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Never had TikTok, but that's exactly what I thought when Youtube introduced Shorts and I found myself spending long sessions in them. However, now I think it's
by uniq7 2y ago
Never had TikTok, but that's exactly what I thought when Youtube introduced Shorts and I found myself spending long sessions in them.
However, now I think it's the same infinite scroll we already had in twitter and reddit -- but instead of text and images, now it's just videos.
At the beginning the content was really dumb and bad, but after some time it became way better. Now my feed is basically cooking recipes, chemistry experiments, interesting physics facts, bits from my favorite comedians, etc. Maybe Youtube learned my tastes, or maybe the content creators learned how to exploit better the platform. Either way I'd say I'm happy with the result now.
I still think some people are getting brainwashed by certain content, but in the same way as they were getting brainwashed in twitter and reddit.
- whywhywhywhy 2y agoEven if it is recipes and chemistry it's the format that's the issue, it still fries your dopamine and lowers your attention span.
- yosame 2y agoI don't think it's any worse than any other form of media (like reading comments on hacker news instead of reading the article)
- zht 2y agoIt is much worse lol Videos cram so much stimulation over such a short period of time Text you still have to read
- ethbr1 2y agoOr, to spin it around -- given a standard, naive population, why are video platforms so much more successful than text ones? Hypothesis: video is more addiction, regardless of content
- JohnMakin 2y agoExcept I can read much faster than a video can convey information to me, almost always - I suspect the popularity of video to deliver information at least in some part stems from declining literacy. Whenever I have to watch a poor reader read something, I am honestly amazed they can function at all.
- tartuffe78 2y agoHave you used it?
- sebastiennight 2y agoWe might not use HN the same way then... I frequently give up on reading a thread midway down the page because it's requiring *too much focus*, and, get this, I might even interrupt my break and just go back to work early instead! I don't think that would ever happen on a neverending infinite scroll of hyperengaging video.
- schwartzworld 2y agoSome of it is that for sure. But you could also make the counter argument about long form content. It doesn’t take 20 minutes to explain how to make a cake.
- paulddraper 2y agoIt doesn't take 30 seconds either.
- schwartzworld 2y agoTikTok has been pushing longer form content for a while. 60-90 seconds is plenty for a recipe
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- whywhywhywhy 2y agoDefinitely two sides of the same coin, struggle not to have a YT video playing if I’m alone and doing something else that should be enough for my focus.
- mr_world 2y agoThat is exactly what TikTok does, they are more popular because their tastes algorithm is even better than Shorts for figuring out what you actually want to watch
- svara 2y agoThis type of comment comes up here a lot, but maybe you should show us what exactly you mean? Because at least for physics and chemistry, those are topics where, in my experience, you need deep, sustained engagement to make any personal progress on them. Sure, you can probably learn a few fun facts through TikTok but really what's the point? There are only 24 hours in a day. The hours you spend doomscrolling through - in the best case - fun facts about physics and chemistry are hours you spend not doing anything of value, like learning about actual physics or chemistry. I get that you don't need to be doing something super productive all the time, what I'm saying is that I think you're fooling yourself if you believe that TikTok and co. are anything more than the shallowest form of entertainment available.
- Pigalowda 2y agoI remember lots of things! Like Nile burning some random thing. Or that British physicist talking to the British shit poster lady. I think you might have a point..
- portaouflop 2y agoCan you provide a ranking of entertainment from most “deep” to most shallow please since you seem to be an expert on what entertainment is OK to consume?
- svara 2y agoI'm not, but I do know you'll be on the safe side if you go read a book that challenges you! :)
- whazor 2y agoFor me, in reddit (and hacker news), I tend to actually read the actual video, read the comments, sometimes even leave a comment. Much more time spent on an actual item. For short videos, it is a continuous stream of video's where a new video is automatically started after the last one. This is what makes shorts so horrible. You are forced to watch a new video every 15s to 1 min. Versus actively deciding yourself how long you look on a particular item. It becomes bad as your brain gets trained to loose interest after 1min.
- mattgreenrocks 2y agoI'm so tired of the Internet turning into the Internet of Faces. I feel like I see faces plastered all over the Internet now, eager to take only ten minutes to explain one minute of information to me.
- deltaburnt 2y agoProbably not a coincidence that the Internet became a lot less nerdy and cool around the time HD streaming was viable. Modern social media shows that people want the next evolution of TV not books.
- samspot 2y agoI highly recommend turning off the autoplay next video option in YouTube. It will enhance your life.
- 2024user 2y agoDon't download titkok. It's like Shorts but works a lot better. Both are like using slot machines but on tiktok you win (dopamine hit) more often - or at whatever rate the house wants you to.