The Shut-In Economy • Hacker News Board

Re: The Shut-In Economy

#31

Post by yequalsx » Thu, Mar 26, 2015, 1:50 AM UTC

hoboon wrote: post #24

This is how I feel. I don't watch TV for hours like I did as a child. What I do now is worse; stay in doors programming, browsing the web aimlessly, or staring at the ceiling. I don't blame my internet lifestyle for this really, but I literally don't know what else to do and the internet is so accommodating to me being a shut-in. I know I'm wasting my life but I don't know how to stop. San Francisco is a beautiful ci…

This was me 10 years ago. I got rid of my cell phone and got rid of internet service at my house. I had to go to a local coffee shop. After a month or so of regularly going I met some people. I also took up racquetball and jiu-jitsu. Getting rid of internet service and a cell phone saved my life. At least in my opinion.

These are suggestions for you but maybe someone for whom your comment resonates with will get a helpful idea from what I've written. I hope you find a way out of your rut.

Re: The Shut-In Economy

#32

Post by calbear81 » Thu, Mar 26, 2015, 1:51 AM UTC

hoboon wrote: post #24

This is how I feel. I don't watch TV for hours like I did as a child. What I do now is worse; stay in doors programming, browsing the web aimlessly, or staring at the ceiling. I don't blame my internet lifestyle for this really, but I literally don't know what else to do and the internet is so accommodating to me being a shut-in. I know I'm wasting my life but I don't know how to stop. San Francisco is a beautiful ci…

It helps to have persistent friends who force you to get outside. What types of things are you interested in?

Re: The Shut-In Economy

#33

Post by percept » Thu, Mar 26, 2015, 1:55 AM UTC

hoboon wrote: post #24

This is how I feel. I don't watch TV for hours like I did as a child. What I do now is worse; stay in doors programming, browsing the web aimlessly, or staring at the ceiling. I don't blame my internet lifestyle for this really, but I literally don't know what else to do and the internet is so accommodating to me being a shut-in. I know I'm wasting my life but I don't know how to stop. San Francisco is a beautiful ci…

Based on your postscript this may not help, but how about giving yourself the mission of getting outside the house and doing something at least once each day, with a sense of purpose?

"I really don't feel like it, but I am going to walk to the park/bridge/waterfront and back. I am going to get a beer/coffee/tea at this place I've heard about. I will walk to the store and pick up groceries. It doesn't have to be anything miraculous or life changing and I don't have to meet or talk to anybody--I just have to try, because it will be worse if I don't."

Re: The Shut-In Economy

#34

Post by marcosdumay » Thu, Mar 26, 2015, 1:56 AM UTC

As a Brazilian I can say: welcome to an unequal society, US. Yes, that's one of the symptoms, and if you look at the lives of those people serving, it's hearth-breaking.

Re: The Shut-In Economy

#35

Post by gopher2 » Thu, Mar 26, 2015, 1:58 AM UTC

hoboon wrote: post #24

This is how I feel. I don't watch TV for hours like I did as a child. What I do now is worse; stay in doors programming, browsing the web aimlessly, or staring at the ceiling. I don't blame my internet lifestyle for this really, but I literally don't know what else to do and the internet is so accommodating to me being a shut-in. I know I'm wasting my life but I don't know how to stop. San Francisco is a beautiful ci…

That sounds rough! Would you like some random suggestions on what to do tonight based on projections from my personal life and experience?

Re: The Shut-In Economy

#36

Post by IkmoIkmo » Thu, Mar 26, 2015, 1:59 AM UTC

hoboon wrote: post #24

This is how I feel. I don't watch TV for hours like I did as a child. What I do now is worse; stay in doors programming, browsing the web aimlessly, or staring at the ceiling. I don't blame my internet lifestyle for this really, but I literally don't know what else to do and the internet is so accommodating to me being a shut-in. I know I'm wasting my life but I don't know how to stop. San Francisco is a beautiful ci…

Same here. Live in a beautiful city, cool friends, lovely girlfriend. Plenty of things exist here of which I can objectively say they're awesome, and in many things I'm genuinely interested, and so I avidly read and follow the news, whether it's social topics, economics, politics, tech etc. Yet I hold very little interest in experiencing anything personally.

If I had to describe it succinctly; I've become a dedicated spectator, but no longer wish to participate.

It's pretty ridiculous and something very strongly tells me it's the wrong way to live life, and I'd love for that to change. But the passion just isn't there to get involved anymore for even the simplest things like taking a walk outside. Again, as a spectator it's great. It's not as if I'm disinterested or don't like to hear from friends if they call me or want to visit. But calling them, or visiting them, somehow it's too big of a step.

As it's only been like this for a few years I can see how ridiculous all of this is. It's like I got the lazy syndrome: still care, but not enough to act on it. Yet it's not really laziness as I never watch TV or sit on the couch or sleep all day or get no work done... It's something else but I can't quite put my finger on it. I wish I could take some kind of hormone injection and rediscover my lost motivation for life.

Similarish postscript as you btw. Proper food, sleep, exercise, meditation, social, iteration etc, already covered stuff like that, but I'm open to new ideas.

Re: The Shut-In Economy

#37

Post by jsprogrammer » Thu, Mar 26, 2015, 1:59 AM UTC

percept wrote: post #33

hoboon wrote: post #24

This is how I feel. I don't watch TV for hours like I did as a child. What I do now is worse; stay in doors programming, browsing the web aimlessly, or staring at the ceiling. I don't blame my internet lifestyle for this really, but I literally don't know what else to do and the internet is so accommodating to me being a shut-in. I know I'm wasting my life but I don't know how to stop. San Francisco is a beautiful ci…

Based on your postscript this may not help, but how about giving yourself the mission of getting outside the house and doing something at least once each day, with a sense of purpose? "I really don't feel like it, but I am going to walk to the park/bridge/waterfront and back. I am going to get a beer/coffee/tea at this place I've heard about. I will walk to the store and pick up groceries. It doesn't have to be anyth…

>with a sense of purpose?

>"I really don't feel like it, but I am going to walk to the park/bridge/waterfront and back. I am going to get a beer/coffee/tea at this place I've heard about. I will walk to the store and pick up groceries. It doesn't have to be anything miraculous or life changing and I don't have to meet or talk to anybody--I just have to try, because it will be worse if I don't."

Where is the purpose there?

Re: The Shut-In Economy

#38

Post by oh_sigh » Thu, Mar 26, 2015, 2:01 AM UTC

timepiece wrote: post #22

tsotha wrote: post #20

>So here’s the big question. What does she, or you, or any of us do with all this time we’re buying? Binge on Netflix shows? Go for a run? Van Ekert’s answer: “It’s more to dedicate more time to working.” Meh. It's specialization. It's been happening since everyone figured out Og makes better clubs than everyone else and he'll make you one if you give him food. Most of the people reading this site have a skill that b…

Now you make $50/hour, wait till commoditization hit your profession and see your wage dwindle before your own eyes.

Presumably the people delivering groceries or doing someone elses laundry weren't making $50/hour in the same profession at some earlier point in their career.

Re: The Shut-In Economy

#39

Post by rodly » Thu, Mar 26, 2015, 2:02 AM UTC

hoboon wrote: post #24

This is how I feel. I don't watch TV for hours like I did as a child. What I do now is worse; stay in doors programming, browsing the web aimlessly, or staring at the ceiling. I don't blame my internet lifestyle for this really, but I literally don't know what else to do and the internet is so accommodating to me being a shut-in. I know I'm wasting my life but I don't know how to stop. San Francisco is a beautiful ci…

ps - well i guess you should just roll over and die since you've clearly tried everything.

Re: The Shut-In Economy

#40

Post by brc » Thu, Mar 26, 2015, 2:03 AM UTC

sowhatquestion wrote: post #7

I don't have the historical knowledge to do it myself, but it would be fascinating to read an in-depth comparison between these services and the economy of servants in the 19th or early-20th century. The image in my head (from movies and books and reading [about] Piketty) is that the wealthy in earlier eras were more idle, living off rents rather than incomes. I imagine servants would have been more of a status symbo…

Why do you think serving is an undeserving job? Each person being paid to do some type of task has a job. That is better than being unemployed.

It's wrong to make value judgements on the way people make money in an honest job. A person in the 19th century who had a job as a servant at least had a job, and what was considered respectable as well. The alternatives were far, far worse, like getting caught for petty theft and shipped to a colony.