[mmaunder]

I have been off Facebook for years. I was forced to rejoin because our head of marketing departed and I had to take over our company page. OH MY F*** GOD. I could not believe the mess of user engagement triggers and dark patterns that confronted me. (I'm an ops guy, a dev and a successful entrepreneur, currently a high growth CEO) I was literally nauseated. I've actually postponed the job just to avoid the damn thing.

As someone who left for a long time and looked at it with a fresh set of non-desensitized eyes, I can tell you with absolute certainty that FB is bad for your mental health.

I think the trouble with social is that it's really hard to tell people what they don't want to hear. Anyone who lived through the 80s knows how pissed a smoker would get when you'd tell them they're killing themselves. You felt like an asshole. Same with Facebook, Insta, Twitter, etc. Tell someone who's into it (most of us) they're self harming, and it doesn't exactly improve your relationship with them.

But I think the ship has sailed. These are companies making north of 100 Billion per year (in FB's case) with massive lobbying cannons, who are now entrenched and ingrained in our culture and day to day life. It may sound overly dramatic, but I think the truth is that, this sucks for the species boys and girls.

[Sorry, had to add the boys and girls. Little Starship Troopers hat tip]

[reader_mode]

If Facebook is cigarettes is HN alcohol ? Half joking, I often read about social media "detox" here on HN but at the same time HN is something like a social media platform that sucks more of my time than Facebook or Twitter. The only other platform I spend more time on is YouTube. I guess it's more to do with your tendencies than platform needing dark patterns.

[type0]

HN is like coffee, use it with moderation and you'll be fine. Both are enjoyable.

[meristohm]

Quitting coffee (all caffeine, with coffee being my favorite source) brought my dreams back after two weeks or so. Not browsing HN (my socmed toe-dip after years with zero) helps me focus on making things, and also sometimes inspires me to make things, and is much easier to take a break from than Twitter was.

[jareklupinski]

after spending time here, i feel enriched

after spending time 'there', i feel drained

[ric2b]

The time you spend on it isn't the issue, you're focusing on the wrong thing.

[Viliam1234]

Let's say the time is part of the issue.

(I took a month off HN, this is my first comment coming back.)