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> Our first product is an iOS app designed to help you capture the best moments in your life I have increasingly come to the belief that mediating our life exp

> Our first product is an iOS app designed to help you capture the best moments in your life I have increasingly come to the belief that mediating our life experiences and social interactions through apps isn't good for us. Your website "Matter" [1], to be honest, seems completely dystopian to me and an indication of all that's wrong with the relationship between technology and society. [1] https://matter.xyz/ https://matter.xyz/

haltIncomplete 3y ago
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hn_throwaway_99 3y ago
While I actually liked the primary point of the author regarding privacy controls, and I feel some of the commenters here are being a bit harsh regarding tangential issues or missing some of the crux of what he wrote, I also so strongly agree with your point that I couldn't let it go. Apps aren't going to make you happier. If you want to be happier, go for a walk outside and go hang out with your friends, in person.
- Retric 3y ago
  That assumes quite a bit of freedom that may not exist for many people. An Uber driver waiting for their next passenger isn’t able to go hang out with friends, but they can play on their phone, or read a book.
  - josephg 3y ago
    Sure; but it’s probably true for most of us most of the time. I’m on HN right now instead of playing piano or going for a walk. I think I need the reminder sometimes.
    - djbusby 3y ago
      Go for a walk right now!
  - gremlinunderway 3y ago
    Yeah but saying "you ought to go outside / relax / rest / spend time with family" and then saying "not everyone can because shit sucks" is missing the point. Shit does suck, for a lot of people, in a lot of ways. Acknowledging that is good, but then saying the alternative for that is people to play on their phones? How about advocating for people to be able to make a wage or living and have time to hang out with friends?
  - dylan604 3y ago
    Before devices, people were able to find ways to kill time at work just fine. As a human, we're perfectly capable of surviving without the device. I know that seems antithetical to zillenials, but it will be more than okay to look away from the screen for an extended period of time. Personally, having a driver sit their counting the number of red cars or counting the number of different state license plates is equally purpose serving as doom scrolling. In fact, it's probably much less detrimental to their mental health. It saddens me a wee bit that people think that the devices much be attended to to this extent.
    - throwawaysleep 3y ago
      Users didn’t consider them just fine, as they immediately abandoned them when given the chance.
      - albumen 3y ago
        That doesn't mean it's not harming them. Have addicts made the right choice by indulging their weakness?
        Retric 3y ago
        New and fun isn't the same as addictive. We don't consider people watching TV, listing to the radio, or reading books as addicts yet people decried each of them as they became ever more popular for ruining the youth etc. People like stimulation and seem to indulge when it's new, but most people also get used to it relatively quickly.
        dylan604 3y ago
        I think you're trying to move the goal posts. The apps on the new are absolutely without a shadow of doubt trying to make their users addicted. To even suggest they are not addictive is beyond pale, and makes you look like a not serious attempt at the discussion, or worse. Your second sentence is null after your first.
YeBanKo 3y ago
Their website is an epitome of idiocy of modern web product design. They want my email, because we are all "stardust". There is no clear explanation of what their product is or how it's different from a photo app and a notebook. Instead of a proper description of their business, they send to the Business Insider article about the founder who wants to prevent unhappiness.
- alistairw 3y ago
  I was reading your comments as a classic overly negative hn comment but then went straight to that website and wow, yep that's bad. I can't tell if they're trying to sell me groundbreaking new brain scan technology or very dodgy supplements. Possibly one of the most vague product sites I've seen and there are a lot that come up on here. I'm surprised this happens in tech so much. I feel I'm always very aware of people in the real world having no idea what I work on, so I always need to give background and context. I have noticed people in other industries haven't experienced that their whole life so often rattle off jargon that means nothing to me. Looks like all the founders are US based, maybe it's a cultural thing.
  - YeBanKo 3y ago
    This is definitely a thing. Few years ago I was at a cloud conference and met who worked for a failure large and known security company in a tech position. They have all kinds of offerings. While he was talking to someone, I decided to speak to one of their sales guys. I shared a bit about what my company did and what kind of infra we were using and then asked him what they offered and specifically what they could offer to us. This was one of dumbest conversation I had ever had. The guys had no f*cking clue what his company was selling beyond "we sell turn key enterprise security solution", it was so painful. I even tried to steer him into trying to sell us some vulnerability scans or traffic analysis for threat detection. Yeah, I get it, it maybe niche, he is in a non technical, they have many offerings, he hadn't been there too long (iirc about a year, which is long enough for sales), but it was still unacceptable. To me it's the same phenomenon – lack of clarity in communication – not exactly sure what the root cause.
gumby 3y ago
Back when my kid was born I bought a video cam. I upgraded the videocam a couple of times, but I realized I didn't use it much because when I did I was videoing not being part of what was going on. As a result there isn't much video of the kid, but I don't regret it. By the timewe switched to video cams in our pockets, I had pretty much given up, and apart from a few few-second captures, I haven't shot any video in years. And TBH I don't miss it at all. Apps like this are simply more of the same.
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]

haltIncomplete 3y ago

[flagged]

hn_throwaway_99 3y ago

While I actually liked the primary point of the author regarding privacy controls, and I feel some of the commenters here are being a bit harsh regarding tangential issues or missing some of the crux of what he wrote, I also so strongly agree with your point that I couldn't let it go. Apps aren't going to make you happier. If you want to be happier, go for a walk outside and go hang out with your friends, in person.

Retric 3y ago
That assumes quite a bit of freedom that may not exist for many people. An Uber driver waiting for their next passenger isn’t able to go hang out with friends, but they can play on their phone, or read a book.
- josephg 3y ago
  Sure; but it’s probably true for most of us most of the time. I’m on HN right now instead of playing piano or going for a walk. I think I need the reminder sometimes.
  - djbusby 3y ago
    Go for a walk right now!
- gremlinunderway 3y ago
  Yeah but saying "you ought to go outside / relax / rest / spend time with family" and then saying "not everyone can because shit sucks" is missing the point. Shit does suck, for a lot of people, in a lot of ways. Acknowledging that is good, but then saying the alternative for that is people to play on their phones? How about advocating for people to be able to make a wage or living and have time to hang out with friends?
- dylan604 3y ago
  Before devices, people were able to find ways to kill time at work just fine. As a human, we're perfectly capable of surviving without the device. I know that seems antithetical to zillenials, but it will be more than okay to look away from the screen for an extended period of time. Personally, having a driver sit their counting the number of red cars or counting the number of different state license plates is equally purpose serving as doom scrolling. In fact, it's probably much less detrimental to their mental health. It saddens me a wee bit that people think that the devices much be attended to to this extent.
  - throwawaysleep 3y ago
    Users didn’t consider them just fine, as they immediately abandoned them when given the chance.
    - albumen 3y ago
      That doesn't mean it's not harming them. Have addicts made the right choice by indulging their weakness?
      - Retric 3y ago
        New and fun isn't the same as addictive. We don't consider people watching TV, listing to the radio, or reading books as addicts yet people decried each of them as they became ever more popular for ruining the youth etc. People like stimulation and seem to indulge when it's new, but most people also get used to it relatively quickly.
        dylan604 3y ago
        I think you're trying to move the goal posts. The apps on the new are absolutely without a shadow of doubt trying to make their users addicted. To even suggest they are not addictive is beyond pale, and makes you look like a not serious attempt at the discussion, or worse. Your second sentence is null after your first.

YeBanKo 3y ago

Their website is an epitome of idiocy of modern web product design. They want my email, because we are all "stardust". There is no clear explanation of what their product is or how it's different from a photo app and a notebook. Instead of a proper description of their business, they send to the Business Insider article about the founder who wants to prevent unhappiness.

alistairw 3y ago
I was reading your comments as a classic overly negative hn comment but then went straight to that website and wow, yep that's bad. I can't tell if they're trying to sell me groundbreaking new brain scan technology or very dodgy supplements. Possibly one of the most vague product sites I've seen and there are a lot that come up on here. I'm surprised this happens in tech so much. I feel I'm always very aware of people in the real world having no idea what I work on, so I always need to give background and context. I have noticed people in other industries haven't experienced that their whole life so often rattle off jargon that means nothing to me. Looks like all the founders are US based, maybe it's a cultural thing.
- YeBanKo 3y ago
  This is definitely a thing. Few years ago I was at a cloud conference and met who worked for a failure large and known security company in a tech position. They have all kinds of offerings. While he was talking to someone, I decided to speak to one of their sales guys. I shared a bit about what my company did and what kind of infra we were using and then asked him what they offered and specifically what they could offer to us. This was one of dumbest conversation I had ever had. The guys had no f*cking clue what his company was selling beyond "we sell turn key enterprise security solution", it was so painful. I even tried to steer him into trying to sell us some vulnerability scans or traffic analysis for threat detection. Yeah, I get it, it maybe niche, he is in a non technical, they have many offerings, he hadn't been there too long (iirc about a year, which is long enough for sales), but it was still unacceptable. To me it's the same phenomenon – lack of clarity in communication – not exactly sure what the root cause.

gumby 3y ago

Back when my kid was born I bought a video cam. I upgraded the videocam a couple of times, but I realized I didn't use it much because when I did I was videoing not being part of what was going on. As a result there isn't much video of the kid, but I don't regret it. By the timewe switched to video cams in our pockets, I had pretty much given up, and apart from a few few-second captures, I haven't shot any video in years. And TBH I don't miss it at all. Apps like this are simply more of the same.

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]