Dopamine Fracking • Hacker News Board

Re: Dopamine Fracking

#441

Post by arendtio » Wed, Jun 10, 2026, 7:59 PM UTC

oa335 wrote: post #247

regexorcist wrote: post #238

As someone under 40 who never had any social media, I cannot overstate the negative impact it's had on my peers and their behaviours. Worst thing to ever happen to society imo, I feel for the younger ones who grew up with it.

why doesnt hackernews count as social media?

I think it is part of Web 2.0 with its user-generated content, but I think it lacks most of the central aspects of Social Media:

- contacts/friends

- personalisation

- followers

I think some central feeds + comments are not enough, especially with the weak user profile concept (I mean, there are not even profile pictures). But I think some people consider HN Social Media.

Re: Dopamine Fracking

#442

Post by phyzome » Thu, Jun 11, 2026, 3:19 AM UTC

tetris11 wrote: post #365

phyzome wrote: post #241

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Kind of sounds like you haven't had real maple syrup.

I have canadian cousins and they send me the real stuff every year. It's just what you prefer. Some people like a Rolex watch they can flash at parties. Others are happy with a cheap imitation with a nice form that they can wear daily

Hmm, weird. I've not found real maple syrup to be too runny. (But then, I haven't had the fake stuff in decades... maybe they add a bunch of thickener to it.)

Re: Dopamine Fracking

#443

Post by bshepard » Fri, Jun 12, 2026, 6:06 AM UTC

mx7zysuj4xew wrote: post #67

ralfd wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is noteworthy that this is a German source and German culture is by default pessimism and malaise.

That would be more of a Russian worldview German culture is more or a romanticist "Sturm und Drang" kind

German culture is more about extreme anal attention to details and correcting others than Young Werther! In other words Prussia won, not Weimar.

Re: Dopamine Fracking

#444

Post by bshepard » Fri, Jun 12, 2026, 6:08 AM UTC

hw1618 wrote: post #68

bshepard wrote: post #48

Anxiety over commodification is very, very old, and tends to miss the upsides of commercial society. Intellectuals, by our nature, focus on problems -- often to the point of creating problems where (perhaps) there were none before. Happily "dopamine fracking" will probably not metamorphose into another menacing sounding anti-commercial phrase. There are enough already. If you are sympathetic, or even curious, about t…

You could argue that anxiety over climate change is somewhat old, and yet I'd argue that there's ever more evidence the problem is real. Just because the direction of travel was identified a long time ago, it doesn't mean that it's desirable or impossible to change.

The problem is that "the problem" is not clearly stated. There is surely climate change, but what it means and what we should do and feel about it is very unclear and contested. What is clearer is that certain intellectuals have used 'climate change' to get power via fear. Whether this power is warranted or not must be debated. Even if warranted, fear is a dirty, but traditional, way for clerics to assume domination.

Re: Dopamine Fracking

#445

Post by zimpenfish » Fri, Jun 12, 2026, 8:36 PM UTC

lII1lIlI11ll wrote: post #428

zimpenfish wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For me (considerably older than millenials) it's not choice fatigue or "default to bland and tested", it's "if I'm paying a small fortune for coffee / food[0], I do not want a crappy serving just because the barista/cook stubbed their toe / broke up / got bad news / etc. this morning and they're wildly off their game." Starbucks, McDonalds, Papa Johns, etc. do not make "great" refreshments but they make them of a con…

Is this a US thing? Coffee in Starbucks is so mediocre that it is hard to imagine a proper coffee place ever "matching" it, even on a bad day.

> Is this a US thing?

I'm in the UK. Some local coffee shops can turn out exceptionally terrible coffee.

Re: Dopamine Fracking

#446

Post by hollerith » Tue, Jun 16, 2026, 1:10 AM UTC

Tade0 wrote: post #167

ivanjermakov wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Amount of misinformation regarding dopamine is staggering. While it plays a huge role in modern social media practices, it is relevant in search/anticipation phase, not having fun/resolution phase.

Personally I blame Jordan Peterson. He described dopamine's role correctly, just didn't adjust the message to his audience, who in turn misunderstood what he said and passed that on, referencing him as an authority. Now that I think about it adrenaline was the previous go-to chemical which somehow explained all human behaviour.

Are you sure you don't mean Andrew Huberman? Jordan Peterson has probably mentioned dopamine, but if so, its at a rate of about one mention every 50 to 100 hours.