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I've really improved my happiness ever since I uninstalled these apps (IG, Snapchat, etc) and never looked back. I suggest everyone do the same. They get you ho

I've really improved my happiness ever since I uninstalled these apps (IG, Snapchat, etc) and never looked back. I suggest everyone do the same. They get you hooked on a dopamine drip feed, instill feelings of inadequacy, and otherwise do nothing to improve your life.

turc1656 7y ago
Good for you. I never had any of those types of services except for Facebook and I never used that much at all. So, I don't know what it's like to "unplug" in that regard, but I can imagine how much it must suck to be in that spiral. I think in addition to the dopamine addiction, there's also some sort of neurotic or narcissistic aspect to it as well for many. I see it all the time with people everywhere. Women on the bus are constantly on all of that shit taking selfies. Like, who the fuck needs to see you making a wannabe cute/sexy face on the bus on the way to work? And that, amazingly, isn't limited to just women in their 20s, but it does trend heavily to them. I'm married but the concept of dating in this modern world is terrifying to me. First thing I would do would be to lookup a woman on social media to see if she's one of these crazies.
- to1y 7y ago
  I think it's funny how 90% percent of these 'selfies' are taken in bathrooms. Used to be you went to a nice place and took a photo to show where you went. Now I think the average selfie taker doesn't even realize they are in a toilet, it is completely self focused. There is a fitting metaphor in there somewhere.
  - kohtatsu 7y ago
    "My shit doesn't stink"?
  - usrusr 7y ago
    The way I remember early selfie culture is that it actually started in places like bathrooms and only spread to include location later. But those details do not matter, the real story is how bathrooms apparently became places of public representation.
    - agustif 7y ago
      All bathrooms usually are private places in the house + have one or multiple mirrors, real selfies weren't made with a second lens/selfie mode in your smartphone before 2008 lol
cmdshiftf4 7y ago
>otherwise do nothing to improve your life. I overwhelmingly agree, but disagree in one regard; there is some signal in the scream of the noise and in not engaging whatsoever you miss that sliver of signal, which can be very important events in friend's/family member's lives they've chosen to document there, or maintain some sense of contact with people who are now geographically distant, etc. Overall their effects are indescribably negative, simply due to how they effectively game people's innate insecurities, but they do have 1 to 2 uses that do improve the life of a private individual.
- danfang 7y ago
  This is the nuanced perspective I really like hearing. I think people still want some avenue to keep in touch with and interact with their friends and family online, when meeting in person might be too difficult (geographic distance for example). I feel super passionate about addressing the existing toxicity of existing social networks and making something more positive and uplifting - preserving what you call the "signal". I launched something recently on HN about what I've been hacking on here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21771456 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21771456
Cougher 7y ago
"I suggest everyone do the same." Your experience is not everyone else's experience.

turc1656 7y ago

Good for you. I never had any of those types of services except for Facebook and I never used that much at all. So, I don't know what it's like to "unplug" in that regard, but I can imagine how much it must suck to be in that spiral. I think in addition to the dopamine addiction, there's also some sort of neurotic or narcissistic aspect to it as well for many. I see it all the time with people everywhere. Women on the bus are constantly on all of that shit taking selfies. Like, who the fuck needs to see you making a wannabe cute/sexy face on the bus on the way to work? And that, amazingly, isn't limited to just women in their 20s, but it does trend heavily to them. I'm married but the concept of dating in this modern world is terrifying to me. First thing I would do would be to lookup a woman on social media to see if she's one of these crazies.

to1y 7y ago
I think it's funny how 90% percent of these 'selfies' are taken in bathrooms. Used to be you went to a nice place and took a photo to show where you went. Now I think the average selfie taker doesn't even realize they are in a toilet, it is completely self focused. There is a fitting metaphor in there somewhere.
- kohtatsu 7y ago
  "My shit doesn't stink"?
- usrusr 7y ago
  The way I remember early selfie culture is that it actually started in places like bathrooms and only spread to include location later. But those details do not matter, the real story is how bathrooms apparently became places of public representation.
  - agustif 7y ago
    All bathrooms usually are private places in the house + have one or multiple mirrors, real selfies weren't made with a second lens/selfie mode in your smartphone before 2008 lol

cmdshiftf4 7y ago

>otherwise do nothing to improve your life. I overwhelmingly agree, but disagree in one regard; there is some signal in the scream of the noise and in not engaging whatsoever you miss that sliver of signal, which can be very important events in friend's/family member's lives they've chosen to document there, or maintain some sense of contact with people who are now geographically distant, etc. Overall their effects are indescribably negative, simply due to how they effectively game people's innate insecurities, but they do have 1 to 2 uses that do improve the life of a private individual.

danfang 7y ago
This is the nuanced perspective I really like hearing. I think people still want some avenue to keep in touch with and interact with their friends and family online, when meeting in person might be too difficult (geographic distance for example). I feel super passionate about addressing the existing toxicity of existing social networks and making something more positive and uplifting - preserving what you call the "signal". I launched something recently on HN about what I've been hacking on here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21771456 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21771456

Cougher 7y ago

"I suggest everyone do the same." Your experience is not everyone else's experience.