Ex-FB exec: The dopamine-driven feedback loops are destroying how society works
Tristram Harris [1][2] is worth listening to on these points, I'm sure many on HN are already aware.<p>Without rambling too much, I'm one of those over-sensitive, slightly aspie types that reads SSC and gets carried away with over-analysing the zeitgeist. Uncharitably, you might say 'smart but weak-minded'. The longer I spend in front of social media, the more and more in tatters I feel. I spent a week entirely disconnected from the 'net a month ago and I can't stress how restorative it was for me. Though, alarmingly, I was back in full swing soon after I returned.<p>For those of you who have problems with self-control and sustaining your attention, and think it has something to do with your browsing habits, I highly recommend you - I urge you - to disconnect in a significant way. Of course it's up to you what that means.<p>In September I gave up smoking, and the physical and psychological changes I underwent were pretty surprising. I felt more present and in-the-moment (and other barely-describable-but-definitely-nice feelings) than I had done in years. Despite smoking 25 a day, I have found quitting Reddit much, much harder; despite being convinced it's as bad for my mental health as smoking was for my physical.<p>I think there's something to be said about identifying addiction patterns in your life and exorcising them. The small amounts of progress I've made recently have certainly felt as though they've increased my net level of agency and free will. I wish that flowery metaphors about demons were more readily acceptable, because software is a lot like wizardy - and it really does feel like dark sorcery has been cast to possess the West.<p>[1] <a href="http://www.tristanharris.com/essays/" rel="nofollow">http://www.tristanharris.com/essays/</a>
[2] <a href="https://www.samharris.org/podcast/item/what-is-technology-doing-to-us" rel="nofollow">https://www.samharris.org/podcast/item/what-is-technology-do...</a>