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> We know what the problems are Smartphones, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Reddit, Fortnite, Roblox, Hacker News.

toomuchtodo 2y ago
Social media as digital dopamine is certainly a component (and hard to argue against sometimes, “Hell is Other People” and all that), but not the only component. If people are happy in this scenario, who am I to tell them they’re not. Are they happy? If not, what is the reality expectations gap?
- consp 2y ago
  You assume people are happy, you should not by default assume anything. Looking at the trend it is shifting age groups over time which is usually an economic indicator but might very well be a complex correlation of factors.
  - deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]
- drw85 2y ago
  Happy is a strange term. I know a couple people that are deeply unhappy with their lives, but they are happily using some of the mentioned games and media to distract themselves from that fact all day. Then they go to bed and can't sleep, because they are no longer distracted from it. They're very happy to have those distractions, though. Is that good for long term happiness? Probably not.
lelanthran 2y ago
> Smartphones, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Reddit, Fortnite, Roblox, Hacker News. I dunno about fortnite and Roblox - my knowledge of my family's teenagers says that all of them play fortnite, most of them used roblox in the past, but none of them get caught up in the equivalent of "doomscrolling" that the other platforms[1] in that list have. I'm not convinced that they are as addictive as the rest of the items on that list. [1] Excepting HN; you can't doomscroll on this site.
- insane_dreamer 2y ago
  > I'm not convinced that they are as addictive as the rest of the items on that list Even if AAA video games like Fortnite can be addictive, you are limited in when you can realistically engage in them (at a computer, focused). Whereas social media can be ever present. This is why I don't mind buying my kids an xBox that's in the living room whereas I'm very concerned about a phone in their pocket.
- fragmede 2y ago
  > Excepting HN; you can't doomscroll on this site. lol. please

Social media as digital dopamine is certainly a component (and hard to argue against sometimes, “Hell is Other People” and all that), but not the only component. If people are happy in this scenario, who am I to tell them they’re not. Are they happy? If not, what is the reality expectations gap?

consp 2y ago
You assume people are happy, you should not by default assume anything. Looking at the trend it is shifting age groups over time which is usually an economic indicator but might very well be a complex correlation of factors.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
drw85 2y ago
Happy is a strange term. I know a couple people that are deeply unhappy with their lives, but they are happily using some of the mentioned games and media to distract themselves from that fact all day. Then they go to bed and can't sleep, because they are no longer distracted from it. They're very happy to have those distractions, though. Is that good for long term happiness? Probably not.

lelanthran 2y ago

> Smartphones, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Reddit, Fortnite, Roblox, Hacker News. I dunno about fortnite and Roblox - my knowledge of my family's teenagers says that all of them play fortnite, most of them used roblox in the past, but none of them get caught up in the equivalent of "doomscrolling" that the other platforms[1] in that list have. I'm not convinced that they are as addictive as the rest of the items on that list. [1] Excepting HN; you can't doomscroll on this site.

insane_dreamer 2y ago
> I'm not convinced that they are as addictive as the rest of the items on that list Even if AAA video games like Fortnite can be addictive, you are limited in when you can realistically engage in them (at a computer, focused). Whereas social media can be ever present. This is why I don't mind buying my kids an xBox that's in the living room whereas I'm very concerned about a phone in their pocket.
fragmede 2y ago
> Excepting HN; you can't doomscroll on this site. lol. please