See, this is the purity culture, and it’s always so selectively applied.
Things can have both good and bad aspects. Lots of good things can be bad when used too much.
Lemmy is much the same way. You say it was specifically designed to be an addiction engine, but all that involves is showing you things you like. Lemmy is the same, just that the algorithm is so simple that it can’t show you any discovery or new things.
You can find similar arguments about almost every part of the internet.
Are there problems with Tiktok? Of course. There are also amazing parts of Tiktok. Just like Lemmy. Just like Mastodon. Just like pixelfed.
You misunderstand the key design principles though. They are designed so that people struggle to have the strength of will to put the apps down, because every third thing they click through is generating ad revenue.
Lemmy isn’t perfect, but I, like many others, have no issue putting it down when I’m done with it. I personally check it for about 10 minutes when I wake up and before I sign off for the night.
Its worth noting that Lemmy doesn’t have an algorithm, it just shows you posts in chronological order (technically not true, as there are community ratios and such, but it’s true enough for a general statement).
My disdain for these apps is born from watching family and friends waste days (sometimes 8+ hours at a time) on them, and then often being totally incapable of recalling anything they’ve watched or learned. It’s actively harmful to their health.
No, I understood perfectly.
Capitalism causes apps to be shitty
But you don’t understand that capitalism isn’t the only reason that apps become shitty.
And out comes the big “algorithm” Boogeyman, decried by people who don’t know what an algorithm is.
You know why it’s easy to put down Lemmy? Because it does a horrifically shitty job at presenting you with new content that you’re actually interested in. That it. That’s the entire story. You’re less addicted because it’s less enjoyable. That is literally the entire thing.
Lemmy has all the parts needed for the same experience: an infinitely scrolling list of bite sized content. The only difference is that there is way less content here, and there is no discovery (meaning it keeps you in your own self-defined echo chamber).
Lemmy is a reddit clone, and if you’re gonna tell me that people aren’t addicted to reddit at similarly “dangerous” rates then I’ma full on call you a liar with my entire full chest.
See, this is the purity culture, and it’s always so selectively applied.
Things can have both good and bad aspects. Lots of good things can be bad when used too much.
Lemmy is much the same way. You say it was specifically designed to be an addiction engine, but all that involves is showing you things you like. Lemmy is the same, just that the algorithm is so simple that it can’t show you any discovery or new things.
You can find similar arguments about almost every part of the internet.
Are there problems with Tiktok? Of course. There are also amazing parts of Tiktok. Just like Lemmy. Just like Mastodon. Just like pixelfed.
You misunderstand the key design principles though. They are designed so that people struggle to have the strength of will to put the apps down, because every third thing they click through is generating ad revenue.
Lemmy isn’t perfect, but I, like many others, have no issue putting it down when I’m done with it. I personally check it for about 10 minutes when I wake up and before I sign off for the night.
Its worth noting that Lemmy doesn’t have an algorithm, it just shows you posts in chronological order (technically not true, as there are community ratios and such, but it’s true enough for a general statement).
My disdain for these apps is born from watching family and friends waste days (sometimes 8+ hours at a time) on them, and then often being totally incapable of recalling anything they’ve watched or learned. It’s actively harmful to their health.
No, I understood perfectly.
Capitalism causes apps to be shitty
But you don’t understand that capitalism isn’t the only reason that apps become shitty.
And out comes the big “algorithm” Boogeyman, decried by people who don’t know what an algorithm is.
You know why it’s easy to put down Lemmy? Because it does a horrifically shitty job at presenting you with new content that you’re actually interested in. That it. That’s the entire story. You’re less addicted because it’s less enjoyable. That is literally the entire thing.
Lemmy has all the parts needed for the same experience: an infinitely scrolling list of bite sized content. The only difference is that there is way less content here, and there is no discovery (meaning it keeps you in your own self-defined echo chamber).
Lemmy is a reddit clone, and if you’re gonna tell me that people aren’t addicted to reddit at similarly “dangerous” rates then I’ma full on call you a liar with my entire full chest.
My thoughts exactly