>> Most HN users live in urban areas.

I didn't know YC published HN's demographics. Do you have a link?

>80% of the American population lived in what is called an urban area in the 2010 census [1]. While their definition of urban is looser than you might use, still >60% lived in 'cities'[2].

Unless the wealthier, more connected, more educated readership of Hacker News strongly bucks every trend suggested by their demographics, it's pretty safe to say we mostly live in urban areas.

[1]https://www.citylab.com/equity/2012/03/us-urban-population-w... [2]https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2015/cb15-33....

How do you know HN is made up of only Americans?

The demographic trends in the GP aren't unique to America. They're more or less the rule in most developed countries, and I think it's safe to say most HN users probably come from developed countries.

Can you cite a source for that? How can you infer the demographics of HN in the absence of data?

Where I come from, it's pretty poor form to ask people to cite sources for obvious statements, without any other insight or commentary. After all, you're asking them to do work for you, but not taking basic steps to suggest you might appreciate their effort.

The preferred option is to do a little reading of your own beforehand, and to share whatever it is you know that makes you think the obvious answer might not be right.

Non American HN member here. It will apply here too. Me and most other people from Europe / Asia I know that are on HN are from big cities.

OP said "most[ly]" not "only". Just wanted to point out that your comment shifts the goal posts.

I disagree, we do not know the demographics of HN and the only sources cited deal with America specifically. It’s all speculation.

As someone who lives in what can be considered a rural area for the most part, it's not largely different. The last population count put the town at ~4500 for reference.

You still have people in checkout lines on their phones or parents giving their kids a phone with YouTube or a mobile game to distract them. The older folk, as you might expect, tend to strike up conversation and bump into those they don't know.

I worked retail a few years in this town (which is finally coming to an end) and the few times I can remember strangers striking up a conversation with me were mainly them spreading misinformation.

A few years back, one elderly man swore black and blue that "they" were canning all of the "irradiated fish" from the Fukushima fallout and selling it to unsuspecting customers. Another lady told me the story of a man who just happened to be stumbling around "a major Chinese city" and peering into a factory window only to see that "the Chinese" were turning cardboard into cookies and selling them to us unsuspecting Westerners.

By no means are the above stories an indicator of country folk but let's just say I have my reasons for not jumping at the chance to talk with strangers. Half the time it's just an excuse for them to offload their stories onto me rather than actually being a two way conversation anyway.

EDIT: I just mentioned the overall feel of the discussions to my dad as he's the sort to strike up conversation with anyone. Having presented both sides of the discussion, he instantly discarded one side as "wrong" without actually weighing up any of the points. While it's anecdotal, it's no wonder I'm somewhat the opposite. Each conversation turns into a debate to win rather than a discussion.

Given "equal and opposite reaction[s]", I wonder if tribalism is inevitable? Did we ever actually defuse this kind of stuff in society or was it just hidden away due to geography eg; distance between rural and urban areas?