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Fascinating (not to mention somewhat disturbing) analysis. One thing bears further thought IMO: the author mentions the false sense of achievement in games and
by ThrowawayR2 6y ago
Fascinating (not to mention somewhat disturbing) analysis.
One thing bears further thought IMO: the author mentions the false sense of achievement in games and its addictive nature as an analogy. The issue there is that, at some point the game addict has to look away from the screen: the game may end online service, fall out of fashion, the addicted gamer may lose their quick reflexes as they age, etc. And once they look away, they'll find that they have nothing; they've poured their efforts into something that has left them with no real status in society.
Similarly, people using robotic devices in this way will have poured something rather different into them but the result is still the same; at some point they'll look away and realize they have none of the status markers of society accorded a long-term committed couple / family. In short, the emptiness eventually hits home at some point in both cases. What will these addicts do then? What will become of them? I suspect nothing good, meaning that such robots aren't a long-term solution to the unfulfilled biological needs of those locked out of the reproductive pool.
- csunbird 6y agoMaybe we should be investigating the cause of unfilled biological needs instead? I do not want to open a whole can of worms, but do you think the ease of online dating and the meat market of tinder/bumble/instagram/whatever has any effect on this?
- ThrowawayR2 6y agoRegarding the latter question, IMO, the technological cat is out of the bag: we live in an era of global fast communication infrastructure. If those sites ceased to exist tomorrow, some other mechanism would quickly spring up to fill the void. People want those sites so it's people and culture that needs to be changed.
- LargoLasskhyfv 6y agoSome people want those sites. Others don't care.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- fxtentacle 6y agoI don't think any of these apps have had a meaningful influence. For kids with rich parents, dating was always easy. And for those in an unlucky economic situation, mating success is still out of reach, despite all the apps. The only thing that's really easier on those apps is fraud, like using photoshopped photos, AI filters, and made up awards.
- magicalist 6y ago> And for those in an unlucky economic situation, mating success is still out of reach, despite all the apps. Surveys of sexual activity, marriage, and child birth all wildly disagree with your supposition.
- fxtentacle 6y agoThe article seemed to define mating success as having a large pool of willing potential partners to choose from. I'm pretty sure that your options become more limited as your resources shrink. Also, in the spirit of the article and the comment I was referring to, one could also count marriage as an indicator of low mating success, as it is a commitment which isn't usually part of a Tinder "date".
- dunce2020 6y agoPeak alienation under Kapital
- gowld 6y agoSimilarly, people who get married and have children can one day look away and realize they have none of the status markers of society accorded a long-term committed couple / family.
- cblconfederate 6y agoBillions of people are also addicted to virtual social media likes. Our brains are very adaptable to find reward and meaning in anything
- AstralStorm 6y agoThat's actually because this "like" model is designed based on a martingale, a hazard game with a betting system. Just instead of you getting returns on your betting, you're getting (virtual social) returns on other people's bets. We're literally wired to seek social approval, a strategy that has made civilizations work as well as they have.
- AndrewDucker 6y agoFinding meaning in other people liking things you've done/said/found seems extremely human to me.
- throwaway0a5e 6y ago>And once they look away, they'll find that they have nothing; they've poured their efforts into something that has left them with no real status in society. >Similarly, people using robotic devices in this way will have poured something rather different into them but the result is still the same; I agree that a stable family is the ideal but I fail to see how spending your money on sex dolls is worse than getting divorced in your late 20s or early 30s and getting stuck paying for kids for a decade or more. Those people manage just fine.
- randallsquared 6y ago> I agree that a stable family is the ideal but I fail to see how spending your money on sex dolls is worse than getting divorced in your late 20s or early 30s and getting stuck paying for kids for a decade or more. But the point of the stable family IS the kids.
- Proven 6y agoWhy?
- AstralStorm 6y agoNo, the point of a stable family is the relationships. Kids may be one of those relationships. The point of reproduction is kids, and they can happen without a stable family as well... Quite often in fact. And they can be raised in different arrangements too, like wards of state and in kibbutzim, which is implemented right are not destructive. Or even by single parents (but that one is hard) or by surrogates who have a stable family.
- LargoLasskhyfv 6y agoOr by another kind of robot :)
- lovegoblin 6y ago> getting stuck paying for kids It is telling that this is how you frame "caring for your own children."
- Noumenon72 6y agoWould you expect someone who spent 15 years doing $12/hour factory work and video games, then switching to programming to make $50/hour, to be amazed at how much better it is to have real status in society? For me, video games will always be better. Expensive cars and big houses have nothing to offer me, or I would have tried to be competitive from the start. I have easier access to women, but don't know what to do with it. But in general, society treats most people with respect and really doesn't have that much it can give you as a reward. Almost nothing compared to a video game. It's real life that's filled with tradeoffs, poorly gamified, and empty.
- ravi-delia 6y agoI'd expect, though I suppose I only have my own mind to go on, that most people feel a strong urge to have high status in their community. It would seem like the most consistent explanation for, frankly, almost all human behavior.
- manicdee 6y agoWhat makes you believe that people are getting married exclusively for the purpose of elevating their social status?