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Hey I read your article. Have you ever considered: 1) Ditching social media (everything - Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn - everything. I don't mean delete the

Hey I read your article. Have you ever considered: 1) Ditching social media (everything - Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn - everything. I don't mean delete the app. I mean delete all your accounts, and all the apps. No going back.) 2) Ditching your smart phone (Buy a brick phone) I'm completely serious. I'm currently living this way, the phone was a recent addition in the last month. But social media, has been for years. I don't watch TV segments either (news etc). I spend almost no time on my phone now. I spend my time building things, coding things, learning things (University courses/papers). I'm planning on kicking things up a notch next year. The horizon for my learning in 2025 is: - Game programming in TypeScript/C#/.NET/Unity - Modding existing games (C/C++/C#) - Low-level Graphics programming in C/C++ - Embedded programming in C - Small amount of electronics - Small amount of Assembly - Diving into Backend Programming and Testing (.NET) - Fleshing out my browser extension (React/TypeScript) - Gaming (Fallout 4, Stardew Valley, Minecraft) - Picking up University Papers (Probably Computer Science, Electronics, Machine Learning) You should email me if you have any questions <hello> @ <PAPILLON><sOfTWaRe> <DOT> <dev> If not, consider trialling, I mean REALLY trying the no social media and dumb phone thing.

tosmatos 2y ago
I think that is the way. I also ditched social media, used a brick phone for a while but went back to a smart phone for gps. Don't use it for social media though, since I have none. Although, how do you feel about using your computer to "waste" time? Like spending too much time reading random things you find on the internet, for example.
- purple-leafy 2y ago
  These are all great questions! GPS is bloody tricky, so lately just for getting to job interviews I use smartphone for GPS. But back to the brick as soon as I get home. I'm going to get a GPS in my car instead. Computer I don't waste much time, I usually only use it for HackerNews ~20 minutes a day if there is something interesting to read, other than that its a work and coding machine. Some gaming too when I want to relax. I also use Kagi as my search engine so I basically only get small web websites, not content/advert heavy sites
bazmattaz 2y ago
Ditching social media is a complete no brainer for me. I’ve ditched everything over the years but Reddit. For some reason I keep coming back to it. I really like the communities around specific topics (record collecting, docker, python, sports). I curate my feed so it only serves up content from my niche interests. However even Reddit has become a time suck and endless scroll of low value content. That’s why I keep coming back to HN - Much higher value content.
- 1dom 2y ago
  Sorry to be "that guy", but where and why do you draw a line between social media, Reddit and HN? I do the same, but I don't like it. I "don't use social media", but I use reddit, and I'm commenting here too. I think I'm deluding myself, and I think you might be too. I'd guess what you come to HN and Reddit, and what you get from them both is no different to what a daily Facebook user goes to Facebook and gets. For some reason, because the content type here is slightly more intellectual, slightly less emotional (generally...) slightly more focused on what I'm proud to call my interests (tech), I somehow feel like it's more justified. If it's justified for people to use sites like this and claim it's not bad social media because it's related to our tech interest, I feel like we must accept people who use Facebook daily and claim it's not bad social media, because it relates to their interest in social stuff. Practically, they have the same features and problems: a constant stream of information on which we can passively extract and offer views on. Sorry, I don't mean be disagreeable, I just wish people would call this (including me) out more. The more I think about it, the more ridiculous it is that there are supposedly educated people like me and you claiming they "don't use" and have "ditched" social media to each other in the comments section of a media site. What do you think?
  - buzzardbait 2y ago
    Not the person you're replying to, but maybe "ditched" is a strong word. A few thoughts about the various forms of social media you've mentioned: Browsing HN for 30 minutes is probably a better investment than browsing TikTok for 30 minutes. Browsing TikTok for 30 minutes and learning a new healthy recipe is probably a better investment than reading international news for 30 minutes. Light use of social media can be a greater net positive than complete abstinence from all forms of social media.
siberpunk 2y ago
The problem with social media for me is that I stay in touch with my friends there. I mean there are some people I don't know irl but following each other over 10 years, and I like to see / share what's new with our lives. Also, as a remote worker, the only way to communicate and create a professional network for me is also social media. I believe I can handle a couple of minutes every day to read about my friends and people I respect. The "algorithm" that shows me all those somehow interesting but not useful stuff, which leads me over consuming content, is the real problem. I need tostay away from that, not completely social media but I'm not sure if there is a such way.. Your goals for 2025 seems inspiring! I recently created a reading list for myself and I'm actually really excited for all those new stuff to learn
- purple-leafy 2y ago
  Thats completely fair, and my approach does not work for most people as its quite extreme. I still use WhatsApp to connect with people overseas, so thats replaced Messenger etc for me. It is tough being a remote worker, and I totally get the difficulty with maintaining a professional network. All good reasons there. How I deal with professional networking is, I use email mostly, and I tend to stay in touch with people I genuinely find interesting and connect with. One of my best friends is an older gentleman who I met at a previous job, we always catch up for meals, coffees etc. He's one of my best network references. But other than that, my professional network is small, and I do have to put in extra work to maintain it. Thanks for the thumbs up on the goals! I really only became this way this year (ADHD diagnosis + medication) and I'm really getting in to my learning now. Whats on your reading list currently?
xandrius 2y ago
I'd love to hear about your non-tech learning goals for 2025, I'm curious!
- purple-leafy 2y ago
  Non-tech goals are a bit simpler: - Job stability - Commit to gym - Save XX,XXX etc - Buy a car

tosmatos 2y ago

I think that is the way. I also ditched social media, used a brick phone for a while but went back to a smart phone for gps. Don't use it for social media though, since I have none. Although, how do you feel about using your computer to "waste" time? Like spending too much time reading random things you find on the internet, for example.

purple-leafy 2y ago
These are all great questions! GPS is bloody tricky, so lately just for getting to job interviews I use smartphone for GPS. But back to the brick as soon as I get home. I'm going to get a GPS in my car instead. Computer I don't waste much time, I usually only use it for HackerNews ~20 minutes a day if there is something interesting to read, other than that its a work and coding machine. Some gaming too when I want to relax. I also use Kagi as my search engine so I basically only get small web websites, not content/advert heavy sites

bazmattaz 2y ago

Ditching social media is a complete no brainer for me. I’ve ditched everything over the years but Reddit. For some reason I keep coming back to it. I really like the communities around specific topics (record collecting, docker, python, sports). I curate my feed so it only serves up content from my niche interests. However even Reddit has become a time suck and endless scroll of low value content. That’s why I keep coming back to HN - Much higher value content.

1dom 2y ago
Sorry to be "that guy", but where and why do you draw a line between social media, Reddit and HN? I do the same, but I don't like it. I "don't use social media", but I use reddit, and I'm commenting here too. I think I'm deluding myself, and I think you might be too. I'd guess what you come to HN and Reddit, and what you get from them both is no different to what a daily Facebook user goes to Facebook and gets. For some reason, because the content type here is slightly more intellectual, slightly less emotional (generally...) slightly more focused on what I'm proud to call my interests (tech), I somehow feel like it's more justified. If it's justified for people to use sites like this and claim it's not bad social media because it's related to our tech interest, I feel like we must accept people who use Facebook daily and claim it's not bad social media, because it relates to their interest in social stuff. Practically, they have the same features and problems: a constant stream of information on which we can passively extract and offer views on. Sorry, I don't mean be disagreeable, I just wish people would call this (including me) out more. The more I think about it, the more ridiculous it is that there are supposedly educated people like me and you claiming they "don't use" and have "ditched" social media to each other in the comments section of a media site. What do you think?
- buzzardbait 2y ago
  Not the person you're replying to, but maybe "ditched" is a strong word. A few thoughts about the various forms of social media you've mentioned: Browsing HN for 30 minutes is probably a better investment than browsing TikTok for 30 minutes. Browsing TikTok for 30 minutes and learning a new healthy recipe is probably a better investment than reading international news for 30 minutes. Light use of social media can be a greater net positive than complete abstinence from all forms of social media.

siberpunk 2y ago

The problem with social media for me is that I stay in touch with my friends there. I mean there are some people I don't know irl but following each other over 10 years, and I like to see / share what's new with our lives. Also, as a remote worker, the only way to communicate and create a professional network for me is also social media. I believe I can handle a couple of minutes every day to read about my friends and people I respect. The "algorithm" that shows me all those somehow interesting but not useful stuff, which leads me over consuming content, is the real problem. I need tostay away from that, not completely social media but I'm not sure if there is a such way.. Your goals for 2025 seems inspiring! I recently created a reading list for myself and I'm actually really excited for all those new stuff to learn

purple-leafy 2y ago
Thats completely fair, and my approach does not work for most people as its quite extreme. I still use WhatsApp to connect with people overseas, so thats replaced Messenger etc for me. It is tough being a remote worker, and I totally get the difficulty with maintaining a professional network. All good reasons there. How I deal with professional networking is, I use email mostly, and I tend to stay in touch with people I genuinely find interesting and connect with. One of my best friends is an older gentleman who I met at a previous job, we always catch up for meals, coffees etc. He's one of my best network references. But other than that, my professional network is small, and I do have to put in extra work to maintain it. Thanks for the thumbs up on the goals! I really only became this way this year (ADHD diagnosis + medication) and I'm really getting in to my learning now. Whats on your reading list currently?

xandrius 2y ago

I'd love to hear about your non-tech learning goals for 2025, I'm curious!

purple-leafy 2y ago
Non-tech goals are a bit simpler: - Job stability - Commit to gym - Save XX,XXX etc - Buy a car