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Comment by idle_zealot | Hacker News Reader

> the solution to this is very obvious, but I know some folks won't cease using the product

"Everyone should simultaneously quit doing the harmful thing" is a "solution" to our present surveillance advertising problem in the way that advice to save money is a solution to poverty or "have you tried farming?" is a solution to world hunger.

I.e. not a solution for humans, but a description of a beeline to the desired state as performed by a hive mind.

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I didn't say it was easy, but also I don't think uninstalling tik-tok is as difficult as solving global poverty. It's obviously designed to be addictive but it's also not on the level of a chemical dependency for 90% of the population. Like, yeah, some folks probably need medical intervention but most social media users could give up on the dank maymays with only mild difficulty.

Really? Telling people to quit using a stupid app isn't "A solution for humans"? Seems pretty straight forward to me.

Could you be any more patronizing? Maybe there's a few people you haven't alienated yet.

I don't like or use Tiktok, but clearly it provides some value to the people who do. Telling people to stop using it without even attempting to address what benefit (perceived or actual) it provides is self-defeating advice.

We can’t say these apps are addicting/weaponized against us and also say “just stop using it” like it’s some easy choice one simply has to make.

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