Comment by SoftTalker
13 days ago
What about it being addictive by its nature? I find myself spending too much time on HN and there’s no algorithm driving content to me specifically.
13 days ago
What about it being addictive by its nature? I find myself spending too much time on HN and there’s no algorithm driving content to me specifically.
I think there’s a difference between something just being a bit addicting and scientifically optimizing something to be addicting. Differences in magnitude do matter because there are thresholds in almost everything where a thing becomes harmful.
Coca leaves can be chewed as a stimulant and it’s relatively harmless, though a bit addictive. Extract cocaine and snort it and it’s a lot more addictive. Turn it into freebase crack and it hits even harder and is even more addictive.
If this is coca leaves, Twitter is cocaine and TikTok is crack.