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This is very unhelpful advice, as we are talking about a massively influential platform and the advice is ‘dont let it influence you.’ Our society has more dep
by banku_brougham 9y ago
This is very unhelpful advice, as we are talking about a massively influential platform and the advice is ‘dont let it influence you.’
Our society has more dependencies than node.js, and the incentives in facebook’s world are skewed toward big payoffs for bad actors who will benefit at the expense of all others.
I’d classify this comment as fitting a very common paradigm called ‘If I were the god this would be my simple solution, so let us dispense with further discussion of the matter.’
- hn_throwaway_99 9y agoI call this the "eat less and exercise" advice. That is, when some dismiss the obesity epidemic in the US by saying "people just need to eat less and exercise". Of course, this is nominally true, but at the same time, it's useless advice. People have been hearing that they need to eat less and exercise for decades, and Americans keep getting fatter. Unless you change something at a more fundamental level, "willpower" isn't going to change things broadly in society. The same is true for Facebook. They have thousands of very smart people who are incentivized to do everything they can to get you to scroll, scroll, scroll. To think it's going to be useful to tell society at large to "just walk away from the dopamine pushers" is not going to change the situation.
- tzakrajs 9y agoExcept you need to eat. Facebook is cocaine.
- serpentstar 9y agoFalse. Interacting socially is required for human survival. Like eating--not like cocaine. Facebook's encroachment on the social sphere has real consequences for individuals like you and me. You pay a heavy cost if you forego it completely. Missed invitations, missed opportunities. Lack of presence means a lack of visibility to others.