Hacker News Reader

Comment by lingrush4 | Hacker News Reader

Nothing. These apps are mental poison. They're designed to be addictive. Healthy adults don't use TikTok or any equivalent.

View on HN

I would agree with you, but its pretty disturbing that the general public doesn't have a good outlet, especially to discuss unconstitutional ICE actions. It’s unfortunately very convenient that at a time when the pros outweigh the cons (open discussion vs. addiction) that some might stay offline. I would encourage you to overlook the mental poison and continue to support open communication. That's more important right now.

> Healthy adults don't use TikTok or any equivalent.

This is a pretty obnoxious comment. You're welcome to your opinion that the apps are harmful, and I'm inclined to agree with you even though I use TikTok myself, but a blanket statement that only unhealthy people are on the apps is just inflammatory.

Really? I have bookmarked:

- 758 posts on home construction and interior design - 487 posts on cooking - 58 posts on relationship health - 605 posts on leadership - 58 posts on fitness - 19 posts on woodworking

, and countless others on travel and dining.

Would you like to restate your claim with more nuance? I have collected a vast amounts of knowledge through TikTok. Their algorithm is insanely good at capturing whatever it is you’re after. It’s a challenge to put the app down and I think any person that can’t impose their own healthy limits or can’t modulate their topical interests is going to have an even harder time. Let’s remember that amidst the real negative aspects, there is a really great system for learning buried in there.

Have you learned 758 things about home construction and interior design? Bookmarking certainly isn't learning. I should know; my collection of bookmarks contains countless papers, documentation, and tutorials, yet I've hardly glanced at most of them and the majority will remain in that state for eternity.

Please revisit those bookmarked items and you will be learning. I find it hard too sometimes to get back to all the shiny new things I find but I guarantee you have a few gems worth revisiting, then you can share them on here and we can all learn something.

It’s been highly valuable. It taught me about undertones, color temperature, 60/30/10 rules, strengths and weaknesses of various countertop materials, load bearing, space planning, power delivery, millwork, lumber quality and cost, HVAC options, building code requirements, ceiling projections and light planning, fixture restoration, exposure to new vendors … should I go on?

You bookmarked those once, surely you meant to go back to them ;)

It's good that you get some value out of them, I'm not saying it can't happen.

You could probably find the same information, most likely in more detail, in better context, and with improved searchability, from more "traditional" sources. Of course, if it's not clear what you want to know, the algorithm can certainly point you somewhere.

As for neglecting my bookmarks, I mean to do a lot of things ;) (I'll prune them this weekend, promise)

It's great that you're using these tools for expanding your knowledge. Share some of the highlights! Sometimes I think people who claim everything on these platforms is bad are telling on themselves, or not very savvy at getting the best out of a tool and blaming the tool.

What do you suggest then to stay informed for those without televisions?

Regular news sites?

A subscription to multiple news sources is a good way to consume news.

A news subscription

I have been using feedly to slowly build up a good news "diet" using sources from all over the world. Anytime, I come across an article on hn from a good news source I look into that website and add it to my feed. I look for criteria like independent journalism, representation of perspectives I don't already have in my news portfolio and general quality. I do think of my news as an investment portfolio, you want a good balance of stocks, diversification, hedging, risk management.

Traditional news sites ideally. I don't think that people are more informed from using short-form social video. A TikTok user is not any more informed than someone who does not use TikTok.

Try reading?

Reply on news.ycombinator.com