<story><title>Former Facebook exec says social media is ripping apart society</title><url>https://www.theverge.com/2017/12/11/16761016/former-facebook-exec-ripping-apart-society</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>xapata</author><text>Keep in mind that one&amp;#x27;s personal experience may not be representative of the &amp;quot;average&amp;quot; person.&lt;p&gt;&amp;gt; single-player games&lt;p&gt;I get obsessive about some games. A completionist, one might say. And when I&amp;#x27;ve achieved what I want to in the game, I suddenly wake up and realize I haven&amp;#x27;t been outside for a week and I&amp;#x27;ve ignored my friends, family, and colleagues. Worst, the guilt of that realization can be so overwhelming that I am tempted to ignore it and simply start another game that takes over my consciousness.&lt;p&gt;I&amp;#x27;ve observed similar behavior in some others. It was most obvious among World of Warcraft (WoW) players when I went to university. I knew more than a handful of WoW players who dropped out of school because they found their in-game social circle more important than just about everything else in their lives. Rather than studying or going out, they needed to be present for the next raid (WoW session).</text></item><item><author>an_ko</author><text>What is it about porn that makes you feel depressed?  I&amp;#x27;ve heard that opinion before, but I just can&amp;#x27;t relate, despite being one of those people raised on abundant internet porn.  It has been a very clear net positive for me.  I&amp;#x27;m in a successful long-term relationship.&lt;p&gt;Are single-player games tearing society apart?  Is a deck of cards wasted on solitaire?  Must all bicycles be tandem?</text></item><item><author>dawhizkid</author><text>I wonder if the same can be said for internet porn. I too used to think people who wanted to ban porn were just kooky evangelicals, but at some point realized myself how empty and depressed I felt after watching it.&lt;p&gt;I&amp;#x27;m almost more curious about the societal consequences of young people (mostly male) being raised on abundant internet porn and its role (if any) it plays in how men emotionally and physically connect with women or other men.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>scrollaway</author><text>&amp;gt; &lt;i&gt;I&amp;#x27;ve observed similar behavior in some others.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;p&gt;You&amp;#x27;ll observe that in more than just porn and games, you&amp;#x27;ll observe it in life in general. In fact for a lot of people that&amp;#x27;s the definition of a mid-life crisis: Suddenly waking up, realizing that you&amp;#x27;ve been &lt;i&gt;wasting your life&lt;/i&gt; slaving at a job you don&amp;#x27;t like, to make money that pays for things you don&amp;#x27;t own which you only have to offset how shitty your job makes you feel.&lt;p&gt;If your doctor told you &lt;i&gt;right now&lt;/i&gt;, &amp;quot;you have exactly two weeks to live&amp;quot;, would your life be unchanged for the next two weeks, or would you suddenly wake up and think &amp;quot;Holy hell, what have I been doing for the past age(self) years?&amp;quot;</text></comment>
<story><title>Former Facebook exec says social media is ripping apart society</title><url>https://www.theverge.com/2017/12/11/16761016/former-facebook-exec-ripping-apart-society</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>xapata</author><text>Keep in mind that one&amp;#x27;s personal experience may not be representative of the &amp;quot;average&amp;quot; person.&lt;p&gt;&amp;gt; single-player games&lt;p&gt;I get obsessive about some games. A completionist, one might say. And when I&amp;#x27;ve achieved what I want to in the game, I suddenly wake up and realize I haven&amp;#x27;t been outside for a week and I&amp;#x27;ve ignored my friends, family, and colleagues. Worst, the guilt of that realization can be so overwhelming that I am tempted to ignore it and simply start another game that takes over my consciousness.&lt;p&gt;I&amp;#x27;ve observed similar behavior in some others. It was most obvious among World of Warcraft (WoW) players when I went to university. I knew more than a handful of WoW players who dropped out of school because they found their in-game social circle more important than just about everything else in their lives. Rather than studying or going out, they needed to be present for the next raid (WoW session).</text></item><item><author>an_ko</author><text>What is it about porn that makes you feel depressed?  I&amp;#x27;ve heard that opinion before, but I just can&amp;#x27;t relate, despite being one of those people raised on abundant internet porn.  It has been a very clear net positive for me.  I&amp;#x27;m in a successful long-term relationship.&lt;p&gt;Are single-player games tearing society apart?  Is a deck of cards wasted on solitaire?  Must all bicycles be tandem?</text></item><item><author>dawhizkid</author><text>I wonder if the same can be said for internet porn. I too used to think people who wanted to ban porn were just kooky evangelicals, but at some point realized myself how empty and depressed I felt after watching it.&lt;p&gt;I&amp;#x27;m almost more curious about the societal consequences of young people (mostly male) being raised on abundant internet porn and its role (if any) it plays in how men emotionally and physically connect with women or other men.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>cortesoft</author><text>I feel like this is just describing the human experience. We go through cycles of obsession and focus, and then a realization that our obsession and focus has kept us from other parts of our lives. We adjust, and then repeat the cycle.&lt;p&gt;It could be video games, but it could be lots of hobbies, or work, or a new relationship, etc.</text></comment>