I've always thought of it (and seen it defined) as media where the content is generated, liked, and commented upon by users (i.e. socially) rather than the media being controlled by a small group serving in an editorial role (traditional media).

Usenet is (IMO) the original social media. Very few usenet groups had anything to do with sharing one's social life.

> Social media is where one shares one's social life (it's in the name!).

So TikTok isn't social media because most people don't lost content and those that do rarely post about their social life?

Twitter isn't social media because most people don't post about their social life?

What do you mean? Every post and comment can receive upvotes, your account has total upvotes, the dopamine hit is there when you can simply look at the top of the screen next to your username and see the number go up after posting. There's even rewards if you make the number go high enough, such as being able to downvote and flag stuff once you reach a certain level.

I was under the impression that HN is at least as centered on self-promotion as any other social media site.

> You don't even have the dopamine hit of counting your content upvotes.

There’s a score displayed at the top right; I’m 100% that some percentage of visitors get a dopamine hit off that.

If I’m deluded, so be it, but I see a massive gulf between the content on LinkedIn and HN.