What was the point of this pedantry? "Ha - caught you using a computer when you said you don't really use one!". Really?

Let us assume for now that he was just curious :)

It may also be how I phrased it, I still read HN and watch some YouTube and Instagram, from my phone just with quite strict time controls.

My phone :)

If I ever got out of tech, HN would be one of the first things I'd like to kick tbh haha. What keeps you coming back? I don't use social media either but this often feels worse in some ways

HN is on the more tolerable side of social for me. I kicked Instagram years ago, never had Facebook, hate the hustle mentality of LinkedIn, and deleted my Reddit account due to the constant bickering and flame wars.

I find the discourse on HN to be (usually) thought-provoking and largely respectful.

Same here - HN is nice enough as long as you're willing to just not react to people who vehemently disagree with you about something.

As in: knock yourself out, I don't need to get into internet fights about why I think your opinion is ridiculous/oversimplified/ill-informed. If I get a whiff that the person is not going to be reacting productively I just don't reply.

Not him, but I find HN a good tradeoff between Reddit and 4chan.

There are no powerhungry mods that'd ban you without an explanation, but you can still have a conversation without being called homophobic names. The hivemind exists, but the opposition is strong enough that even controversial voices can be heard as long as they are well-argumented.