Is there anything that prevents Kagi from doing an OpenAI and going for profit?
Readit Newsrmholt commented on Why Kagi launched "no use, no pay" getlago.substack.com/p/wh... · Posted by u/AnhTho_FR
rmholt commented on The average college student today hilariusbookbinder.substa... · Posted by u/Jyaif
First, lack of a phone won't cause them to be completely excluded from their social circles. If it does, then I'd argue those weren't their friends to begin with. Second, kids need to learn that social acceptance doesn't mean they have to do everything their friends are doing. Third, the long-term benefits of reducing their exposure to social media are outweighed by the short-term benefits of the instant gratification and shared experience of social media.
> completely excluded from their social circles. If it does, then I'd argue those weren't their friends to begin with.
I believe you underestimate the power of being "in". Even if the friends wouldn't be "true", it is still extremely valuable socially. That is, speaking as someone who, due to unrelated reasons, was prevented from fitting in fully. It may not hold much water from a stranger on the internet, but i would've given anything to be able to fit in more at that time. I believe it has set me back socially 3-5 years, with lasting consequences which I may never truly heal.
> Second, kids need to learn that social acceptance doesn't mean they have to do everything their friends are doing
Sure, but they won't learn that when you prevent them from participating activities with their friends. This isn't them deciding that they don't want to participate in something.
> Third, the long-term benefits of reducing their exposure to social media are outweighed by the short-term benefits of the instant gratification and shared experience of social media.
Attention spans can be fixed.
And besides, you shouldn't control any child like that. You might say "they will thank me in the future". But they never will. And the damage done by controlling their life like that is more lasting. Their relationship with authority, with you, with their own autonomy will be forever changed. (Speaking as figurative you, I don't mean to imply you specifically) This teaches them "You don't have a right to own things the authority doesn't want you to own" (Or it teaches them how to lie and hide contraband.)
rmholt commented on The average college student today hilariusbookbinder.substa... · Posted by u/Jyaif
To the end of reducing exposure during developmental periods, with the aim of having a long term benefit.
Yeah that's fair.
I still don't believe that it's worth it, with the exclusion from their social circle causing a bigger health issue than social media, but I get it.
rmholt commented on The average college student today hilariusbookbinder.substa... · Posted by u/Jyaif
> And it would also accelerate strong anti-autority sentimentality.
Probably something we should be encouraging in our youth.
Sure, but the natural consequence is that they will be more inclined to distrust society, authority, and vote for anti-estabishment populist parties.
To quote a great man, we live in society. And it's better to work within a system and get to know it rather than it is to just hate it. And if the first experience of a large portion of youth is system beating them down, you can see how that's gonna grow a strong "tear it all down" mentality.
rmholt commented on The average college student today hilariusbookbinder.substa... · Posted by u/Jyaif
rmholt commented on The average college student today hilariusbookbinder.substa... · Posted by u/Jyaif
Capitalism is a system that rewards the selfish and greedy. If you don't pursue every bump in key performance indicators you can, then someone else will and they'll eat your lunch.
Agreed, the problem is capitalism /s
But seriously agreed, that's why I propose what I propose - when it's banned no-one can do it and no one can eat your lunch (*)
(*) Subject to exceptions, as the War on Drugs can attest, but I think it would work in this instance
rmholt commented on The average college student today hilariusbookbinder.substa... · Posted by u/Jyaif
I've no clue why people have downvoted this; you're right as rain. A phone is nothing short of a digital slot machine and shouldn't be put in front of adults or children. These algorithms are designed for profit, not humanity. They have far greater control over us than they should.
The funny thing is, they don't even have control. They can't push propaganda. They can just accelerate human desire. Through all the brain rot they have created, they didn't even gain anything significant, just a few % bump in "kEy pErFormAnce iNdiCatoRs".
And they doomed a generation in the process
rmholt commented on The average college student today hilariusbookbinder.substa... · Posted by u/Jyaif
> There, the phone addiction crisis solved.
I think you're putting too much emphasis on The Algorithm. It's a problem, and I agree it's probably the worst offender, but similar problems were observed decades ago with children (and adults...) allowed to watch too many hours of uninterrupted TV. Cutting back to chronological feeds might improve some things but I don't think that's the root of the issue.
I would suggest the primary difference between then and now is accessibility. As a kid, my screen time was limited not just by my parents indulgence but the social pressure from using a shared device. Smart phones let you carry your personal distraction with you.
I agree they are a wonderful invention but I'm not sure grade school students need to be connecting to anyone, anywhere throughout the entire school day.
> I think you're putting too much emphasis on The Algorithm. It's a problem, and I agree it's probably the worst offender, but similar problems were observed decades ago with children (and adults...) allowed to watch too many hours of uninterrupted TV.
Yeah that's fair.
> I agree they are a wonderful invention but I'm not sure grade school students need to be connecting to anyone, anywhere throughout the entire school day.
Well to their friends in other classes ("Wanna go out after 3pm lesson").
Additionally, and socially, smart phones, if banned, would be instantly seen as a status symbol. And it would also accelerate strong anti-autority sentimentality. The kids won't understand it, hell adults wouldn't. So it's also the case that you can't really ban them without really adverse social effects.
rmholt commented on The average college student today hilariusbookbinder.substa... · Posted by u/Jyaif
Why not educate the users about the dangers misuse and abuse lead to the attention span, instead of banning things?
I vaguely recall too students back in the era where our biggest distraction was MSN messenger and our university forums. They kept both off until late at night.
We're letting people experience the downsides of the attention economy when it's almost (if not entirely) too late to avoid the negatives.
> Why not educate the users about the dangers misuse and abuse lead to the attention span, instead of banning things?
Because social media is precisely in the short term benefit x long term risk that human brains are bad at conceptualizing. Same reasons for why we mandate belts in cars.
rmholt commented on The average college student today hilariusbookbinder.substa... · Posted by u/Jyaif
Sorry if my post was unclear, when I say "platforms", I am talking about Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, open-ended MMORPG's, etc - I agree that the problem is the addiction-optimized psychological experiments, not the operating system or device itself.
Yes!!! That's why I would ban just the "addiction-optimized psychological experiments".
I would also ban them globally, not just for kids but like I'm sure that would be a whole 'nother discussion.