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It’s funny. I keep getting back to reading pieces like this.[1] Then we talk about how this is terrible. And it is. But apparently we’re all powerless to stop i
by avgcorrection 3y ago
It’s funny. I keep getting back to reading pieces like this.[1] Then we talk about how this is terrible. And it is. But apparently we’re all powerless to stop it. Because we’re gonna be complaining about the same thing next year. Why? Because it’s something that people do “freely”. (Like smoking cigarettes (except where are the nicotine patches?).) Do something about it? Well why don’t you take a three month leave from your job and do a digital detox? Anyone can do that. But wait, that’s too drastic. Just a weekend-long meditation retreat. But then you’re back to the scroll grind.
Is there an opt-out button? Not symmetrically. You have all the options in the world if you want to scroll. But if you don’t want to scroll? Maybe Scrollers Anonymous? Become a semi-monk?
Because we don’t really take this seriously as a community. We’re all individuals who are supposed to get our shit together. And learn that individually. Well, we can learn things from each others’ tiktoks and blog posts about getting over digital addiction or whatever it is that is our malaise. But that’s as far as that goes.
But I’ll be here next year. Just scrolling. Falling for the same things again and again.
[1] Not that I read this one.
- plutoh28 3y agoWe just can’t stop developing methods of hijacking our brains… it’s the holy grail of business. All we can do is try our best to recognize it, avoid it, and keep kids away from it.
- avgcorrection 3y agoAssuming that the holy grail of businesses is the holy grail of society—even above the welfare of your children.
- jprete 3y agoI've found it very effective to remove quick access to sites - bookmarks, browser navbar suggestions, etc. This is the last site I visit on a regular basis - I have a bunch of bookmarks of actually useful things here. I'll watch YT for maybe half an hour at a time, but I repeatedly tell it to never recommend channels that look like clickbait and I am actually feeling like YT is running out of content. I unfollowed everyone and everything on FB years ago and never visit anymore. When I started to deliberately avoid dopamine traps, the Internet got a lot less engrossing.