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The effect of deactivating Facebook and Instagram on users' emotional state

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Re: The effect of deactivating Facebook and Instagram on users' emotional state

#481

Post by exceptione »

ay wrote: post #445
exceptione wrote: post #331

Earlier quoted context omitted.

* Bluesky is from the same people that launched Twitter and, optics aside, just the same ideology. There is no real deep divide on values. It is about locking up people in echo chambers, information filtering and ultimately ripping out people's ability to organize around a common good. There is only one danger for the 0.1%. The 99,9%. * The people that got disturbed by Twitter's boosting of extremists and nazis, now…

I can not argue about the values of people I do not know personally. I only said that the tool they made seems to be okay in my experience , which I shared. “Free markets” is an uneducated nonsense. An entirely unregulated market evolves into monopoly. Even without corruption. Social media for me is just a tool (HN is also social media btw). I find it useful and it meaningfully interacts with the other aspects of my…

> I only said that the tool they made seems to be okay in my experience,

I could understand that! I wanted to make a general comment, to warn people that although things feel fine now, they should imho pay caution to what these things devolve into. There doesn't even need to be any particular evil scheming from people involved. We usually focus on tech solutions. While blindness to cultural forces is generally what leads us into problems. It is a self-feedback loop in which societal fracturing and extremism is fostered.

> When it stops being the case (eg facebook and twitter) - I leave it behind.

I feel the same. But most people, not only the young, are hooked to social media. For the young, they are essential for social validation, and thus they are easily pried on by people with less morality than you likely do.

> HN is also social media btw

Sure, but it is in a different class. HN at least does it best to be the least dopamine awarding. It is hard to read, and it is difficult to see if someone replied to a question or remark you made.

Traditional fora, mailing lists, HN--they are far more benign than what we are talking about.

Re: The effect of deactivating Facebook and Instagram on users' emotional state

#482

Post by pcthrowaway »

throwaway_fjmr wrote: post #479
pcthrowaway wrote: post #441

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To be clear, I was responding to the insinuation that being rude to someone at a bar due to "literally anything to do with Israel" is antisemitic if they're Jewish. Of course being specifically rude to Jewish people due to their support of Israel is antisemitic, but being rude to people who support Israel is not (we can debate whether it's productive or deserved separately). But since you've gone out of your way to m…

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Re: The effect of deactivating Facebook and Instagram on users' emotional state

#483

Post by mrguyorama »

ethbr1 wrote: post #429
lazide wrote: post #301

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I bet you also tell the Mormons to take a hike when they come visit.

Honestly, I'm really nice to the LDS when they drop by. My experience has been that Mormons are generally self-aware, polite, and willing the engage in interesting conversation. In contrast, LinkedIn influencers' eyes glaze over whenever you try to dig into the details of what they're purporting to talk about. Because, ugh, nerd stuff that's beneath them.

It's not because "nerd stuff that's beneath them" but because to a significant portion of the middle management class, the bullshit IS reality. The bullshit is how they get their job, how they function day to day, how they explain themselves to others, how they THINK about themselves etc.

It's much the same as the people who get books ghostwritten and say "I wrote a book". It doesn't matter if you understand someone else wrote it, if you say that in your head or out loud enough, your brain will treat it as reality and you will think it to be reality, and that will effect future thinking and feeling.

It doesn't matter if you are playing a character. Play it convincingly enough and it WILL bleed into your reality.

Re: The effect of deactivating Facebook and Instagram on users' emotional state

#484

Post by mrguyorama »

prmoustache wrote: post #252
Aromasin wrote: post #197

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Eh, I'd disagree on the Instagram front. If you look at the reels section, where most spend their time, it's just a more deplorable Tiktok. 80% of the content on there is soft core porn advertising one OnlyFans girl or another. The other 20% seems to be brain rot memes. I reinstalled it recently after 8 years of not having it, and immediately deleted it.

I guess it really depends if you have fed the algorithm with your preferences already.

The algorithm isn't designed to give everyone exactly what THEY want.

The algorithim is optimized for "engagement", and therefore optimized specifically to trigger addiction as quickly and effectively as possible. The lower level softcore porn and rage bait and brainrot memes are what triggers addiction in people prone to it.

It's exactly the same situation as slot machines. They are made by the same companies in many cases that made some of the best and most fun arcade and video games. But if you aren't prone to gambling addiction, they aren't fun, because they aren't optimized for fun, they are optimized for addiction. The same triggers and stimuli that are most effective at triggering addiction behaviors are LESS effective at being "fun" to non-addictive people.

"The algorithm" is literally not meant to feed people what they want. "The algorithm" serves only the interests of the company, which is to efficiently keep eyeballs looking at a feed in order to sell ads. Giving most people what they want is genuinely counter to that.

Re: The effect of deactivating Facebook and Instagram on users' emotional state

#485

Post by dang »

bongodongobob wrote: post #155
donatj wrote: post #111

Before its fall, I had over 700 followers on Twitter. I could post any random thought and within minutes be having an interesting conversation with some rando about it. For example I pondered why phone manufacturers didn't use a p2p protocol for distributing updates and had an enlightening conversation with a person who worked for a major telco chiming in as to why that would be problematic for their infrastructure.…

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Can you please stop posting unsubstantive and/or aggressive comments to HN? We already asked you to stop and you've unfortunately been doing it repeatedly.

https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

Re: The effect of deactivating Facebook and Instagram on users' emotional state

#487

Post by 3np »

johnisgood wrote: post #426
alabastervlog wrote: post #347

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Had a long-time friend group explode last year over this. Years of behind-their-backs shit-stirring lies by a couple members of the group finally got figured out and called out, publicly, which lit the fuse. Exact same behavior that was called out was immediately employed to try to spin that and get these people's "enemies" pushed out of the group, which was the bomb going off. About half the group survived with some…

That sounds extremely toxic. I would not even consider such people friends to begin with.

I think it's a mistake beliving you can judge each persons character accurately from the beginning when entering a new social context.

Re: The effect of deactivating Facebook and Instagram on users' emotional state

#488

Post by TRiG_Ireland »

smelendez wrote: post #90
8s2ngy wrote: post #41

I believe many of the problems in our current social media landscape could be solved by eliminating the "feed" and instead displaying posts, updates, and pictures from friends, family, and those we know in real life. This approach might conflict with the profit models of big tech social media and could go against what most people have become accustomed to. Personally, I would love a smaller social network where I can…

This has moved heavily into group chats and I’m not sure it’s coming back. Group chats are basically the Circles that Google+ saw the need for but could never get fully set up. A lot of people don’t want to share personal updates and photos to a broad swath of friends and acquaintances. Meanwhile Instagram and Facebook keep evolving. Facebook is turning into a weird Reddit for older people. Instagram is turning into…

> A lot of people don’t want to share personal updates and photos to a broad swath of friends and acquaintances.

But sometimes I do, because saying something to one person feels like I'm demanding a response from them, but saying it to a broad circle of friends allows those interested to reply, and others to leave it. Back when I used Facebook, I was more likely to gripe (or brag) on the Facebook wall than in a personal text conversation with a friend.

(Friends in person are the best option, of course.)

Re: The effect of deactivating Facebook and Instagram on users' emotional state

#489

Post by bamboozled »

8s2ngy wrote: post #41

I believe many of the problems in our current social media landscape could be solved by eliminating the "feed" and instead displaying posts, updates, and pictures from friends, family, and those we know in real life. This approach might conflict with the profit models of big tech social media and could go against what most people have become accustomed to. Personally, I would love a smaller social network where I can…

Shared Albums on iPhone photos is what you want. They’re amazing.

Re: The effect of deactivating Facebook and Instagram on users' emotional state

#490

Post by xethos »

donatj wrote: post #111

Before its fall, I had over 700 followers on Twitter. I could post any random thought and within minutes be having an interesting conversation with some rando about it. For example I pondered why phone manufacturers didn't use a p2p protocol for distributing updates and had an enlightening conversation with a person who worked for a major telco chiming in as to why that would be problematic for their infrastructure.…

> When the walls fell and everybody left, I dropped 200 followers to 500 but by X's own metrics no one sees my tweets

> I have presences on Mastodon and Bluesky, but my follower count on both remains in the low teens

So we all agree that follower count != engagement. You pointed that out in the first quote. It's a trueism we all claim to understand. But then you immediately jump to low followers on Mastodon or Bluesky being equivalent to low engagement, when that isn't necessarily the case.

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