If it brings him joy, and he uses it in moderation, why does it matter? It's okay to spend an entire sunday afternoon watching a dozen men throw an eggball at each other but it's an addition to watch videos that bring you joy?
Does it bring "joy" though ? or does it bring a quick feel good response in your brain that pushes you away from activities that actually bring joy ?
> All men of this stamp, I maintain, are pressing on in pursuit of joy, but they do not know where they may obtain a joy that is both great and enduring. One person seeks it in feasting and self-indulgence; another, in canvassing for honours and in being surrounded by a throng of clients; another, in his mistress; another, in idle display of culture and in literature that has no power to heal; all these men are led astray by delights which are deceptive and short-lived – like drunkenness for example, which pays for a single hour of hilarious madness by a sickness of many days, or like applause and the popularity of enthusiastic approval which are gained, and atoned for, at the cost of great mental disquietude.
> Does it bring "joy" though ? or does it bring a quick feel good response in your brain that pushes you away from activities that actually bring joy ?
We’re talking about an app you watch on the toilet or while waiting in line somewhere.
The average use time I find are anywhere between 45 and 90 min per day per user.
I doubt I spend 45 minute per week in my bathroom, let alone on the toilet. We're talking 20 to 45 hours per month, that's enough time to read two to four 400 pages long books instead of absolutely brain dead content
> Does it bring "joy" though ? or does it bring a quick feel good response in your brain that pushes you away from activities that actually bring joy ?
It sounds like you're just describing joy. It doesn't bring long-term contentment and fulfillment if that's what you mean, but that's a different thing.
The problem with these things is almost no one can moderate themselves. They need to go cold turkey to really stop. Ask ANYONE how long they think they social media or do anything on their digital device. Most will say an hour at most. If you look at their phone tallys it will be closer to 5-7 hours that they not feel or notice.
If you swap that out with drugs you will not be saying the same thing.
I don’t think anyone’s arguing he shouldn’t be allowed to spend his life on TikTok, they’re just observing it’s not a choice they’d be making. Usually when people gather on a Sunday to watch sports, the ritual is more about the coming together of friends than it is about the egg.
I personally think there’s something profoundly sad about a wealthy, privileged, able-bodied young person with nothing to do but lie in bed and watch video after video of nothingness. I’d call it sad if they spent every afternoon with a bag of heroin too, but in neither case is it my position to tell them they can’t.
I am the author of this blog post. I found it while scrolling Hacker News.
I think this thread is really interesting. I actually spend a good amount of my leisure time reading. But I don't think that one of those activities is more virtuous than the other.
Does this fit the dystopian picture you painted of how I live my life? What if instead of TikTok, the app was Netflix? would that be better? Should my overall screen time just be less in general? How should it change to make it less profoundly sad?
