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As far as I can tell this has been skyrocketing among the general population as well. I fully blame social media, no where else have I been so relentlessly att

As far as I can tell this has been skyrocketing among the general population as well. I fully blame social media, no where else have I been so relentlessly attacked. I improved my own mental health tremendously by deleting this crap, no Tinder, Snapchat, Insta, etc. In fact I have an easier time making friends and meeting partners now. Here's an experiment. After work, leave your phone at home and walk around for at least an hour. Give your brain a break from constant NOTIFICATION stimulation!

maxerickson 5y ago
The percentage change is large, but the base rate is quite low: https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/suicide.shtml https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/suicide.shtml
Clubber 5y ago
Not just social media, but the population takes its cues from regular media, who make money by showing horrible shit every day, true or exaggerated. This leads to mean world syndrome: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mean_world_syndrome https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mean_world_syndrome Believe it or not, if you are healthy you're much more likely to die in a car accident than anything else the regular media wants you to believe: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/leading-causes-of-death.htm https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/leading-causes-of-death.htm
nowdoHN 5y ago
I did this. I can't tell if it helped or not, because for some reason I keep coming back to this site, which is no different -- just slightly more pretentious and with the occasional tech announcement I actually care about, and it's enough of the slot machine effect to keep me hooked. I hate this website but I can't quit it. I quit nicotine and it was easier than quitting HN.
- asdff 5y ago
  That's because you need to fill the wound with something else. You can't have a void, you will fall right back into binges on HN. I have since cut my usage way back when I started working in putting and guitar practice into my downtime after work to give me something to improve on outside of work, rather than more scrolling and refreshing that won't mean anything a minute, a week, or 10 years from now, unlike spending that time using my putter every night... I'm basically trying to turn my life into an RPG and leveling my character up in real life instead. It's kinda disturbing that I have to rely on video game mechanics to self motivate, but maybe that's what happens when you grow up addicted to video games and electronics. Big contrast to my dads generation, who grew up playing baseball and swinging from trees in the woods.
muhammadusman 5y ago
Yes, spent most of 2020 without social media and I have found that most of my day was filled with 5 mins here and 10 mins there of just staring at my phone. After I got away from Tiktok, Instagram, and Reddit, I've seen a huge improvement in my mood and mental well-being. I use HN has a way to keep up with tech related stuff and only use it during work hours as a treat when I finish a task, this helps me get work done and gives my brain a small dopamine hit.

maxerickson 5y ago

The percentage change is large, but the base rate is quite low: https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/suicide.shtml https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/suicide.shtml

Clubber 5y ago

Not just social media, but the population takes its cues from regular media, who make money by showing horrible shit every day, true or exaggerated. This leads to mean world syndrome: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mean_world_syndrome https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mean_world_syndrome Believe it or not, if you are healthy you're much more likely to die in a car accident than anything else the regular media wants you to believe: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/leading-causes-of-death.htm https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/leading-causes-of-death.htm

nowdoHN 5y ago

I did this. I can't tell if it helped or not, because for some reason I keep coming back to this site, which is no different -- just slightly more pretentious and with the occasional tech announcement I actually care about, and it's enough of the slot machine effect to keep me hooked. I hate this website but I can't quit it. I quit nicotine and it was easier than quitting HN.

asdff 5y ago
That's because you need to fill the wound with something else. You can't have a void, you will fall right back into binges on HN. I have since cut my usage way back when I started working in putting and guitar practice into my downtime after work to give me something to improve on outside of work, rather than more scrolling and refreshing that won't mean anything a minute, a week, or 10 years from now, unlike spending that time using my putter every night... I'm basically trying to turn my life into an RPG and leveling my character up in real life instead. It's kinda disturbing that I have to rely on video game mechanics to self motivate, but maybe that's what happens when you grow up addicted to video games and electronics. Big contrast to my dads generation, who grew up playing baseball and swinging from trees in the woods.

muhammadusman 5y ago

Yes, spent most of 2020 without social media and I have found that most of my day was filled with 5 mins here and 10 mins there of just staring at my phone. After I got away from Tiktok, Instagram, and Reddit, I've seen a huge improvement in my mood and mental well-being. I use HN has a way to keep up with tech related stuff and only use it during work hours as a treat when I finish a task, this helps me get work done and gives my brain a small dopamine hit.