Ask HN: Does HN cause depression? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Does HN cause depression?

37 pointsthinbeige22 comments

I blocked HN on all my devices via the hosts file for two weeks now. Reason: I am a heavy procrastinator and blocking HN helps a lot.

Just now, I thought it is weekend and I can check HN, and the first post I saw was the article 'When Factory Jobs Vanish, Men Become Less Desirable Partners' on number one or two.

This is so HN, news which makes me sad (and its comments even more). I don't want to claim that HN is a negative place but somehow I have the feeling that I felt the last two weeks better without HN. Many upvoted posts oder comments have a negative connotation which isn't always obvious at first glance.

I read in a book (I think from Robert Greene) that negativity is infectious and if HN has more negative thoughts than the average social news site then this could make sense.

Just wondering if you experienced this as well.

View on HN

Controversial post incoming.

For me it isn't the negative content that I find depressing; it's the total lack of levity in the comments around here which causes anxiety.

You practically can't comment on anything unless you're a complete expert, lest an expert get offended by your less-than-perfect understanding of something and engage in a "gotcha" eye-rolling grouchy-faced passive aggressive attack in response, instead of just explaining politely why you're wrong. Most people are happy to be corrected by experts, and I'd rather they weren't afraid to post their ideas.

We people take ourselves too seriously, methinks. In my circles, I see a lot of impotent nerd-rage boiling underneath the surface (of which I too have been guilty) and it comes out whenever someone is even just a centimeter off when trying to talk about something complicated.

edit: This popular comic describes it well: https://xkcd.com/386/ There's a bit too much of this.

I see something similar, although I may look at it slightly differently. I don't necessarily case so much about "levity" per-se, but what I would like to see is for people to:

1. quit acting as though every discussion here was a formal debate

2. assume good faith on the behalf of others

3. try avoid being dicks to each other

4. shy away from needless pedantry

Note that (3) does not imply never offering criticism, or never saying anything negative. It just means doing so in a constructive and respectful way.

OTOH, the lack of Reddit/Slashdot style memes and jokes and what-not is a Good Thing about HN, IMO.

I agree. There's a relentless hostility toward any ordinary discussion of ideas and hypotheses. Everything has to be backed by citations, and if there aren't solid published studies on a topic, then merely bringing it up can't be tolerated. The extent to which people try to shut down conversations and "win" debates this way is exhausting.

"Best way to learn everything about a topic is to explain it wrong on HN" ;)

It's because of this that I sometimes notice myself second-guessing then opting not to participate when I otherwise would feel compelled to. I hadn't been able to see it in myself, or quantify it until just now when I read your comment here. I still learn alot & mostly associate HN with positive energy. It would be nice though if this behavior you mention weren't so prevalent.

I'm 27 years old and currently unemployed. I don't have a background in CS but in sociology and I'm currently learning Python and statistics since in my city there are so many data analytics/science jobs and I'd like to work in something other than a call center. Reading HN really makes me depressed because of all these experts and genius, younger than me, with a big salary and with a vast resumé filled with interesting projects. So it's not so much negativity but jealously. I feel like a big loser and you guys really don't help. :)

I can second this sentiment somewhat.

I've got a different background than you, but I still feel the same a lot of the time, since the "less successful" people don't speak up that much and with all the side projects people seem to have, a bit of a workaholic image of the community is created.

I've had times myself where I had to remind myself to live between regular work and (even just small) side projects.

Most of the bad things about HN, I'm doing to myself.

I'm a non-traditional convert from a totally unrelated field to CS. Having walked the road you're walking now, I can say with confidence that you can do it! Don't let the youngsters get you down. Your maturity and experience in diverse subject areas will set you apart down the line.

'You see what you choose to See'.

With experience, I have seen that people get the knack for reading what they are interested in and know to understand & appreciate the content on the Web. One need not be easily influenced the thoughts being shared, but form their own opinions after careful examination of the facts.

Skimming content is a desirable skillset to have, especially in the era of information overload. HN is a sinkhole and one can spend hours on it, or selectively chose the topics/comments(to know whats-where) and move on.

A little. So many of the people commenting seem very competent and are doing neat things, stuff that's way beyond my abilities. I spend more time than I'd like to admit just trying to get my Android UIs to look at best not-shitty. I've been in tech (software and server admin) for decades.

I understand imposter syndrome but that's not what this is. This is straight up: I can't even imagine how to properly do these things.

I'm seriously planning on getting out of tech entirely because I don't think I could successfully navigate the tech interview process. I only got this job because I know a guy.

This is not perfectly related to what you're describing, where the articles themselves are downers, but I just had to get it off my chest.

>This is straight up: I can't even imagine how to properly do these things.

Isn't learning how the exercise?

>I'm seriously planning on getting out of tech entirely because I don't think I could successfully navigate the tech interview process. I only got this job because I know a guy.

I'm coming from the other end of the spectrum so I don't know what particular issues you're having, but there's always a post on HN frontpage every other week or so about the poor state of hiring/tech interviews across the board. On the other hand, I'd say you should play to your strengths. You earned your network over your long career.

Cheers.

I don't think HN causes depression as much a it exacerbates an existing condition. I say this because I've felt the same way, but when I examine those feelings I find it's more about me than it is HN. In this way HN is really no different than any other community (online or off).

I don't think it's Hacker News specifically. More social media in general. That's because social media tends to be filled with a lot of posts on:

1. How 'terrible' everything supposedly is and every negative look at things in the world. Because hey, negativity draws in the clicks and attention.

2. How well people other than you seem to be doing at the moment. Cause people struggling in life tend to share less on the internet.

These two factors mean that spending too long on any social media site can leave you feeling terrible.

I dont have the same impression at all. I read these news as interesting topics with rational points of view.

This article you mention, for example, I dont find it negative. Even less so if you actually read the article and do not fall for its headline. Editors have a strong incentive to write headlines that are either very negative or very positive. No middle ground. This is all over internet. Every news article has a headline that suggests a sad history or a happy story, never just a story.

Even you. Look at your headline "HN causes de pressionar" vs your post "HN has a lot of negativity". Your headline is much more agressive, click baity and extreme than the rest of your writing.

One more point. There is a cultural incentive among HN crowd to write comments with critical thinking and take nothing at face value. This is a good trait I believe, but leads to several comments that may look negative. I don't read them this way. I read them as someone trying to have a different point of view, with which I can agree or not.

HN is far more positive than Reddit (and most forums I use).

I think it's because of the mods.

I don't read harsh comments and use a lot the "hide" link.

The media or even social media always reports exceptional stories which can be both positive and negative. If you measure your life, which most of us subconsciously do against these stories ( positive or negative ) you won't ever feel great.

I would suggest reading the book "The Subtle Art Of Not Giving a F*ck". A short easy read which gives actionable advice about dealing with negativity and procrastination which often are very correlated.

I think there's positivity and negativity in any discussion on any news site. Personally I just downvote extremely negative comments that don't enhance the discussion, and move on to the positive ones.

People who see something wrong with your question/project/link tend to be more motivated to comment, which I think explains some of what you're talking about.

The other way may be the way you use HN. There's a connection between distraction and anxiety/depression; many of us, of course, use HN as a distraction from something else we ought to be doing.

For me, I prefer to niche down to avoid the posts on politics and post AI future. I look at the Ask section or the Show section. I also like to check the new section as I frequently find very interesting posts that never make it to the front page.

I also frequent related sites like indiehackers.com where there is a different vibe and focus.

That's right -- the great deal of news of any kind and especially comments make you anxious.

I wouldn't say it causes depression, but I see your point. There is a lot of negativity in the comments and sometimes people are harsh because they (think) their opinion is the only right one.

Well, HN is a negative place. Try searching Twitter for "orange website" for a good laugh.

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