This reminded me of https://www.timewellspent.io
'Our minds can be hijacked': tech insiders who fear a smartphone dystopia
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Re: 'Our minds can be hijacked': tech insiders who fear a smartphone dystopia
#62Something that helps a lot is to be ruthless with notifications on a smartphone. I basically have it set to only bother me for calls, SMS, and chat apps. Everything else is turned off. And whenever I get a new phone, it surprising how bad the defaults are. Basically every apps default is to spam notifications.
Twitter on ios mobile has given me such a headache with those highlights notifications. No way to disable them, infuriating.
I'm assuming you mean without disabling twitter notifications entirely. I have the entire twitter app's notifications disabled just fine on iOS 10.
Re: 'Our minds can be hijacked': tech insiders who fear a smartphone dystopia
#63Re: 'Our minds can be hijacked': tech insiders who fear a smartphone dystopia
#64lol Okay, Freud. Tell us something every marketing student in community college doesn't already know. People can be persuaded. People have addictions. Cool story, bro.
Re: 'Our minds can be hijacked': tech insiders who fear a smartphone dystopia
#65Does anyone think that Hacker News fits the bill of addictiveness? Or is HN different than Facebook/Reddit/Twitter for some reason?
HN fits the pattern of addictive behaviour. (Trigger -> Action -> Variable Reward).
You are triggered to come here when you’re bored. Your action is simple loading (or reloading) the page. The variable reward is that you get interesting content and discussions...but you never know what they will be.
Over time this pattern of behaviour becomes habitual. You probably open Hacker News at similar times of the day in similar situations.
This basic pattern applies to all social media products. It’s very well understood and a key part of modern software design.
Re: 'Our minds can be hijacked': tech insiders who fear a smartphone dystopia
#66Earlier quoted context omitted.
I mean Steve Jobs tried to treat his completely curable pancreatic cancer, which was caught early, with alternative medicine and diet changes. The guy was a genius at some things, but not everything.
When did pancreatic cancer get a reputation for being curable? I was under the impression that it is one of the most fatal cancers.
You are correct, most pancreatic adenocarcinomas are rapidly fatal. He had a pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor, which is more treatable with resection and chemotherapy.
Re: 'Our minds can be hijacked': tech insiders who fear a smartphone dystopia
#67This reminded me of https://www.timewellspent.io
It's mentioned in the article.
Re: 'Our minds can be hijacked': tech insiders who fear a smartphone dystopia
#68Does anyone see an analogy with highly processed, sugary foods? Highly addictive, thought to be miracles of convenience, but ultimately detrimental when consumed in excess, and now we are starting to realise that and demand better. I wonder if society will go through the same rejection phase with attention-seeking media consumption. Or maybe those who grow up with it will be better able to control themselves.
David Foster Wallace had the same belief about TV 20 years ago. He seemed more addicted to it than the average bear, more along the lines of how you see people tethered to smartphones today. He very much saw TV as candy - sweet, addictive, not sustaining, and unhealthy without moderation. He talked about it in multiple places, but Although of Course You End Up Becoming Yourself (an interview) discusses it a lot. http…
I think his definitive piece on the subject is E unibus pluram: television and U.S. fiction (1993) [0], definitely worth a read if you have the time. Wallace's "six hours a day" refrain is an interesting contrast to our now dominant usage pattern of dozens of 10 minutes chunks of daily social media consumption.
What explains the pointlessness of most published TV criticism is that television has become immune to charges that it lacks any meaningful connection to the world outside it. It's not that charges of nonconnection have become untrue. It's that any such connection has become otiose. Television used to point beyond itself. Those of us born in like the sixties were trained to look where it pointed, usually at versions of "real life" made prettier, sweeter, better by succumbing to a product or temptation. Today's Audience is way better trained, and TV has discarded what's not needed. A dog, if you point at something, will look only at your finger.
[0] https://www.thefreelibrary.com/E+unibus+pluram:+television+a...
Re: 'Our minds can be hijacked': tech insiders who fear a smartphone dystopia
#69Earlier quoted context omitted.
The same Steve Jobs who thought you could cure cancer by eating carrots, right? Just because he was smart and did some things right doesn’t mean he has some secret wisdom in unrelated fields, here.
I don't think "the Apple iPad" is an "unrelated field" for Steve Jobs. It seems like you're the one bringing in unrelated fields....
Child development?
Re: 'Our minds can be hijacked': tech insiders who fear a smartphone dystopia
#70I agree with him that social media could be very distracting, especially in the family settings, but, I get a ton of useful information and stay up-to-date with the latest research through Twitter, Reddit and HN. Cutting those out would mean putting an iron curtain on the latest insight and recent developments, and, essentially, quitting the front line.
But at what cost? Having read "deep work" recently, I've started thinking much more about all of this, and for me, the cost mostly outweighs the benefits. By cutting back drastically on my use (phone typically lasts 3-4 days instead of 1 now), I'm getting a lot more done, in less time, feel better and am much more present than I have been in over a decade. I hadn't realised the creeping effect of it all, and I don't…
Loved the book and highly recommend, especially to hn crowd.
https://www.amazon.com/Deep-Work-Focused-Success-Distracted/...