People tend to view every other social media platform negatively except for the one they personally use, and they're prepared to staunchly defend their choice no matter what.
Are we saying that all social media platforms are the same? Are there teams working on the hacker news platform trying to tweak the algorithms to drive addictive user engagement? Is the sorting algorithm not a matter of public record?
Correction to my original comment, I am asking about Instagram / Facebook / Twitter.
I know why I (maybe we) go on HN and its because Im bored and weak and Ive never felt manipulated by it or addicted to it or wanted to be on it for more than 15 minutes.
I have chores I should be doing.
Really? I actually encounter such individuals quite frequently, even if it's more subtly expressed through statements like, "Hey, did you catch that discussion on HN about X? You should check it out!"
> Are we implying that all social media platforms are indistinguishable?
In the sense that they all harbor pseudonymous individuals often baiting one another and getting embroiled in futile online conflicts aimed solely at boosting egos (even our current exchange is not exempt from this and I am guilty of it)?
Yes, I believe that's a valid assessment of virtually every social media platform.
Nobody is saying that.
> Are there teams working on the hacker news platform trying to tweak the algorithms to drive addictive user engagement?
Driving addictive user engagement has little to do with being a social media platform, see Netflix for example.
> Is the sorting algorithm not a matter of public record?
Again, that’s irrelevant. Twitter is more open-source than HN.
I find Instagram pretty valuable, and I've tried to create a habit of going on it every day or two for 15-20 minutes (I have to exert effort to do this). I have close friends now scattered around the world, and one of the best ways (per unit of time) for me to keep up with everyone is to check out their posts/stories, send some kind of DM commenting on their activities, and post a story of my own. Then when we do end up talking on the phone I feel like I know what they've been up to.
a fair amount of the customers would have to go to rehab to successfully leave.
that isn’t judgement. just facts.
On a side note, HN is the place person matters more than anywhere I can think of except for YouTube. Is it possible you feel like that because it's closer to your person/ingroup?
Hacker News isn't an exception in the realm of social media platforms subject to such considerations. It appears that a significant number within this community possess a certain blind spot, often exerting substantial effort to delineate why their favored social media stands apart in some manner from the rest.
They are not virtual substitute, they are actual debates but through a medium different than voice. Of course, the experience is different, but that doesn’t make it "virtual", just like going to the cinema is not a "virtual substitute" to live theater.