The benefits of staying off social media • Hacker News Board

Re: The benefits of staying off social media

#51

Post by paulpauper » Mon, Nov 08, 2021, 4:17 PM UTC

aluminussoma wrote: post #4

I am now off popular social media (Facebook, Instagram). The void is now replaced with other forms of social media (Reddit, Hacker News). Reddit, arguably, is more toxic than my version of Facebook - but it is strangers being toxic, and zero FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) which is prevalent on Facebook and Instagram.

Hacker news and reddit FIRE subs and wallstreetbets is way more fomo-inducing than instagram or twitter, i have found. Most people live very mundane, unaccomplished lives, compared to people in tech. Average people are not involved in FAANG. "I have $3 million by 30 what do I do?" or "genius scientist discovers new particle" are not posts you typically see on Instagram, Facebook,or Twitter.

Re: The benefits of staying off social media

#52

Post by zivkovicp » Mon, Nov 08, 2021, 4:17 PM UTC

The internet was a much more interesting place pre-2004, but I am not holding my breath for a return to those times.

Re: The benefits of staying off social media

#53

Post by emptyparadise » Mon, Nov 08, 2021, 4:18 PM UTC

It's hard to leave social media when it's your main avenue for being social. Where else would I find just the right collection of people to bond with over how terrible social media is?

Re: The benefits of staying off social media

#54

Post by cpctheman » Mon, Nov 08, 2021, 4:19 PM UTC

AltonWells wrote: post #3

I’ll kick this comment thread off. I completely deleted all of my pretty well followed and active social accounts (Facebook, instagram, and snap). Not deactivate, delete. At first there is a large emotional penalty I felt by “disconnecting” from people, however it’s been well over two years and my life is pound for pound better. I do miss interacting with some friends at times but honestly if they’re real friends, I…

I think a lot of the discourse around this (and similar topics) summarized with the following advice: find out what works for you, do that.

Both steps are hard, and I would argue the "you" can expand to include your family/close circle of friends/community as well.

Re: The benefits of staying off social media

#55

Post by zw123456 » Mon, Nov 08, 2021, 4:19 PM UTC

Agree with the detox idea for some people. But they have to of course want to do it.

But I would extend the concept to all point of view media as well including point of view cable "News" or radio programs. I have had this convo with a couple friends who seemed to be getting radicalized and I suggested abstaining from all point of view media for 30days. But even after a few days a lot of people report feeling happier and less agitated.

My recommendation to anyone who spends more than 30 - 60 minutes a day on social, point of view or similar type media, might benefit from taking a perspective break.

Read a book, play some music, listen to some music, watch a fun movies (no documentaries), cook, exercise, hike, bike, etc. etc. You will feel better :)

Re: The benefits of staying off social media

#56

Post by Sohcahtoa82 » Mon, Nov 08, 2021, 4:21 PM UTC

civilized wrote: post #5

I have no idea how HN does it (I hear this "dang" guy plays a big role) but HN shows the possibility of a largely positive and edifying social media IMO. I have maybe needed a break from time to time though. I generally don't take that break but maybe I should... EDIT: I know we're not supposed to comment on downvotes but it was very funny to me that the first vote I got on this comment was a down. Like, "HN sucks! H…

HN does it with heavy moderation.

For one, the scope of what's allowed to be posted is small. You're never going to see a post about Kylie Jenner's latest trip here.

Second, low-quality comments are universally downvoted. Jokes and fun are allowed, but we don't tend to beat dead horses into a bloody pulp like reddit does. You will never see "Username checks out" as a comment here.

Lastly, HN is mostly populated by tech workers. The average education level of an HN user is likely significantly higher than the general population.

Re: The benefits of staying off social media

#57

Post by xrd » Mon, Nov 08, 2021, 4:21 PM UTC

This really grabbed me:

"The main benefit of taking a break from social media is that you stop living in a fictional world and finally start dealing with your own reality."

There is lots of quantifiable information showing that social media is bad for you. This seems much harder to quantify, but seems like the elephant in the room.

Great piece.

Re: The benefits of staying off social media

#58

Post by rvr_ » Mon, Nov 08, 2021, 4:21 PM UTC

For some (maybe many?), consumption of social media fills a huge void. For those who have lasting friendships, frequent social gatherings, nearby (and united) family, quitting social media can be as easy and feasible as the author suggests.

Re: The benefits of staying off social media

#59

Post by Sohcahtoa82 » Mon, Nov 08, 2021, 4:22 PM UTC

civilized wrote: post #25

justapassenger wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

HN is a huge echo chamber. That’s a characteristic of a most of social medias, and can have very bad consequences. But in this case it’s just geeks talking about tech. If you’d make HN general network, it wouldn’t be any better than other todays networks, as growth to general public is what kills them.

I think you get what you put in. I've had plenty of interesting, challenging conversations here. On Twitter too, although it's more work and ultimately I decided it wasn't worth it. I agree that HN would not survive an incursion by the general public. Fortunately we're protected by being a bunch of boring nerds. Who would bother? The boring, minimalist UI is probably our strongest moat.

Twitter's tiny character limit makes any sort of real discussion impossible. There's no room for nuance or detailed explanations of a position when you can only fit two or three sentences.

Re: The benefits of staying off social media

#60

Post by pkdpic » Mon, Nov 08, 2021, 4:22 PM UTC

systemvoltage wrote: post #36

ehnto wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I once asked here about how you would start an online business without interacting with Google, and I think that somewhat echoes the problem you've mentioned. While totally possible to do these things without social media, there is a challenge posed by the fact that the big platforms have captured the audiences you might have engaged with if they weren't already occupied. If it weren't for those big platforms, many p…

We desperately need new companies emerging and taking over FAANGs. It’s been too long. I think about big tech same as what we thought of HP, Oracle and IBM 20 years ago. Time to conquer them and make them obsolete. If we don't, we're guaranteeing absolute stagnation of the society in many insiduous ways. Always watching, always controlling Big Tech dystopia.

Agreed on all counts. Responses like this are why I continue to find HN an inspiring community.

I wonder sometimes why there arent more grassroots non-toxic (?) social platforms for more localized communities.

For instance what is preventing there from being a community-funded simple instagram-like app for individual arts communities in non LA/NY cities given that its never been easier / cheaper to build this kind of platform?

The answer my be that it still isnt easy to build reliable / scalable apps that people actually want to use. But sometimes I wonder if theres not something more sinister going on...