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> Those concert-goers felt the need to misrepresent their experience of the concert. I felt the same sense of misrepresentation browsing Instagram recently, wh

> Those concert-goers felt the need to misrepresent their experience of the concert. I felt the same sense of misrepresentation browsing Instagram recently, where the photo no longer represents the experience, but rather it is the experience (if one can call a posed and doctored product an experience). One problem with this is the behavioral reinforcement it creates. If dopamine is released enough times when a certain action is performed, it would seem there's a point where your brain is essentially making you continue to reproduce that action. And these services aren't primarily targeting adults, which is concerning as well.

kaycebasques 9y ago
I think HN is quick to overlook the potential positives of this dynamic, so I'll play devil's advocate here. Maybe the Instagram experience is how people actually want to behave? And it gives them a chance to express that ideal self. In other words, it's like the phone is a magic wand, and when it's pointed at them, it's suddenly socially-acceptable to break out of their shell and act silly. Obviously it's weird that it only happens when the phone is pointed at them. But maybe, over time, this "behavioral reinforcement" will give them the courage to act like that all of the time (if that's how they want to be), rather than only when the phone is out. In other words, the key notion that I challenge is this claim that HN is fit to judge Instagram as a misrepresentation of reality. How can we claim that the moments when the phone is away is more real than the moments when they are out? They both happened, therefore they're both real. And there's this unquestioned assumption that just because people behave a certain way when the phone is away, that's how they truly want to behave, when it may as well be just the opposite.
- personlurking 9y ago
  I can sort of acquiesce here, due to me being a data point of one applying a theory to a userbase of millions. But since they likely spend more time as one version of themselves - when no camera is pointed at them - and less time as the on-camera version, I'd argue that the latter is less authentic. It's a bit like using alcohol (ie, the camera) as a crutch to give yourself permission to loosen up in social situations. It gets the job done but I'd argue it's not authentic.
  - pm90 9y ago
    Why does it matter so much if its authentic? What value does authenticity really give? I'm certainly not advocating for a wholesale change in your character, but it feels good to sometimes act out of character, or to curate experiences and present them to your friends (or the world, depending on what you seek)

kaycebasques 9y ago

I think HN is quick to overlook the potential positives of this dynamic, so I'll play devil's advocate here. Maybe the Instagram experience is how people actually want to behave? And it gives them a chance to express that ideal self. In other words, it's like the phone is a magic wand, and when it's pointed at them, it's suddenly socially-acceptable to break out of their shell and act silly. Obviously it's weird that it only happens when the phone is pointed at them. But maybe, over time, this "behavioral reinforcement" will give them the courage to act like that all of the time (if that's how they want to be), rather than only when the phone is out. In other words, the key notion that I challenge is this claim that HN is fit to judge Instagram as a misrepresentation of reality. How can we claim that the moments when the phone is away is more real than the moments when they are out? They both happened, therefore they're both real. And there's this unquestioned assumption that just because people behave a certain way when the phone is away, that's how they truly want to behave, when it may as well be just the opposite.

personlurking 9y ago
I can sort of acquiesce here, due to me being a data point of one applying a theory to a userbase of millions. But since they likely spend more time as one version of themselves - when no camera is pointed at them - and less time as the on-camera version, I'd argue that the latter is less authentic. It's a bit like using alcohol (ie, the camera) as a crutch to give yourself permission to loosen up in social situations. It gets the job done but I'd argue it's not authentic.
- pm90 9y ago
  Why does it matter so much if its authentic? What value does authenticity really give? I'm certainly not advocating for a wholesale change in your character, but it feels good to sometimes act out of character, or to curate experiences and present them to your friends (or the world, depending on what you seek)