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Avoiding outrage fatigue while staying informed

scientificamerican.com

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Re: Avoiding outrage fatigue while staying informed

#431

Post by throwaway_2494 »

One thing I first started noticing in the 2000s on sites like kuro5hin were young conservatives.

Like I mean 20 year old's using conservative talking points, mostly in an absolutist aggressive sort of way. Many I guess were coming at it from Rand's 'philosophical' writings. (Basically an overly intellectual cover for being an asshole).

I remember asking them on that site with a post: "Why are you young guys conservative?" I mean they weren't religious, or at least none of them cited this as a motivation, they weren't rich so they had nothing to 'conserve'. I remember being like WTF?

Looking back on it now I think most of them were in it for the trolling. Conservative thought often skews insensitive and absolutist, so I guess these dudes were using it as a basis to troll more sensitive posters.

Now 25years later and we are living the consequences of a 4chan presidency.

Re: Avoiding outrage fatigue while staying informed

#432

Post by carlosjobim »

ge96 wrote: post #123
joshdavham wrote: post #42

One thing to consider for those of us who are more sensitive to online outrage is to just quit social media all together. I’m technically gen z and I’ve been off of social media (aside from HN, WhatsApp and discord) for years and you wouldn’t believe how great it’s been for my overall state of mind. Reddit, instagram, X, Facebook, TikTok, LinkedIn, Threads, etc are all the equivalent of digital junk food and I’d argu…

I quit reddit too recently, I still look at it for info but I'm not logged in/scrolling through it I find myself reaching for something when I have YouTube/chilling at my desk at the end of the day, can't code anymore/make something just on till I sleep. Sometimes have the desire to play a video game (I have a gaming rig too funny how that works) I've been trying to read HN or IEEE, TechCrunch stuff like that as my "…

> It's unfortunate people expect you to have social media like a girl asks me if I have Instagram and I'm weird to not have one, I get it they can scope you out too for safety but when I tried using that stuff I felt this pressure to post about something

It's not about scoping you out. Asking for your Instagram is like what asking for your number was in the past. It's flirting, it's that they want to get in touch again, set up a date.

If you say "I don't have Instagram", the girl will assume that you don't like her, not that you don't have Instagram.

So just make an empty Instagram (with a normal profile photo) for connecting with people. And say so when sharing it with a girl. If it's somebody who wants to "scope you out", you're already dealing with a person who you don't want to deal with.

Re: Avoiding outrage fatigue while staying informed

#433

Post by WaitWaitWha »

yakhinvadim wrote: post #119

I tried to solve this problem by making AI rank the stories by significance and rewriting the news titles in a boring, factual style. I think it worked quite well, there's only about 10 headlines a day (out of 15k+) that get a significance rating higher than of 5.5 out of 10. It also helps avoiding the overfocus on western issues and actually learn what's happening around the world. https://www.newsminimalist.com/

Can I make the significance my choice?

To me a news site curates news that impacts me directly or things I can do something about. This could be in a scale too. 10 is water main is broken on my street, while 0 is a car crash on the other side of the planet.

Re: Avoiding outrage fatigue while staying informed

#434

Post by johnnyanmac »

JTyQZSnP3cQGa8B wrote: post #324
sporkydistance wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why do you exclude HN from your list? It is literally social media, but with the dial turned down a little. Yet, you don't have to dig to deeply to see flamewars, outrage, and trolling. I mean, look at many of the garbage comments in this very thread that are on par with /.,xchan.

I'm here to talk about technology and it's usage. I'm not here to socialize, I don't know your name, don't care, and haven't even looked at your username. You're just a sentence to me. It's more impersonal than the old newsgroups. How is it social?

Semi-anonymous community is still community. HN isn't unique there.

it's similar to how you can go to a bar and just say "I'm here to watch the game". You can be asosial in a social community.

Re: Avoiding outrage fatigue while staying informed

#435

Post by computerthings »

Glyptodon wrote: post #290

I don't have outrage fatigue. Outrages are outrages and they are what they are. Are there many exaggerations and fake outrages? Sure. But things like the USA's current constitutional crisis are real. What I struggle with isn't fatigue at outrage, it's knowing what to do about it. I think violence is going to become more common, but I don't particularly think it will be effective. So less so than outrage, it's the fee…

I know this is kinda banal, but I think even getting to know your neighbors (if you don't already know them) could be a good first step. Also look what exists locally, and maybe even start something. And with so many vulnerable groups under attack, you can probably get in touch or help out with many of them and find adjacent ways to get involved in the core political issues.

I genuinely think as long as you trust your gut (and are a sensible person), that literally doing "something", and then iterating on that, should not be discounted. Ignore outcome for a second, whatever the "chances" may be -- whatever you can contribute, I'm 100% sure that less dread will be helpful, both for yourself and the outcome. And the more active and together with other people who are active you become, the better you'll feel, and the better ideas you'll get.

But I'm pretty sure violence will not be helpful. It's the arena tyrants bait protesters into because that's when they win. That is, if the people are in such a majority that violence could achieve anything, then negotiation or surrender can be achieved, and violence would just be cruelty and barbarism IMO. Remember how mad people got at that sermon about having empathy? I found that incredibly telling, and I think we should tend to and build on our empathy, it's a super power. Fighting for yourself takes courage, but fighting for those who can't fight for themselves gives courage.

Re: Avoiding outrage fatigue while staying informed

#436

Post by _qbxi »

taylodl wrote: post #349
_qbxi wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

I call spades, spades. It's not my job to prove to you the object is actually a spade. At some point you have to tell disingenuous people spouting nonsense to go eff off. You're not obligated to provide counterexamples to their nonsense. Time is valuable. You're not obligated to let idiots waste it.

> It's not my job to prove to you the object is actually a spade.

> Time is valuable. You're not obligated to let idiots waste it.

Right on both counts!

However: If insufficiently many people put in the effort to explain their proof/reasoning to others, then we shouldn't be surprised when that side loses.

Re: Avoiding outrage fatigue while staying informed

#437

Post by johnnyanmac »

JTyQZSnP3cQGa8B wrote: post #341
scarface_74 wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I find LinkedIn to be the worse of the social media sites. My feed is full of wannabe “thought leaders”, people posting about a meaningless vendor certificate they got, recruiters giving advice, people who can’t get a job or were recently laid off, etc. But now, politics is getting involved because people are having government job offers rescinded and the entire federal government is in a free fall like a 3rd world b…

> My feed is full of wannabe “thought leaders” Block them, it's easy. I have only close friends and coworkers that I don't hate on that site.

you'll be spending every day blocking people, speaking from experience. Your dam can only push back so much.

Re: Avoiding outrage fatigue while staying informed

#438

Post by johnnyanmac »

polishdude20 wrote: post #220
joshdavham wrote: post #42

One thing to consider for those of us who are more sensitive to online outrage is to just quit social media all together. I’m technically gen z and I’ve been off of social media (aside from HN, WhatsApp and discord) for years and you wouldn’t believe how great it’s been for my overall state of mind. Reddit, instagram, X, Facebook, TikTok, LinkedIn, Threads, etc are all the equivalent of digital junk food and I’d argu…

Is WhatsApp really considered social media? I mainly use it as my sms alternative.

It can be and is in other countries, ones that didn't have unlimited SMS for 15+ years. It usually isn't in the US, though.

Re: Avoiding outrage fatigue while staying informed

#439

Post by [deleted] »

palmotea wrote: post #390
LeoPanthera wrote: post #315

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I decided that other people are far more organized than I am and can respond more effectively, so I'm outsourcing political action in the form of donations. I've earmarked 3% of my income every month for a list of selected charities that currently includes the ACLU, the HRC, and a short list of smaller ones. I encourage you to do the same!

> I've earmarked 3% of my income every month for a list of selected charities that currently includes the ACLU, the HRC, and a short list of smaller ones. I don't think that's a good investment, considering how badly those organizations failed in order to bring us to today.

[deleted]

Re: Avoiding outrage fatigue while staying informed

#440

Post by yostrovs »

LeoPanthera wrote: post #315
Glyptodon wrote: post #290

I don't have outrage fatigue. Outrages are outrages and they are what they are. Are there many exaggerations and fake outrages? Sure. But things like the USA's current constitutional crisis are real. What I struggle with isn't fatigue at outrage, it's knowing what to do about it. I think violence is going to become more common, but I don't particularly think it will be effective. So less so than outrage, it's the fee…

I decided that other people are far more organized than I am and can respond more effectively, so I'm outsourcing political action in the form of donations. I've earmarked 3% of my income every month for a list of selected charities that currently includes the ACLU, the HRC, and a short list of smaller ones. I encourage you to do the same!

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