4 ms·

I mean I get that for absent-minded browsing but even just...having a hobby and talking about it with people feels pretty much like Normal Person Behavior(TM) a

by rtpg 3y ago

I mean I get that for absent-minded browsing but even just...having a hobby and talking about it with people feels pretty much like Normal Person Behavior(TM) and Reddit's subreddits worked well for that in the same way that forums in the past did. Not the end of the world but as a kid who only could find other people to talk about certain hobbies with online up until college sounds like a lot of pepole will be more bored.

jimbokun 3y ago
Or maybe they’ll spend more time doing their hobbies than typing about them.
- starttoaster 3y ago
  The caveat to that is that the more time I spent typing about my hobbies, the more I collaborated with differing ideas within my discipline, and the more I ultimately learned about the hobby. Doing the hobby is one thing, but the social aspect is certainly more valuable than you seem to be giving it credit.
- rtpg 3y ago
  Definitely a thing, yes
gretch 3y ago
We’ve only had this communication capability for the last .01% of human existence. Even 150 years ago, if you wanted to communicate with anyone outside your town, you had to pay a horse based courier what was most likely a very expensive fee. Not to mention the millions of years before that. Did all these previous generations find less satisfaction in life? Well who knows but I argue not. We don’t have to structure our lives so that we are dependent on the internet for entertainment. But also, if you have to pay a small $ fee, okay that seems like a good trade too, if the value is what you are ascribing to it.
- dTal 3y ago
  >Even 150 years ago, if you wanted to communicate with anyone outside your town, you had to pay a horse based courier what was most likely a very expensive fee. Last month was the 150th anniversary of the introduction of the first government "postal card", in New York City. They cost a penny each and sold 200,000 in two and a half hours. https://postalmuseum.si.edu/exhibition/america%E2%80%99s-mailing-industry-the-united-states-postal-service/the-growth-of-the-mail https://postalmuseum.si.edu/exhibition/america%E2%80%99s-mai...
  - gretch 3y ago
    Was this meant as a retort? If so can we just pretend I said 200 instead of 150? I feel like that’s pretty much the same thing given that both are but a drop in the ocean of total human existence.
- rerdavies 3y ago
  > Did all these previous generations find less satisfaction in life? Heck yes. I lived half my life in a non-Internet era. And I can say with absolute certainty, that it was horrible. Finding community, especially for specialized interests, was virtually impossible. Finding specialized information -- completely impossible, unless you had access to a University library. There weren't even efficient ways to find out what specialized information you could have but don't. Encyclopedia Britannica is not remotely a substitute for Wikipedia. And the same holds for pretty much every other form of information, every other form of communication, and every other form of community except family. If you want to go back 100 years... all my ancestors worked 18 hours a day in the mines, starting at the age of 6, and died young from Black Lung Disease. Which is considerably less satisfying.
  - gretch 3y ago
    You’re comparing their existence to your modern standards. But in the moment all those people found their lives to be just fine. By that logic you live in absolute hell compared to the future humans of the year 3000. Doesn’t feel like it though does it? I’m illustrating the existence of the hedonic treadmill. However much we get in life, somehow it’s always just okay or slightly not good enough.

by rtpg 3y ago

jimbokun 3y ago

Or maybe they’ll spend more time doing their hobbies than typing about them.

starttoaster 3y ago
The caveat to that is that the more time I spent typing about my hobbies, the more I collaborated with differing ideas within my discipline, and the more I ultimately learned about the hobby. Doing the hobby is one thing, but the social aspect is certainly more valuable than you seem to be giving it credit.
rtpg 3y ago
Definitely a thing, yes

gretch 3y ago

We’ve only had this communication capability for the last .01% of human existence. Even 150 years ago, if you wanted to communicate with anyone outside your town, you had to pay a horse based courier what was most likely a very expensive fee. Not to mention the millions of years before that. Did all these previous generations find less satisfaction in life? Well who knows but I argue not. We don’t have to structure our lives so that we are dependent on the internet for entertainment. But also, if you have to pay a small $ fee, okay that seems like a good trade too, if the value is what you are ascribing to it.

dTal 3y ago
>Even 150 years ago, if you wanted to communicate with anyone outside your town, you had to pay a horse based courier what was most likely a very expensive fee. Last month was the 150th anniversary of the introduction of the first government "postal card", in New York City. They cost a penny each and sold 200,000 in two and a half hours. https://postalmuseum.si.edu/exhibition/america%E2%80%99s-mailing-industry-the-united-states-postal-service/the-growth-of-the-mail https://postalmuseum.si.edu/exhibition/america%E2%80%99s-mai...
- gretch 3y ago
  Was this meant as a retort? If so can we just pretend I said 200 instead of 150? I feel like that’s pretty much the same thing given that both are but a drop in the ocean of total human existence.
rerdavies 3y ago
> Did all these previous generations find less satisfaction in life? Heck yes. I lived half my life in a non-Internet era. And I can say with absolute certainty, that it was horrible. Finding community, especially for specialized interests, was virtually impossible. Finding specialized information -- completely impossible, unless you had access to a University library. There weren't even efficient ways to find out what specialized information you could have but don't. Encyclopedia Britannica is not remotely a substitute for Wikipedia. And the same holds for pretty much every other form of information, every other form of communication, and every other form of community except family. If you want to go back 100 years... all my ancestors worked 18 hours a day in the mines, starting at the age of 6, and died young from Black Lung Disease. Which is considerably less satisfying.
- gretch 3y ago
  You’re comparing their existence to your modern standards. But in the moment all those people found their lives to be just fine. By that logic you live in absolute hell compared to the future humans of the year 3000. Doesn’t feel like it though does it? I’m illustrating the existence of the hedonic treadmill. However much we get in life, somehow it’s always just okay or slightly not good enough.