31–40 of 51 posts
I feel like I am constantly looking for relevant communities but I find it really really hard to find anything. Maybe I live in a too small city or something. I suspect that my current social media addiction tendencies is a compensation for not finding good communities for my interests.
I think the author is overselling the benefits of communities a bit. Sure, groups can boost motivation through approval-seeking and availability bias, but they can also trap you in groupthink or misaligned priorities. I’d say the Brawl Stars grind example (despite author disliking the game) isn’t really a win. Communities can hijack your goals, pulling you toward their agenda instead of yours. Overreliance on them ri…
I feel like I am constantly looking for relevant communities but I find it really really hard to find anything. Maybe I live in a too small city or something. I suspect that my current social media addiction tendencies is a compensation for not finding good communities for my interests.
You are 100% right. Finding a good one is incredibly hard. Usually requires a capable and dedicated person to run (which are very hard to come by).
This makes me think that there's some friction to this that could be alleviated. Like having more of and more diverse third places.
I used to be part of a number of theatre groups. Those groups did often have dedicated and capable singular people that made it work. But other times it was more of a group effort. Often the most dedicated people arose to the occasion once the context was there, because they had a bit more intrinsic motivation for what we did than others. And in some of the cases we got a lot of help from various institutions for admin and getting a place to practice, which certainly lowered the friction.
I don't disagree with the benefits of community. But the thing he describes with StarCraft Vs whatever the brainrot game is can be explained differently. I think the author likes the idea of liking StarCraft, but doesn't actually like playing it. Brainrot on the other hand is engineered to be addictive. Surely if he LIKED playing StarCraft he wouldn't have to be searching for motivation. Personally, I know that in my…
But all signals were that the community was dwindling and blizzard wasn't properly invested in the game, which lowered my motivation a lot over time. So my decision was No.
Sure, but so is seeking food. Not controlling one's desire to seek food leads to obesity, diabetes, heart disease, etc. Not moderating one's desire for applause leads to similar issues, more mental neurosis than physical disabilities, but equally harmful in the long run.
> "Looking at successful athletes, founders, musicians, game speedrunners, or overachievers in any area, they seem to have unlimited motivation to do loads of tedious work or practice."
That's also part of many people's marketing and promotion strategies: "I grind all the time". In the real world, random chance, parental resources, or other 'non-self-made-person' factors often play significant roles in apparent success stories. Since people are seeking approval, and the overall society celebrates the 'up-by-your-bootstraps' narrative, people will sell this narrative because they want that approval - addiction to the applause button.
I've seem that desperation for approval that seems rather common in the social influencer world before - in the eyes of a junkie hunting their next fix.
This isn't to say some level of community isn't important and useful - taking a course in a technical subject where you show up at an appointed time with other people and then present your project at the end of the course, that's all good and motivating - but if the only goal is to get more applause, that's mental illness.
I don't disagree with the benefits of community. But the thing he describes with StarCraft Vs whatever the brainrot game is can be explained differently. I think the author likes the idea of liking StarCraft, but doesn't actually like playing it. Brainrot on the other hand is engineered to be addictive. Surely if he LIKED playing StarCraft he wouldn't have to be searching for motivation. Personally, I know that in my…
I feel like I am constantly looking for relevant communities but I find it really really hard to find anything. Maybe I live in a too small city or something. I suspect that my current social media addiction tendencies is a compensation for not finding good communities for my interests.
Also suggests 100% WFH is not as good as some weekly face to face time if part of the goal is to keep people motivated and disciplined
I feel like I am constantly looking for relevant communities but I find it really really hard to find anything. Maybe I live in a too small city or something. I suspect that my current social media addiction tendencies is a compensation for not finding good communities for my interests.
The hardest, best way is to build it yourself.