That way, I can get all the satisfaction and dopamine rush of indicating my interest in reading something intellectual without actually doing any of the work to read.
It’s fantastic.
So what can we do to combat this? How can we better avoid this? Whats a better alternative? To stay away from the computer? To just read a few articles in depth and miss out on the rest? How do you combat the FOMO of information you might be able to capitalize on?
Hope my question makes sense and someone has some answers!
I kept this up for about a week.
It cut down my HN usage to about 5 articles a day, and it made me more selective on which articles I would open.
It became a chore and I didn’t stick with it, but it could transform the passive reading experience into a more contemplative activity. Ymmv.
I use it as a way to burn time while waiting for the bus or the build without feeling as guilty (or gross) as Facebook would. For getting perspectives I might not have thought of that help me synthesize new information. And for scratching the "someone is wrong on the internet!" itch.
I probably read 50% of the Ask section and 2-3 items per page of results on front page or newest. You could drink from the firehose if you really wanted to spend every moment of your life on this site, but I prefer to be highly selective about what to read and even more so about what to engage with.
It has something like infinite scroll and tells you what's new since you last visited. I find it much easier to skim than the top page, or even sorting by 'new'. I usually scroll through it 2 or 3 times a day, look for big numbers on points or comments, and read those :)
I generally dislike when I see the same things for months/years (self-driving stuff, cryptocurrencies, AI). But in general, I feel like I learn a lot of stuff from HN. Sometimes, the comments direct me to Wikipedia and I end up learning even more about some old thing that solves everyday coding problems.
Usually wait until I have access to a decent computer before actually commenting though.
I've really been trying lately - especially the busier I've been - to use that link exclusively and save all of my reading for later. And then I only engage with the topics I'm actually interested in.
But of course here I am in a comment thread :)
I use that a lot.