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When it comes to articles like this, part of me agrees with the whole "attention economy" problem. Companies want to suck away our time, etc etc. But another p

When it comes to articles like this, part of me agrees with the whole "attention economy" problem. Companies want to suck away our time, etc etc. But another part of me also realizes that this problem is going to be very, very hard to get rid of. As long as social media keeps feeding our brains with "things you might like" and endless junk notifications, it's going to be near impossible to stop.

trophycase 9y ago
Just stop using it. It's really not that difficult. Admit you're addicted and browse impulsively and then give it up.
- abootstrapper 9y ago
  That's like saying, "just stop smoking" in 1960. Ok, there's a handful of us that recognize the danger here, and have ceased using social media, but what are we going to do to help everyone else?
  - KGIII 9y ago
    What are we going to do? Accept that it is not our job to stop people from doing things we don't like? I have no social media accounts, I never have, but I don't begrudge others their pacifiers. We all do harmful things to ourselves. I find it easier to accept if I just accept my own negative acts. It's easier, for me at least, to accept that other people enjoy different things. I'd probably make a piss poor evangelist, but the reward is I spend less time being unhappy with other people's choices.
    - intended 9y ago
      Information in minds is not the same as cigarettes. And that’s discounting the fact that cigarettes are highly taxed and banned now. So are opioids and hard drugs. Society has a tendency to install a floor under functions that have bad externalities and have no end state.
    - dredmorbius 9y ago
      The problem is that the dangers and impacts don't simply stop at individuals. "Who Hacked the Election? Ad Tech did. Through “Fake News,” Identity Resolution and Hyper-Personalization": The data I present here suggests that before we keep pointing fingers at specific countries and tweeting about companies “hacking the election,” as well as to solve the scourge of “fake news,” it might be good to look inward. By this, I mean we should start the quest for transparency in politics with a few firms based in New York City and Silicon Valley. The author is Jonathan Albright, Director of Research, Tow Center for Digital Journalism, School of Journalism, Columbia University. And ex-Googler. https://medium.com/tow-center/who-hacked-the-election-43d4019f705f https://medium.com/tow-center/who-hacked-the-election-43d401... The role of liberal democratic society is to identify the threats to itself and address those, when necessary. And it's now necessary.
    - venturis_voice 9y ago
      You have no social media accounts that must be liberating! I suppose you wouldn't know though as you haven't "been through the looking glass" as it were, the dark side of Facebook. I removed my accounts for a few months and whilst it was liberating it wasn't as life changing as I thought it would be. Horse for courses I suppose.
      - KGIII 9y ago
        I've never had one. At least not one of the ones people consider social media. HN and Slashdot are both social media, but nobody seems to call them that. So, no Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, etc... G+ may have made me a profile. The others may have data about me, but they aren't my accounts. I never saw a need for one. If people want me, they know where to find me. It's not some secretive thing. It's just more inertia. I can't be bothered to make accounts and they'd just take away more of my time. I am not even all that private, people know who I am. I've had many, many Internet friends in my home. One stayed for about five years, as she and I decided to date. Similarly, I haven't ever used online dating sites. That just kind of happened.
  - lostbob 9y ago
    How about inviting others to what you do instead? Probably easier to replace then just remove the addiction.
YouAreGreat 9y ago
> very, very hard to get rid of Previous generations used taxes to manage business models that harmed many for the benefit of a few. But since these companies can buy and hack democracy, will we ever see the much needed advertising tax?

trophycase 9y ago

Just stop using it. It's really not that difficult. Admit you're addicted and browse impulsively and then give it up.

abootstrapper 9y ago
That's like saying, "just stop smoking" in 1960. Ok, there's a handful of us that recognize the danger here, and have ceased using social media, but what are we going to do to help everyone else?
- KGIII 9y ago
  What are we going to do? Accept that it is not our job to stop people from doing things we don't like? I have no social media accounts, I never have, but I don't begrudge others their pacifiers. We all do harmful things to ourselves. I find it easier to accept if I just accept my own negative acts. It's easier, for me at least, to accept that other people enjoy different things. I'd probably make a piss poor evangelist, but the reward is I spend less time being unhappy with other people's choices.
  - intended 9y ago
    Information in minds is not the same as cigarettes. And that’s discounting the fact that cigarettes are highly taxed and banned now. So are opioids and hard drugs. Society has a tendency to install a floor under functions that have bad externalities and have no end state.
  - dredmorbius 9y ago
    The problem is that the dangers and impacts don't simply stop at individuals. "Who Hacked the Election? Ad Tech did. Through “Fake News,” Identity Resolution and Hyper-Personalization": The data I present here suggests that before we keep pointing fingers at specific countries and tweeting about companies “hacking the election,” as well as to solve the scourge of “fake news,” it might be good to look inward. By this, I mean we should start the quest for transparency in politics with a few firms based in New York City and Silicon Valley. The author is Jonathan Albright, Director of Research, Tow Center for Digital Journalism, School of Journalism, Columbia University. And ex-Googler. https://medium.com/tow-center/who-hacked-the-election-43d4019f705f https://medium.com/tow-center/who-hacked-the-election-43d401... The role of liberal democratic society is to identify the threats to itself and address those, when necessary. And it's now necessary.
  - venturis_voice 9y ago
    You have no social media accounts that must be liberating! I suppose you wouldn't know though as you haven't "been through the looking glass" as it were, the dark side of Facebook. I removed my accounts for a few months and whilst it was liberating it wasn't as life changing as I thought it would be. Horse for courses I suppose.
    - KGIII 9y ago
      I've never had one. At least not one of the ones people consider social media. HN and Slashdot are both social media, but nobody seems to call them that. So, no Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, etc... G+ may have made me a profile. The others may have data about me, but they aren't my accounts. I never saw a need for one. If people want me, they know where to find me. It's not some secretive thing. It's just more inertia. I can't be bothered to make accounts and they'd just take away more of my time. I am not even all that private, people know who I am. I've had many, many Internet friends in my home. One stayed for about five years, as she and I decided to date. Similarly, I haven't ever used online dating sites. That just kind of happened.
- lostbob 9y ago
  How about inviting others to what you do instead? Probably easier to replace then just remove the addiction.

YouAreGreat 9y ago

> very, very hard to get rid of Previous generations used taxes to manage business models that harmed many for the benefit of a few. But since these companies can buy and hack democracy, will we ever see the much needed advertising tax?