There is still a similar vein of productivity and hustling. Ask HNs are often about side project, productivity hacks, and income streams. Show HNs and blogs are the same topics, but actualized. It’s the same treadmill, but instead you feel bad about not being hyper productive, elite haxxor skills, or cashing out.

I think a big thing about social media is having people or personalities that you follow. I don't use HN in a way where I notice who is commenting or posting and there's nobody I "follow" on this site. Every story and comment is like a new anonymous person to me.

When I was heavily into Reddit I'd use RES and get to know people so it felt more like social media. Now that I've deleted my account and sporadically read Reddit it doesn't feel like social media or something I'm addicted to.

A decade or slightly less so ago, maybe because this site was smaller and close-knit and interest rates were lower, you could get a similar effect from seeing Show HN threads about this person launching some amazing technical project or impressive startup. In this uncertain economy not so much. Also, blogs are increasingly less fashionable so you don't see nearly as many "wow what a trenchant and witty thinkpiece" posts from devs playing thought leader.