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Modern Media Is a DoS Attack on Free Will

m.nautil.us

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Re: Modern Media Is a DoS Attack on Free Will

#301

Post by anigbrowl »

wallace_f wrote: post #274
anigbrowl wrote: post #198

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I fail to see what my comment has to do with your laundry list of examples. I'm not arguing for centralized autocratic filtering but a mechanism for labeling points of origin and exposing that information to consumers. Your examples don't seem appropriate either. I suggested that people would choose to reject information from 'consistently unreliable or bizarre sources'. Your first counter-example is that of a NASA e…

>I fail to see what my comment has to do with your laundry list of examples. I'm not arguing for centralized autocratic filtering but a mechanism for labeling points of origin and exposing that information to consumers. Ok so let's take a look and go down the list of examples. We can start with NASA, where the "point of origin," being mere engineers who could not match the gravitas and authority of the well-respected…

OK but for the last time I'm not advocating for a centralized gatekeeping approach and I'd appreciate if you'd stop projecting your parade of horribles onto an argument I'm not actually making.

Re: Modern Media Is a DoS Attack on Free Will

#302

Post by jmcgough »

xster wrote: post #293
free_everybody wrote: post #256

Stop carrying your smartphone. Leave it at home. If you must because your family/work depends on you, then delete every app. Use your laptop as your main driver. If you need to, get a laptop with better battery life. Start developing a personal philosophy of internet usage. Here is mine: Category 3 [Abstain from completely] Reddit (Yes, all of reddit), Facebook ... Category 2 [Check once every couple days ~15 min tot…

Corporate media like NYT and WashPo etc that writes things like you must be crazy to not believe there are WMDs in Iraq are not serious news sites. Rich != serious. And hegemonic news smearing all sources of independent journalism and grassroot progressive political movements is just about the opposite of the point of this article.

Like them or not, the NYT and WashPo do some of the best, factual investigative journalism in the world. Have they been wrong? Sure. But they have extremely high standards for publishing a story, so you can generally assume that they're accurate. They also are the ones who break a lot of the biggest, most impactful stories.

I think a better criticism of them would be wash po turning a blind eye to Bezos and others that have influence of it.

Re: Modern Media Is a DoS Attack on Free Will

#303

Post by jmcgough »

enraged_camel wrote: post #268
free_everybody wrote: post #256

Stop carrying your smartphone. Leave it at home. If you must because your family/work depends on you, then delete every app. Use your laptop as your main driver. If you need to, get a laptop with better battery life. Start developing a personal philosophy of internet usage. Here is mine: Category 3 [Abstain from completely] Reddit (Yes, all of reddit), Facebook ... Category 2 [Check once every couple days ~15 min tot…

I carry my smartphone with me but I keep it on DND most of the time unless I'm expecting a call or an email. That way I get the best of both worlds: lack of constant interruptions and the ability to use important features such as maps, camera, etc. when I need.

I always keep mine on DND, but I find that I impulsively check news sites and social media. It puts me in this constant state of never really being bored, so I'm less likely to pursue new and interesting things (reading books, practicing hobbies, exploring new interests).

Re: Modern Media Is a DoS Attack on Free Will

#304

Post by kristofferR »

shmageggy wrote: post #33

I would gladly pay for something like what is advocated for in this article, but I'm not aware of anything like it. A news publication that: * Has the goal of filtering rather than flooding * No ads * No pop-ins 3/4 of the way through the article telling me about four other articles I should read * No endless scrolling * Upfront about bias * Cites sources

The Economist is a great alternative, it filters out all the pointless crap that doesn't really matter

Re: Modern Media Is a DoS Attack on Free Will

#306

Post by andrei_says_ »

smsm42 wrote: post #99
wffurr wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"voluntarily surrendering your free will to distractions brought to you by profit-seeking entities" That's one way to describe an "industry [that] employs some of the smartest people, thousands of Ph.D. designers, statisticians, engineers [that] go to work every day to get us to do this one thing, to undermine our willpower." From the article. "People's Democratic Central Party Committee" Nice straw-man that conflate…

> go to work every day to get us to do this one thing, to undermine our willpower That's ominously sounding bullshit. You decide what to do with your willpower, and if you don't like the consequences, it's your fault, not some nefarious engineers. If you don't like facebook, don't go there. If you don't like particular site, don't go there, of if you absolutely can't control yourself, install one of a thousand progra…

> That's ominously sounding bullshit. You decide what to do with your willpower, and if you don't like the consequences, it's your fault, not some nefarious engineers.

This is simply a fallacy. You can’t decide to switch off selective psychological mechanisms in your brain.

Facebook, Snapchat etc. are weaponizing and exploiting these against us/humanity in ways similar to Vegas casinos.

It is easy to not drive to Vegas, enter a casino and engage in a psychological loop designed to hack my brain.

It is not so easy to escape the all-permeating tentacles of social media and its finely tuned intermittent rewards etc. mechanisms.

Given that willpower is a limited cognitive resource, your proposition is not realistic.

Re: Modern Media Is a DoS Attack on Free Will

#307

Post by wallace_f »

anigbrowl wrote: post #301
wallace_f wrote: post #274

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>I fail to see what my comment has to do with your laundry list of examples. I'm not arguing for centralized autocratic filtering but a mechanism for labeling points of origin and exposing that information to consumers. Ok so let's take a look and go down the list of examples. We can start with NASA, where the "point of origin," being mere engineers who could not match the gravitas and authority of the well-respected…

OK but for the last time I'm not advocating for a centralized gatekeeping approach and I'd appreciate if you'd stop projecting your parade of horribles onto an argument I'm not actually making.

I never said that you were. Also, relax. The examples I gave support my argument. Whether you agree or not is fine, but that you won't even admit they're relevant is strange.

Re: Modern Media Is a DoS Attack on Free Will

#308

Post by drvdevd »

free_everybody wrote: post #256

Stop carrying your smartphone. Leave it at home. If you must because your family/work depends on you, then delete every app. Use your laptop as your main driver. If you need to, get a laptop with better battery life. Start developing a personal philosophy of internet usage. Here is mine: Category 3 [Abstain from completely] Reddit (Yes, all of reddit), Facebook ... Category 2 [Check once every couple days ~15 min tot…

Before I jumped back on Hacker News here, I browsed Twitter. I set a timer for 7 minutes. I closed the window after 7 minutes. It was slightly painful as it was just enough time for me to get interested.

Hacker News is not perfect either, but I consider it generally healthier than Twitter now.

This all reminds me of when I used to be a smoker and had to use psychological tricks or less harmful alternatives to curb cravings.

The good news is: I eventually quit.

Re: Modern Media Is a DoS Attack on Free Will

#309

Post by csharpminor »

free_everybody wrote: post #256

Stop carrying your smartphone. Leave it at home. If you must because your family/work depends on you, then delete every app. Use your laptop as your main driver. If you need to, get a laptop with better battery life. Start developing a personal philosophy of internet usage. Here is mine: Category 3 [Abstain from completely] Reddit (Yes, all of reddit), Facebook ... Category 2 [Check once every couple days ~15 min tot…

I have a similar strategy and highly recommend Self Control App: https://github.com/SelfControlApp/selfcontrol/

Once I started blocking sites from myself I realized I was reflexively jumping over to distraction sites, particularly when I felt stuck or discouraged. Don't fall into the trap of thinking that willpower is the only way to get more focused. Use software to level the playing field.

Another thing that's helped: placing my phone on the other side of the room to charge at night. I also have a strict no using tech while in bed rule. Waking up and checking Instagram/Twitter/News on a phone is a terrible way to start the day.

Re: Modern Media Is a DoS Attack on Free Will

#310

Post by zeta0134 »

pantalaimon wrote: post #243
jacobra2 wrote: post #145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've done something similar with my Android phone, and it's worked out decently. One problem I encountered though - I spent a lot of time on Reddit, and would check it subconsciously, so I deleted it. Now I find that I'm using Google Now, the left swipe off the home screen. In effect I took the attention from Reddit and gave it to Google. I'm not convinced that was a worthwhile trade. Given I can't delete Google Now,…

> I spent a lot of time on Reddit, and would check it subconsciously, so I deleted it. How can you delete a website? No seriously, how do you keep the browser from hooking you? I don't have any apps installed and I often fall into a reddit-hn-local_news1-local_news2-it_news1-it_news2 cycle that I start all over when I'm done with it just to check if something new happened in the meantime! Especially on Weekend mornin…

I've solved this problem by simply being aware of it. When I catch myself opening a website that I just had open, I minimize my browser and do something else. It can wait, and I'll enjoy the run later anyway when the world's had some time to bake, and there's more news stories to read.
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