4 ms·

For some of us it's really hard to understand / solve problems of people whose life is spent on browsing instagram most of the time - when it's not TikTok.

hobs 5y ago
Start by removing a heap of condescension and recognizing that there's interesting problems all around you.
- NumberCruncher 5y ago
  Dealing drugs involves solving interesting problems too nevertheless IMHO it is bad for society and I try to avoid both dealers and addicts if possible.
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
  - giraffe_lady 5y ago
    Funny because I've had a lot more positive experiences with and, frankly, respect for, addicts than software engineers.
    - cto_of_antifa 5y ago
    - samhw 5y ago
      Couldn't agree more. Anyone who survives and escapes that - including several of my close friends - is a fucking strong person. If I have to read one more comment disparaging addicts and then whining about how sOcIaL MeDiA Is a dAnGeRoUs aDdIcTiOn, I might actually blow my brains out.
      - deleted 5y ago
        [deleted]
chrisseaton 5y ago
This is an unkind comment. Why condescend like this?
- xiphias2 5y ago
  I'm not sure why is it condescending. I have met people who do this all the time while I'm trying to just have a drink/dinner or get to know a person, but I'm just not able to connect with heavy instagram/facebook users. I prefer not to see them again, as for me it's very boring, and I see them as being unkind, when in all fairness they are probably just social network addicts.
  - chrisseaton 5y ago
    It's condescending because you're focusing on the media that people use rather than what they have to say in life. There are (obviously) millions of interesting, passionate, intelligent, creative people using both of these apps.
jackomelon 5y ago
Keep the holier-than-thou judgmental stuff to yourself. Your comment adds nothing.
eyelidlessness 5y ago
You’re getting downvoted, and that’s not undeserved because this is very judgmental on its face. But I get the sense there’s a sincere answer to a few sincere questions worth at least asking: have you asked them (users you’ve categorized this way) that direct question? Or asked how work you’re invested in isn’t addressing their problems/goals? If so, and if you found their answers unrelatable, did you ask further questions which might clarify for you what they want? I know all of that is a lot to ask of anyone. But you might find you learn things you have in common with people you don’t expect to. And it might make your job less frictionful too.
- xiphias2 5y ago
  It's not like I don't understand their problems/goals. Just yesterday the person I was spending time with showed a cat video from Facebook, and as I seemed half interested only, she asked me if I like animals. I love animals in real life, but that doesn't mean that I love watching videos of animals on a screen, for me it's not the same experience. The main goal that I see social networks addressing with many people is entertainment, but I feel that it takes away from my social life with people, that's why I have aversion to short videos for example. Facebook didn't have these short videos forced on me, but just a few months ago it started to show video reels for me, and I couldn't stop myself watching them. After bringing the settings back to just showing what's happening with my friends, the next time I opened it, it started showing addictive videos to me again. Youtube disabled showing downvotes, which was the best signal for me to see if it's worth to see a 15 minute video, or if it's just a spam talking about nothing for 15 minutes just to optimize content length for the algorithm. And shorts are not a solution, as they don't have any depth either. Also it started spamming me with new channels that reupload videos of interesting people from years ago just to make me think that it's new content. The main problem for me working on social networks is that making profit can't be separated from making people addicted to the lowest forms of entertainment (I'm a Xoogler).
  - Karrot_Kream 5y ago
    > The main goal that I see social networks addressing with many people is entertainment, but I feel that it takes away from my social life with people, that's why I have aversion to short videos for example. Having a different idea of fun than another person is very common. My partner and I, whom I share a lot of personality traits with, have some different definitions of fun. I can spend hours working through math problems and find it fun while plenty of others would find that horribly boring. To _judge_ other people for having a different idea of fun than you is to be condescending; it deifies your idea of entertainment while putting down the others'. > The main problem for me working on social networks is that making profit can't be separated from making people addicted to the lowest forms of entertainment (I'm a Xoogler). Is it that hard to accept that other people have different ideas for what being social means? Does everyone have to be like you or you judge them negatively? Your take isn't uncommon on certain parts of the Web (especially the anti-social-media parts) but I've always found it trite and judgemental exactly for the reasons I expressed above. Not everyone has to think and feel the way you do and that's okay. Humanity is large. Some of us like to go to hyper-commercial malls, some like to go on challenging hikes, and others are at the club dancing and imbibing their hearts out. Sometimes people even change what they like to do for fun as they age! That's okay, it's human.

hobs 5y ago

Start by removing a heap of condescension and recognizing that there's interesting problems all around you.

NumberCruncher 5y ago
Dealing drugs involves solving interesting problems too nevertheless IMHO it is bad for society and I try to avoid both dealers and addicts if possible.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- giraffe_lady 5y ago
  Funny because I've had a lot more positive experiences with and, frankly, respect for, addicts than software engineers.
  - cto_of_antifa 5y ago
  - samhw 5y ago
    Couldn't agree more. Anyone who survives and escapes that - including several of my close friends - is a fucking strong person. If I have to read one more comment disparaging addicts and then whining about how sOcIaL MeDiA Is a dAnGeRoUs aDdIcTiOn, I might actually blow my brains out.
    - deleted 5y ago
      [deleted]

chrisseaton 5y ago

This is an unkind comment. Why condescend like this?

xiphias2 5y ago
I'm not sure why is it condescending. I have met people who do this all the time while I'm trying to just have a drink/dinner or get to know a person, but I'm just not able to connect with heavy instagram/facebook users. I prefer not to see them again, as for me it's very boring, and I see them as being unkind, when in all fairness they are probably just social network addicts.
- chrisseaton 5y ago
  It's condescending because you're focusing on the media that people use rather than what they have to say in life. There are (obviously) millions of interesting, passionate, intelligent, creative people using both of these apps.

jackomelon 5y ago

Keep the holier-than-thou judgmental stuff to yourself. Your comment adds nothing.

eyelidlessness 5y ago

You’re getting downvoted, and that’s not undeserved because this is very judgmental on its face. But I get the sense there’s a sincere answer to a few sincere questions worth at least asking: have you asked them (users you’ve categorized this way) that direct question? Or asked how work you’re invested in isn’t addressing their problems/goals? If so, and if you found their answers unrelatable, did you ask further questions which might clarify for you what they want? I know all of that is a lot to ask of anyone. But you might find you learn things you have in common with people you don’t expect to. And it might make your job less frictionful too.

xiphias2 5y ago
It's not like I don't understand their problems/goals. Just yesterday the person I was spending time with showed a cat video from Facebook, and as I seemed half interested only, she asked me if I like animals. I love animals in real life, but that doesn't mean that I love watching videos of animals on a screen, for me it's not the same experience. The main goal that I see social networks addressing with many people is entertainment, but I feel that it takes away from my social life with people, that's why I have aversion to short videos for example. Facebook didn't have these short videos forced on me, but just a few months ago it started to show video reels for me, and I couldn't stop myself watching them. After bringing the settings back to just showing what's happening with my friends, the next time I opened it, it started showing addictive videos to me again. Youtube disabled showing downvotes, which was the best signal for me to see if it's worth to see a 15 minute video, or if it's just a spam talking about nothing for 15 minutes just to optimize content length for the algorithm. And shorts are not a solution, as they don't have any depth either. Also it started spamming me with new channels that reupload videos of interesting people from years ago just to make me think that it's new content. The main problem for me working on social networks is that making profit can't be separated from making people addicted to the lowest forms of entertainment (I'm a Xoogler).
- Karrot_Kream 5y ago
  > The main goal that I see social networks addressing with many people is entertainment, but I feel that it takes away from my social life with people, that's why I have aversion to short videos for example. Having a different idea of fun than another person is very common. My partner and I, whom I share a lot of personality traits with, have some different definitions of fun. I can spend hours working through math problems and find it fun while plenty of others would find that horribly boring. To _judge_ other people for having a different idea of fun than you is to be condescending; it deifies your idea of entertainment while putting down the others'. > The main problem for me working on social networks is that making profit can't be separated from making people addicted to the lowest forms of entertainment (I'm a Xoogler). Is it that hard to accept that other people have different ideas for what being social means? Does everyone have to be like you or you judge them negatively? Your take isn't uncommon on certain parts of the Web (especially the anti-social-media parts) but I've always found it trite and judgemental exactly for the reasons I expressed above. Not everyone has to think and feel the way you do and that's okay. Humanity is large. Some of us like to go to hyper-commercial malls, some like to go on challenging hikes, and others are at the club dancing and imbibing their hearts out. Sometimes people even change what they like to do for fun as they age! That's okay, it's human.