down on consuming fake news.

Re: My lizard brain is no match for infinite scroll

#294

Post by hackernewds »

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…

Would you mind kindly linking to or detailing how someone might set up such a setup?

Re: My lizard brain is no match for infinite scroll

#295

Post by dredmorbius »

gernb wrote: post #289

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 d…

Browse HN on "Past": https://news.ycombinator.com/front

1. It's yesterday's news. You've probably got some contextualisation for the story as you've likely already caught wind of it from some other channel. Much of the compulsion of HN comes from the too-brief and decontextualised subject lines. They are, ultimately, a Dark Pattern.

2. The Machine Stops^W^WScroll Ends. Typically there are ~60--100 or so items. That's ... more than you can comfortably read, but it is finite.

3. Skip the comments. I'm increasingly finding they're less worthwhile than the post(s) themselves, usually. With some exceptions.

3.0 Those exceptions are rarely in more-active discussions. Or political ones. Or business-oriented ones.

3.1 Definitely skip comments dominated by drama or cheap shots. Utterly not worth it.

3.2 If you must read comments, do so logged out, and collapse as you go.

4. The front page has had a day to sort out its rankings. Typically, the top few items are reasonably significant or interesting, and that likelihood falls as you go down the list. HN ranking is arbitrary enough that there can be quite good content far down the queue, but be discerning.

5. Browsing day-olds seems to help ease the urge to scroll and check often.

6. If you're feeling adventurous, go back a year or five or ten and see what's being discussed. You may discover a ... sameness. Which might make you question the value of aggressively pursuing the latest all that much more.

7. Close the tab and go on a dandilion break.

Re: My lizard brain is no match for infinite scroll

#296

Post by hackernewds »

LiquidPolymer wrote: post #111

I’m curious what the generational divide is for this. I’m 57, love tech and enjoy the positive side of the internet in limited doses. But I find most social media boring. There is incredible and AMAZING art, accidental moments, serious discussion and fascinating analysis of the world to be found online. But without grounding myself in genuine experience in the stinky, cruel real world of human interaction, nature, an…

I think the distinction is that you're 24-year-old daughter has a lot of friends online, and you don't

Re: My lizard brain is no match for infinite scroll

#297

Post by piceas »

dylan604 wrote: post #124
megablast wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A raspberry pi just for a button??

If it was sitting in drawer not doing anything and now it is doing this, then it's still better than being in the drawer. Plus, what else that is small form factor and can execute ssh scripts when triggered by a smashable button are there?

I leave the pi on in the drawer to control/use IKEA tradfri buttons via their gateway.

A giant plush enter key allows for smashing as needed.

https://flyingtiger.com/products/enter-key-3015609

Re: My lizard brain is no match for infinite scroll

#298

Post by elxr »

gernb wrote: post #289

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 d…

I recently decided to take a month of reddit for the sake of my crippled attention span. Over the past year, I've already narrowed down my subreddits to what I'd consider useful information, but that only helped a little. There's just too much stuff on there.

From now on, it'll be mainly HN and books for me.

Re: My lizard brain is no match for infinite scroll

#299

Post by LAC-Tech »

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”.

I pretty much never use a phone, and all my screen time is a computer.

How do you even mindlessly watch youtube vid after youtube vid on such a tiny screen?

Re: My lizard brain is no match for infinite scroll

#300

Post by ComodoHacker »

ILMostro7 wrote: post #293
gernb wrote: post #289

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 d…

Maybe sticking to a newspaper, print or digital version, or a single news program on tv is what everyone should be doing. It might even cut down on consuming fake news.

That's what many elder people are actually doing for years and decades. It definitely doesn't help to cut down fake news.
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