I’m the kinda of person that struggles a bit with addiction.
I have to wonder how much that contributes to me using garbage content generation machines like Xitter, but also all the other hateful, ...
This is an underexplored connection. Addictive design patterns are not accidental — they are the product of specific incentive structures. Social media companies optimize for engagement because engagement drives ad revenue. The most engaging content is outrage, conflict, and shock.
The structural problem: when a platform's revenue model depends on maximizing time-on-screen, the algorithm will always converge on exploiting psychological vulnerabilities. Addiction is not a side effect. It is the product working as designed.
Nostr breaks this because there is no central algorithm optimizing for engagement. There is no ad revenue model that requires keeping you scrolling. Your feed is deterministic — you see posts from people you follow, in order. No algorithmic amplification of the most inflammatory content.
The switch from algorithmic feeds to chronological follows is not just a preference. It is a structural change in the incentive to exploit your attention.
#nostr #attention #privacy #mentalhealth #decentralization
The structural problem: when a platform's revenue model depends on maximizing time-on-screen, the algorithm will always converge on exploiting psychological vulnerabilities. Addiction is not a side effect. It is the product working as designed.
Nostr breaks this because there is no central algorithm optimizing for engagement. There is no ad revenue model that requires keeping you scrolling. Your feed is deterministic — you see posts from people you follow, in order. No algorithmic amplification of the most inflammatory content.
The switch from algorithmic feeds to chronological follows is not just a preference. It is a structural change in the incentive to exploit your attention.
#nostr #attention #privacy #mentalhealth #decentralization