3 ms·

It's not just the kids. I've never been so bored with the internet.

kowdermeister 9y ago
I'm on the other side, I can't make enough time to read, explore and process all my interests online.
freehunter 9y ago
Same thing with cable TV and satellite radio. 500 channels, and after a very short period of time you realize it's the same things playing on repeat. And very little of it has any substance to keep you engaged. It's like someone with a lifetime supply of Hostess snacks saying they're hungry. "But you have all the food you can eat!" Sure... for certain definitions of food. When you've been used to getting that cheap and quick hit of dopamine but then suddenly you're not getting the same positive feedback from your brain, it's jarring. And eventually you have to find some complex carbohydrates that take time to digest. It's not as immediately satisfying as sugar, but it balances out the highs and lows. The Web to me these days is a maintenance dose. Just enough to keep me distracted for the amount of time I want to be distracted for. But nothing more.
return0 9y ago
good point. i know i m getting older but if you browse HN from 10 years ago you 'll realize there was a lot more excitement, nowadays i just can't read the 1000th rehash of some javascript thing. Of course it has a lot to do with business opportunities which get less by the year and reward is what keeps excitement going. Side question: Where do people find the freaks on the internets nowadays?
chrisvalleybay 9y ago
It's the "commoditization" of the Internet. The other day I started thinking about how amazing toilets are – how much time they save every day. Bare with me. I went on thinking about the history of toilets, musing back to an ancient one I visited in Ephesus, Turkey. There were no toilet stalls. Between 6-10 holes in a bench, with flowing water underneath. According to our guide, this is one of the first toilets of its kind (citation needed). It must've been so amazing when they got this toilet. They probably talked about it all the time, and wanted to go there to hang out. It was a place of communion. Today toilets are utilities. They aren't exciting at all. You barely stop to wonder about the marvel you sit on. How much time it has saved you, or how the mechanics actually work. The Internet will sort of become like that one day too. Just a utility.
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liberte82 9y ago
I can understand. At a certain point, memes start to look the same. You sort of start to transcend the individual content and begin to see memes and jokes in themes. And then you start to realize that the content of internet really only has a few different flavors, it's not as diverse as it appears on first glance. This is the danger of using the internet for purely consumption/entertainment purposes and for short-term dopamine hits. Used to deepen your knowledge and further yourself in a subject, the internet is the greatest tool ever invented.

I'm on the other side, I can't make enough time to read, explore and process all my interests online.

Same thing with cable TV and satellite radio. 500 channels, and after a very short period of time you realize it's the same things playing on repeat. And very little of it has any substance to keep you engaged. It's like someone with a lifetime supply of Hostess snacks saying they're hungry. "But you have all the food you can eat!" Sure... for certain definitions of food. When you've been used to getting that cheap and quick hit of dopamine but then suddenly you're not getting the same positive feedback from your brain, it's jarring. And eventually you have to find some complex carbohydrates that take time to digest. It's not as immediately satisfying as sugar, but it balances out the highs and lows. The Web to me these days is a maintenance dose. Just enough to keep me distracted for the amount of time I want to be distracted for. But nothing more.

return0 9y ago

good point. i know i m getting older but if you browse HN from 10 years ago you 'll realize there was a lot more excitement, nowadays i just can't read the 1000th rehash of some javascript thing. Of course it has a lot to do with business opportunities which get less by the year and reward is what keeps excitement going. Side question: Where do people find the freaks on the internets nowadays?

chrisvalleybay 9y ago

It's the "commoditization" of the Internet. The other day I started thinking about how amazing toilets are – how much time they save every day. Bare with me. I went on thinking about the history of toilets, musing back to an ancient one I visited in Ephesus, Turkey. There were no toilet stalls. Between 6-10 holes in a bench, with flowing water underneath. According to our guide, this is one of the first toilets of its kind (citation needed). It must've been so amazing when they got this toilet. They probably talked about it all the time, and wanted to go there to hang out. It was a place of communion. Today toilets are utilities. They aren't exciting at all. You barely stop to wonder about the marvel you sit on. How much time it has saved you, or how the mechanics actually work. The Internet will sort of become like that one day too. Just a utility.

deleted 9y ago
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liberte82 9y ago

I can understand. At a certain point, memes start to look the same. You sort of start to transcend the individual content and begin to see memes and jokes in themes. And then you start to realize that the content of internet really only has a few different flavors, it's not as diverse as it appears on first glance. This is the danger of using the internet for purely consumption/entertainment purposes and for short-term dopamine hits. Used to deepen your knowledge and further yourself in a subject, the internet is the greatest tool ever invented.