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There are real problems here. But I can't see past the author's terrible personal habits that magnify every single one of them. Nobody forced them to: - start

There are real problems here. But I can't see past the author's terrible personal habits that magnify every single one of them. Nobody forced them to: - start their day by reviewing COVID numbers - allow push-notifications from "news" apps - listen to NPR while showering - generally allow social media to dictate their mood/schedule All of these habits are as easy to change as they are damaging. Edit to add: In no way did I mean to belittle those who are afflicted by social media / news addiction. It's a very real problem, and such people deserve help and guidance to lessen their suffering.

outworlder 6y ago
> But I can't see past the author's terrible personal habits that magnify every single one of them. Keep in mind that this may or may not be an accurate reflection of the author's personal habits. We have no indications that this is true, that each one of these actions is not exaggerated, or that they even happened in the same day. Or even, more likely, that these are actually the habits of a fictional person that's trying to represent a huge fraction of the population. It could even be a form of criticism. We do know that there are people sharing similar routines.
- gitpusher 6y ago
  Sure, she likely exaggerated things for narrative effect. I sympathize with those who are enslaved to their devices. It's an addiction, and it often correlates with mental health issues. Such people need help and guidance – not sarcastic dismissal. But, like any other addiction, the first step is taking responsibility. Instead of blaming the world for "hacking" your brain and sub-dividing your attention ad infinitum ... Take a step back and figure out what is (and isn't) under your control. Break the cycle. Have the courage to reject things that aren't serving you.
  - ryandrake 6y ago
    Part of the solution is just turning off notifications. Half of what the author described is apps interrupting what she was doing, demanding her attention. All smartphones provide the option to turn off these interruptions and badges. Just do it and never look back. I've gone even farther in that I run Do-Not-Disturb mode 24/7, so no notifications of any kind, no texts, even no phone calls. You can take back your attention when it's being stolen. You're totally right about the other half though, it's got to be some kind of addiction. Her compulsion to keep "checking" things online. Checking facebook, checking instagram, checking the news, checking the likes on this, checking messages on that, checking Slack, checking E-mail, even checking her frequent flyer mile count (WTF?). What is all this checking? What on earth is so important that you keep needing to poll for status updates? This behavior seems to be beyond what one could rationally explain and I agree with you that some professional help and guidance is probably in order!
  - samatman 6y ago
    The AA twelve-step program isn't Gospel, and it wasn't handed down on tablets at Sinai. But it does encapsulate a lot of wisdom, and the first step is to admit powerlessness over the addiction. That's what you're missing here, is that by definition addicts feel out of control of their own behavior. Without that loss of control, it's not an addiction, it's just a habit you spend a lot of time on. Look, it's obvious this isn't a subject you know anything about, and congratulations on that. But maybe stop making confident pronouncements which don't work.
    - nobody9999 6y ago
      >The AA twelve-step program isn't Gospel, and it wasn't handed down on tablets at Sinai. >But it does encapsulate a lot of wisdom, and the first step is to admit powerlessness over the addiction. That's right, except about being powerless. I'm not downing AA, as it has helped many people over the years. In fact, My brother is a friend of Bill and has been clean for 36 years. And up until the lockdowns, he still went to meetings. However, the twelve steps aren't a panacea. In fact, some estimate[0] that only 5-8% of those who engage with AA actually end up clean and sticking with it. I disagree with the idea that you need to "admit powerlessness." And the rest of the pseudo-religious mumbo-jumbo is just that. Addiction is not a failure of willpower. To beat it, willpower is required, but it's often (usually) not enough. >Look, it's obvious this isn't a subject you know anything about, and congratulations on that. But maybe stop making confident pronouncements which don't work. It may not have been for GP, but it is for me -- not just WRT my brother -- but in my own life and issues with substance abuse. There is no one right answer for everyone. And AA's methods, while not harmful (and often beneficial, even if the message is couched in hokey religious terms) can and does help many people. But it's not the only, nor is it the best, way to help people address addiction -- whether that be alcohol, drugs, technology or anything else. [0] https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/04/the-irrationality-of-alcoholics-anonymous/386255/ https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/04/the-irr... Edit: Corrected estimate of success rate for AA.
MattGaiser 6y ago
Yes, lol. They had to opt in to every one of those things.
qppo 6y ago
It's hard to square this take against the billions of dollars spent optimizing dopamine feedback loops on social media and dark patterns to trick users into falling victim.
- malux85 6y ago
  Just. Turn. It. Off. The author makes a bunch of dumb, easily fixable decisions and then writes a blog post whining about them. It’s so tiresome.
  - nobody9999 6y ago
    >The author makes a bunch of dumb, easily fixable decisions and then writes a blog post whining about them. It’s so tiresome. Actually, she wrote a book[0] about it. [0] https://www.amazon.com/Cant-Even-Millennials-Burnout-Generation/dp/0358315077 https://www.amazon.com/Cant-Even-Millennials-Burnout-Generat...
    - malux85 6y ago
      Good. Lord.
njharman 6y ago
Yeah, I came here to say same/related; technology did not create these problems. We created them. Our society, our social norms, and the very hard to avoid evolutionary programmed behaviours; "display" (for mate), "herding" and "parenting/family bonding". Still, none of that is an excuse for making bad choices. It's hard but people can and should fight their instincts (esp when they are being exploited by others). At least for "adults", children haven't necessarily developed enough to make choices. [With all our(USA) "think of the children", helicopter parenting, and overprotection of kids; I have no idea why parents accept advertising targeted to kids and teens? The illogic and dual standards are absolutely baffling.]
jonpurdy 6y ago
There is some middle ground between the "just turn it off" folks and the article. For me, by default I deny notifications to apps. Only communications (like WhatsApp/Signal/iMessages/email client) and stuff that NEEDS to notify me (like UptimeRobot). For email, I only get notifications when emails hit a certain filter. For WhatsApp, I mute all the groups.
- nicbou 6y ago
  This is also what I do, not only on my phone but on other sites. I'm now thinking of hiding notification badges and other distractions. The only problem is that when I get bored, I still want to see if I got emails, reddit notifications, Hacker News replies etc. I still open the app to cjeck then get distracted. Someone aptly compared this to a slot machine where the prize is a small rush of dopamine.

outworlder 6y ago

> But I can't see past the author's terrible personal habits that magnify every single one of them. Keep in mind that this may or may not be an accurate reflection of the author's personal habits. We have no indications that this is true, that each one of these actions is not exaggerated, or that they even happened in the same day. Or even, more likely, that these are actually the habits of a fictional person that's trying to represent a huge fraction of the population. It could even be a form of criticism. We do know that there are people sharing similar routines.

gitpusher 6y ago
Sure, she likely exaggerated things for narrative effect. I sympathize with those who are enslaved to their devices. It's an addiction, and it often correlates with mental health issues. Such people need help and guidance – not sarcastic dismissal. But, like any other addiction, the first step is taking responsibility. Instead of blaming the world for "hacking" your brain and sub-dividing your attention ad infinitum ... Take a step back and figure out what is (and isn't) under your control. Break the cycle. Have the courage to reject things that aren't serving you.
- ryandrake 6y ago
  Part of the solution is just turning off notifications. Half of what the author described is apps interrupting what she was doing, demanding her attention. All smartphones provide the option to turn off these interruptions and badges. Just do it and never look back. I've gone even farther in that I run Do-Not-Disturb mode 24/7, so no notifications of any kind, no texts, even no phone calls. You can take back your attention when it's being stolen. You're totally right about the other half though, it's got to be some kind of addiction. Her compulsion to keep "checking" things online. Checking facebook, checking instagram, checking the news, checking the likes on this, checking messages on that, checking Slack, checking E-mail, even checking her frequent flyer mile count (WTF?). What is all this checking? What on earth is so important that you keep needing to poll for status updates? This behavior seems to be beyond what one could rationally explain and I agree with you that some professional help and guidance is probably in order!
- samatman 6y ago
  The AA twelve-step program isn't Gospel, and it wasn't handed down on tablets at Sinai. But it does encapsulate a lot of wisdom, and the first step is to admit powerlessness over the addiction. That's what you're missing here, is that by definition addicts feel out of control of their own behavior. Without that loss of control, it's not an addiction, it's just a habit you spend a lot of time on. Look, it's obvious this isn't a subject you know anything about, and congratulations on that. But maybe stop making confident pronouncements which don't work.
  - nobody9999 6y ago
    >The AA twelve-step program isn't Gospel, and it wasn't handed down on tablets at Sinai. >But it does encapsulate a lot of wisdom, and the first step is to admit powerlessness over the addiction. That's right, except about being powerless. I'm not downing AA, as it has helped many people over the years. In fact, My brother is a friend of Bill and has been clean for 36 years. And up until the lockdowns, he still went to meetings. However, the twelve steps aren't a panacea. In fact, some estimate[0] that only 5-8% of those who engage with AA actually end up clean and sticking with it. I disagree with the idea that you need to "admit powerlessness." And the rest of the pseudo-religious mumbo-jumbo is just that. Addiction is not a failure of willpower. To beat it, willpower is required, but it's often (usually) not enough. >Look, it's obvious this isn't a subject you know anything about, and congratulations on that. But maybe stop making confident pronouncements which don't work. It may not have been for GP, but it is for me -- not just WRT my brother -- but in my own life and issues with substance abuse. There is no one right answer for everyone. And AA's methods, while not harmful (and often beneficial, even if the message is couched in hokey religious terms) can and does help many people. But it's not the only, nor is it the best, way to help people address addiction -- whether that be alcohol, drugs, technology or anything else. [0] https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/04/the-irrationality-of-alcoholics-anonymous/386255/ https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/04/the-irr... Edit: Corrected estimate of success rate for AA.

MattGaiser 6y ago

Yes, lol. They had to opt in to every one of those things.

qppo 6y ago

It's hard to square this take against the billions of dollars spent optimizing dopamine feedback loops on social media and dark patterns to trick users into falling victim.

malux85 6y ago
Just. Turn. It. Off. The author makes a bunch of dumb, easily fixable decisions and then writes a blog post whining about them. It’s so tiresome.
- nobody9999 6y ago
  >The author makes a bunch of dumb, easily fixable decisions and then writes a blog post whining about them. It’s so tiresome. Actually, she wrote a book[0] about it. [0] https://www.amazon.com/Cant-Even-Millennials-Burnout-Generation/dp/0358315077 https://www.amazon.com/Cant-Even-Millennials-Burnout-Generat...
  - malux85 6y ago
    Good. Lord.

njharman 6y ago

Yeah, I came here to say same/related; technology did not create these problems. We created them. Our society, our social norms, and the very hard to avoid evolutionary programmed behaviours; "display" (for mate), "herding" and "parenting/family bonding". Still, none of that is an excuse for making bad choices. It's hard but people can and should fight their instincts (esp when they are being exploited by others). At least for "adults", children haven't necessarily developed enough to make choices. [With all our(USA) "think of the children", helicopter parenting, and overprotection of kids; I have no idea why parents accept advertising targeted to kids and teens? The illogic and dual standards are absolutely baffling.]

jonpurdy 6y ago

There is some middle ground between the "just turn it off" folks and the article. For me, by default I deny notifications to apps. Only communications (like WhatsApp/Signal/iMessages/email client) and stuff that NEEDS to notify me (like UptimeRobot). For email, I only get notifications when emails hit a certain filter. For WhatsApp, I mute all the groups.

nicbou 6y ago
This is also what I do, not only on my phone but on other sites. I'm now thinking of hiding notification badges and other distractions. The only problem is that when I get bored, I still want to see if I got emails, reddit notifications, Hacker News replies etc. I still open the app to cjeck then get distracted. Someone aptly compared this to a slot machine where the prize is a small rush of dopamine.