At first, I thought I was addicted to internet forums. Then Facebook appeared and soon after I discovered Reddit, Hacker News, 9GAG, Instagram and other forms of wasting life online.
Smartphones and mobile internet got extremely good, so my time spent on those platforms only increased. Now, not only when I’m on my computer procrastinating, but also anywhere, everywhere. A second of boredom triggers a small check. I thought the smartphone was the problem. You’ve probably heard about the cookie in your pocket analogy, right? Or was it the internet?
Then… I finally realised. I’m not addicted to the internet, neither to my smartphone. I’m addicted to information. Good information, in particular.
My mind goes on berserk mode playing the slot (now slop) machine until it reaches the jack pot.
I won a few times already. Why won’t it happen again?
I’ve discovered content in all those platforms that changed my life. And what’s another way of finding those gems without exploring? Let me just check instagram real quick… or open the “the front page of the internet” while waiting for my coffee to get ready.
Recommendation is not enough, and the state of personalised algorithms makes it even worse.
They are designed to tickle my brain, just enough to milk my attention for a couple of seconds. Not enough time to learn something new or to spark a new idea. They want my eyeballs, not my thoughts.
However, my brain is still craving for those highs from the early internet. It craves for the discovery, the exploration. The joy of finding those high-value posts that improved my life, such as the one that made me lose 25kg.
I won’t find those again on a 20s video, and I desperately need to learn that. The internet I grew up with does not exist anymore.
I wish a rapid death to short-form-hook-oriented-content. Fragmentation is the answer.