Then it seems the poster does find some value in social media. I'm saying that HN is social media - descended from Reddit, in fact - to point out that the popular stance of Facebook being inherently evil seems to forgive this website for doing the same thing.
This kind of scare has happened with all media: games, TV, film, fiction books. If there's a difference between the fast-food social media and this website, I'd like to hear what it is.
You're implying the commenter is hypocritical for being on a social media site while criticizing social media. I don't think that's necessarily true, since all they said was that _too much_ social media was bad for your health, not that any amount was.
Even if they spent all their time on social media, their warning against it wouldn't necessarily be hypocritical. If an alcoholic tells you that alcohol is addictive, you should believe them.
I don't think what you have said here is wrong. I do think that judgements about social media are made from the point of view of people who hear about the evils of big (fast food) websites mostly second-hand while wrongly believing they don't participate in it.
My understanding is that this website was created was to make YC more famous among the kind of people who would post here. Posts are indexed by search engines and, after some period, undeletable. Like all social media - including all the way back to usenet, before the phrase existed - flaming, high-tensions, and consequences are non-negligible. I've seen someone write a post as an insider that got a reply from their CEO asking them not to do it. The sum of this is that YC's advertising is creating a platform for people to harm their careers.
Yet, despite knowing this, I continue to browse because I find value in the content that exceeds the dangers. I imagine others feel the same and hope that, by viewing HN under the same umbrella as Facebook etc., they might not view the negatives as fatal. At least not to the point of demanding other people leave their jobs.
Well to start forums are a self selecting group of like minded individuals. To be an active member usually requires thought and care, intelligence and skills such as reading comprehension and critical thinking... Oh, and the whole system isnt built to game your senses in order to mine minute data points about you that is then sold to companies who then masquerade their content as ads all while pretending that they're doing good work for the world...
But honestly, if you cant tell the difference between Social Media and a forum, maybe you should step away from the net all together. Read some books, learn a hobby. Go outside. Make some real life friends... For it seems as if you too close to the forest to know that its made up of trees.
Its just like fast food. If its all you eat, you have no idea what real food tastes and feels like...
Oh, sorry. I didnt realize you are super-duper smart. Maybe because your posts are anything but... Or maybe you're just being sarcastic and just not a very good writer... Either way, thanks for contributing. It really makes a difference.
