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I'm never going to buy or use such gimmickry. Even smartphone use, which is way more benign, has damaged our psyche enough with less intervention that all we ne

I'm never going to buy or use such gimmickry. Even smartphone use, which is way more benign, has damaged our psyche enough with less intervention that all we need is this new thing in search of the new high. Go outside, hug a tree, lay in the grass - it's more realistic, no need to augment, and it's free!

dylan604 3y ago
Social platforms have discovered how to tap into addictive behaviors, but it doesn't come with the negative baggage of the typical addiction vectors. Regulation doesn't help evident by the war on drugs. To me the first step would be to publicly recognize/accept digital consumption as an addiction
- lijok 3y ago
  > To me the first step would be to publicly recognize/accept digital consumption as an addiction Literally anything can be an addiction. You can get addicted to getting slapped in the nuts if you’re motivated enough. The ease with which one can become addicted to digital consumption is the problem, not the digital media itself.
  - hn_throwaway_99 3y ago
    > The ease with which one can become addicted to digital consumption is the problem, not the digital media itself. It's not just "ease" though, it's that some of the smartest, highest paid people in the world get paid to specifically push the set of content that is the most addicting.
    - dylan604 3y ago
      I find this no different from bigTobacco tweaking the product to be more addictive than just the nicotine in the plant. It took many decades before society got to a place where it was fed up enough to take action after however many deaths. I see no difference from any spike in suicide deaths caused by social platforms manipulation than bitTobacco's manipulation causing spikes in cancer.
hn_throwaway_99 3y ago
Nickelodean was incredibly prescient 30 years ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObTYTtafjNo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObTYTtafjNo
dougmwne 3y ago
I have encountered a few real benefits for VR. It’s way more active than a game console. You stand, kneel, punch, swing your arms and break a sweat. It may not be a gym workout, but it’s not half bad if you were otherwise going to be on the couch. Social experiences are person to person instead of broadcast. You talk with real embodied individuals instead of massive threads with thousands. It’s way more human than even a group chat. I can see it eventually surpassing FaceTime.
dkarras 3y ago
>Go outside, hug a tree, lay in the grass - it's more realistic, no need to augment, and it's free! I am generally annoyed by this common advice. Nature and trees don't mean the same thing to everyone. Nature is just boring to me TBH. When using VR (or tech in general) I am not looking to replicate or improve the feeling of being "outside". It is a different thing altogether.

dylan604 3y ago

Social platforms have discovered how to tap into addictive behaviors, but it doesn't come with the negative baggage of the typical addiction vectors. Regulation doesn't help evident by the war on drugs. To me the first step would be to publicly recognize/accept digital consumption as an addiction

lijok 3y ago
> To me the first step would be to publicly recognize/accept digital consumption as an addiction Literally anything can be an addiction. You can get addicted to getting slapped in the nuts if you’re motivated enough. The ease with which one can become addicted to digital consumption is the problem, not the digital media itself.
- hn_throwaway_99 3y ago
  > The ease with which one can become addicted to digital consumption is the problem, not the digital media itself. It's not just "ease" though, it's that some of the smartest, highest paid people in the world get paid to specifically push the set of content that is the most addicting.
  - dylan604 3y ago
    I find this no different from bigTobacco tweaking the product to be more addictive than just the nicotine in the plant. It took many decades before society got to a place where it was fed up enough to take action after however many deaths. I see no difference from any spike in suicide deaths caused by social platforms manipulation than bitTobacco's manipulation causing spikes in cancer.

hn_throwaway_99 3y ago

Nickelodean was incredibly prescient 30 years ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObTYTtafjNo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObTYTtafjNo

dougmwne 3y ago

I have encountered a few real benefits for VR. It’s way more active than a game console. You stand, kneel, punch, swing your arms and break a sweat. It may not be a gym workout, but it’s not half bad if you were otherwise going to be on the couch. Social experiences are person to person instead of broadcast. You talk with real embodied individuals instead of massive threads with thousands. It’s way more human than even a group chat. I can see it eventually surpassing FaceTime.

dkarras 3y ago

>Go outside, hug a tree, lay in the grass - it's more realistic, no need to augment, and it's free! I am generally annoyed by this common advice. Nature and trees don't mean the same thing to everyone. Nature is just boring to me TBH. When using VR (or tech in general) I am not looking to replicate or improve the feeling of being "outside". It is a different thing altogether.