Hacker News Reader

Comment by saagarjha | Hacker News Reader

I'm not going to kid myself into thinking that I don't spend time on social media (hello, Hacker News), but as someone who fits the age range described in the article and doesn't have much of a public account on the platforms listed, the only largest issue I've had is the increasing tendency towards disseminating information only through these channels. Usually I grab someone who does have an account and get them to relay the information, but I'm probably missing things that I don't realize.

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What makes Hacker News social media? It's just a forum, essentially, like the forums of old. There are threads, and people can reply to them.

There are no friendships or any kind of social graph associated with it, which is what makes a social media platform, for me.

Hacker news is definitely more a forum than social media platform. But the temptation to collect "likes" and the resulting dopamine high is a thing on HN too.

It is also usable as an endless stream of infotainment if your concern is plummeting productivity

That hit close to home. Gonna go shell into a server and start fixing stuff now...

And it has the convenient sleight of being somewhat related to work, so it can ocassionally bypass the “this is unproductive B.S.” procrastination filter.

agreed, if forums are social media then i've been a fucking social media junky since the 90s.

Forums are also a social media, but a less abusing one.

Hacker News has a "karma" system and a public profile that you can tie to your identity. We even have "celebrities"–or at least, well know posters. Plus, as others have mentioned, it's a fantastic way to waste time.

I've left all social media platforms other than Snapchat, Reddit, and Hacker News. I only use Snapchat because my girlfriend likes to use it and she's literally the only person I use it with. Reddit and Hacker News are generally entertaining and can be a good tool if used correctly. The biggest hurdle is not using these sites for procrastination. Reddit actually maintains a higher average in regards to user interaction on each individual visit than Facebook, Instagram, etc.

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