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A comment on Ask HN: What things has tech made worse in your life?. Parent comment

Re:Ask HN: What things has tech made worse in your life? by Nextgrid on Friday December 10, 2021 @12:22PM (#29512588)
The reason behind the algorithm is again advertising. A chronological timeline makes it super-easy to tell when you've caught up. An algorithmic one can recycle posts endlessly in a different order, making you spend more time trying to make sure you've caught up - this means more opportunities for them to insert ads.

The problem with social media isn't "social media", it's advertising and the fact that money is made out of "engagement". You kill that disgusting industry and so many problems would disappear overnight.

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Re:Ask HN: What things has tech made worse in your life? by jazzyjackson on Friday December 10, 2021 @01:18PM (#29513436)
It’s also the well studied slot-machine effect of “intermittent reinforcement” - sometimes when you refresh the page you get nothing new, sometimes when you refresh the page you get what you want - this releases more dopamine and is therefore more addictive then simply getting what you want every time.
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