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I saw a really good analogy the other day (on X, natch) that said subscribing to modern social media is like inviting a clown to come in your house every 10 min

I saw a really good analogy the other day (on X, natch) that said subscribing to modern social media is like inviting a clown to come in your house every 10 minutes and scream, "It's gotten worse". I think about that a lot. Curation goes a long way, but it takes work.

mrcwinn 1y ago
Not to the same degree, but I'd argue HN has the same tendencies. Cynical, skeptical, assuming the worst intentions, a bogeyman tech giant hoping to destroy its own customers. Skepticism is, of course, healthy, but the default behavior in this community completely misses the reality that had we frozen progress, say, right near the Apple II launch, we never get HackerNews itself. :) And if you accept my premise, it's probably not the websites, but rather the humans themselves.
- hshshshshsh 1y ago
  Have you worked in a fortune 500?
- yannyu 1y ago
  It's one thing to have a community that has tendencies towards cynicism, skepticism, and assuming the worst. It's another thing to build an algorithm optimized for "engagement" which prioritizes polarizing content above all others because it keeps people addicted to the platform. Maybe the problem is the websites that amplify the most controversial and problematic content because they get the most clicks, so these companies can report better DAUs and MAUs.
  - int_19h 1y ago
    The problem is that humans themselves will amplify the most controversial and problematic content because anger is one of the strongest emotions. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rE3j_RHkqJc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rE3j_RHkqJc
  - realz 1y ago
    Might I add that Facebook has also proven time and time again that they believe in zero ethics. They will happily boost a dictator’s post. They’ll happily assist a rapist win elections. They’ll happily let you sell addictive content to kids. Heck they’ll even give you easy ways to target ads to “depressed 14 year old girls” specifically.
fluoridation 1y ago
It just comes down to how you use it. I use Twitter and BlueSky exclusively to follow artists, and all I see is art. If I didn't come to HN, I don't think I'd hear about any news.
- deleted 1y ago
  [deleted]
socalgal2 1y ago
Exactly why I often think I should stop reading HN
op00to 1y ago
The clown also shows you pictures of how awesome everyone else is doing and asks why you are so fat and ugly and boring in comparison.
Mistletoe 1y ago
Beautiful description of our current life.

mrcwinn 1y ago

Not to the same degree, but I'd argue HN has the same tendencies. Cynical, skeptical, assuming the worst intentions, a bogeyman tech giant hoping to destroy its own customers. Skepticism is, of course, healthy, but the default behavior in this community completely misses the reality that had we frozen progress, say, right near the Apple II launch, we never get HackerNews itself. :) And if you accept my premise, it's probably not the websites, but rather the humans themselves.

hshshshshsh 1y ago
Have you worked in a fortune 500?
yannyu 1y ago
It's one thing to have a community that has tendencies towards cynicism, skepticism, and assuming the worst. It's another thing to build an algorithm optimized for "engagement" which prioritizes polarizing content above all others because it keeps people addicted to the platform. Maybe the problem is the websites that amplify the most controversial and problematic content because they get the most clicks, so these companies can report better DAUs and MAUs.
- int_19h 1y ago
  The problem is that humans themselves will amplify the most controversial and problematic content because anger is one of the strongest emotions. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rE3j_RHkqJc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rE3j_RHkqJc
- realz 1y ago
  Might I add that Facebook has also proven time and time again that they believe in zero ethics. They will happily boost a dictator’s post. They’ll happily assist a rapist win elections. They’ll happily let you sell addictive content to kids. Heck they’ll even give you easy ways to target ads to “depressed 14 year old girls” specifically.

fluoridation 1y ago

It just comes down to how you use it. I use Twitter and BlueSky exclusively to follow artists, and all I see is art. If I didn't come to HN, I don't think I'd hear about any news.

deleted 1y ago
[deleted]

socalgal2 1y ago

Exactly why I often think I should stop reading HN

op00to 1y ago

The clown also shows you pictures of how awesome everyone else is doing and asks why you are so fat and ugly and boring in comparison.

Mistletoe 1y ago

Beautiful description of our current life.