Hacker News Reader

Comment by api | Hacker News Reader

I summarize the second point as “the Internet is a dark forest.”

If it’s bad and it can be done it will be done, and at scale.

You have neatly summarized why I feel strongly that the Internet has become a liability to humanity. I have no illusions that we can shut it down or walk away… but on a personal level I am trying harder than ever to remove it from my own life. If I can stay off Reddit, well, I can eventually remove it all I think!

Use it for the things it’s useful for and avoid the addictionware, rage bait, gambling, and other trash.

It’s still too much of a time sink and even staying away from the bad parts brings so much distraction that we forget how to enjoy the simple things in life that make it worthwhile. Reading a book or watching a movie offline are cherished experiences many forgot how to savor in peace. Or leaving some questions unanswered for a while without wanting instant responses. Not to mention many forgo the outdoors entirely just in favor of time spent doing one thing or another online.

I am down to Hacker news, local weather updates when I remember and the occasional wiki look up. A few podcasts . The local library is now more my jam.

I have been tracking my data use and last year it was only 70GB. And I have trimmed a bit more out of that since, especially on the podcast side which was the bulk of the data. It is getting to the point where I might just use my photo data plan which now has 120GB a year as it is more than enough.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com