5 ms·

Whenever I read an article like this that calls out things like "[driving us] deeper and deeper into our algorithmic hell holes.", I want to scream, and shake t

Whenever I read an article like this that calls out things like "[driving us] deeper and deeper into our algorithmic hell holes.", I want to scream, and shake the author by the shoulders. "Snap out of it!" I yell. We don't have to make a Twitter account. No one held a gun to our heads to get on TikTok. Instagram? Pintrest? We don't need to join those. I'm not suggesting everyone swear off all social media. I enjoy my various Discords and message boards. I enjoy reading HN. But these patterns of doomscrolling various social apps flummoxes me. "TikTok is so bad." Well then, why did you make an account??? I realize there's some devils in the details here with regards to social pressures and the like. But I don't think they're by any means insurmountable. And if you're at the point that you're going to write tens of pages on this phenomena, then ride that momentum and delete the accounts when you're done. You'll feel better for it. All that aside, I did greatly enjoy the read for its retrospective on 90s and 2000s phone culture and that wonderful period of tech where we were just starting to get connected - tantalizingly so - but it was so limited and clunky that it preserved a sense of mystery. Or at least, that's how it felt at the time.

deltarholamda 2y ago
>I realize there's some devils in the details here with regards to social pressures and the like. I have a no-socials policy for my kids until they're practically adults. It's not an easy policy, and the oldest who had to deal with this policy first, was not thrilled about it. But it did bear fruit. My oldest is at university, and is not entangled in social media drama. Which is not entirely due to my policy--the oldest is also extremely independent--but I can't help but notice it played a part. It's not easy. Regardless of whether it's a good or bad thing, they definitely miss out on some degree of what makes up the public commons for kids today. Every now and then there's a story about a (usually) millennial who swears off social media and finds value in doing so. Sometimes they go back, sometimes they don't. But millennials marinated in this world for so long, it's really difficult for them to break out. (At least the Zoomers got "touch grass" pretty early on.) I feel for the millennials trying to navigate through all this. For GenX it would be like making it through the 80s without knowing the lyrics to Michael Jackson's 'Thriller'. You almost have to be an extreme outsider or a very independent person indeed to escape the milieu.

deltarholamda 2y ago

>I realize there's some devils in the details here with regards to social pressures and the like. I have a no-socials policy for my kids until they're practically adults. It's not an easy policy, and the oldest who had to deal with this policy first, was not thrilled about it. But it did bear fruit. My oldest is at university, and is not entangled in social media drama. Which is not entirely due to my policy--the oldest is also extremely independent--but I can't help but notice it played a part. It's not easy. Regardless of whether it's a good or bad thing, they definitely miss out on some degree of what makes up the public commons for kids today. Every now and then there's a story about a (usually) millennial who swears off social media and finds value in doing so. Sometimes they go back, sometimes they don't. But millennials marinated in this world for so long, it's really difficult for them to break out. (At least the Zoomers got "touch grass" pretty early on.) I feel for the millennials trying to navigate through all this. For GenX it would be like making it through the 80s without knowing the lyrics to Michael Jackson's 'Thriller'. You almost have to be an extreme outsider or a very independent person indeed to escape the milieu.