I think poepping's comments here are the most accurate so far (everyone else has been great also!). I myself replied to the author of the original piece with a

I think poepping's comments here are the most accurate so far (everyone else has been great also!). I myself replied to the author of the original piece with a tidbit that poepping elaborates on further. I said, "I would just add that I suspect many of my college-age and young-professional friends and colleagues spend significant percentages their cognitive surplus on not just the standard funny-media but the news. NPR, cnn.com, many news aggregate websites, etc. This seems a little more insidious than gin and sitcoms since they actually think they're benefiting in some way. I'm afraid I believe that they are not only wasting their cognitive surplus, but are also being loaded up with expert-vetted beliefs that they ingest with as little thought as with anything else." Gin and sitcoms are only the beginning, we aren't through deploying all of our cognitive surplus yet, by far. I love hacker news, but I think I need to follow through with this understanding :D.