forsythe_
For a while now I've been using it a few times a week to find reference images for drawing. I find it beats Pinterest in terms of speed and relevance for most of my searches.
I really really don't want it to go down.
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I just browsed the creator's inactive social media pages. I wonder if they've passed away..?
Yeah, this is spot-on based on my experience.
I got into Twitch in the early days and have been a watcher and lurker for most of the past 10 years. The periods where I've been most content and fulfilled in life have easily correlated with spending less time on Twitch because those needs were being met in a healthier way.
On one hand I'm thankful to have discovered it because the faux-social fulfillment it provided when I've dealt with depression. It wasn't ideal but it was a good option in times where I didn't have energy to commit to real life relationships. OTOH, I wonder if ignoring Twitch altogether would have pushed me to get out and do the things that would have helped me climb out of the hole sooner.
Yes, the marketing behind it is stupid because it attempts to correlate some deeper symbolic meaning to the act of choosing colors for your web browser. But as a fellow Firefox advocate, I would rather Mozilla plays around with these sort of corny marketing concepts as a way of gaining market share rather than rely on Google's patronage ad-infinitum.
I also read that section and thought it unfortunate the author missed that realization as being the likely root cause. External validation seems to be a major driver of his unhappiness. There's nothing wrong with finding solace in structured work but I think if he returns to his old job he's likely to reach burn out unless he can identify this as a root cause.
I made that connection for myself as I've had a strangely similar recent experience to his, albeit without the Amazon warehouse job. I burned out, took multiple months off of work, didn't implement any lasting structures, and became depressed. But I did spend a ton of time in therapy to evaluate my mental health and what drove me to burn out. Practicing self-awareness and emotional awareness has made me more optimistic about finding routines and habits which will bring more fulfillment.
The author gives the example of needing dozens of images to accompany scenes in his book. If you feed DALL-E something like: "create a panoramic view of a grey ocean with four mountains and an ominous dark sky", then sure, it can handle that prompt fine. It'll do a great job at broadly interpreting adjectives and phrases that are unambiguous. Mass produced art for advertising/media is going to change drastically because it doesn't need precision.
However, once you introduce specificity and detail the tools are going to suck. For example, telling it to generate a portrait of a specific person with subtlety in expression, body language, pose, and demeanor. It'll create something that looks aesthetically sane but not anywhere near what you had in mind.
And just for some extra counter-predictions of my own:
- The novelty of seeing thousands of "good enough" images in mass media is going to wear off
- AI generated images will become obvious to the average person
- Society will largely get tired of AI art due to the lack of novelty
- The utter collapse of the art profession some are predicting is never going to come
Nowadays my main vice is Reddit with the occasional YouTube binge. I find I *can* manage using both in moderation but it's a slippery slope. It's even harder if I don't have a healthy outlet to focus on instead, like an interesting project, hobby, or class. But honestly, complete avoidance of those platforms paired with really good internet hygiene ("digital minimalism") are only consistent solutions for me.
I prefer video games over most outdoors activities but still largely agree with you.
One minor critique is that I would substitute "infantilizing" for "psychologically beneficial." I also think the gap in inherent value between the two groups of activities could be summarized into the tendency of screen-based activities to produce instant gratification with minimal discernible gain. The latter group activities involve aspects of mindfulness and require a degree of active physical/mental labor over time, therefore you could argue less "outdoor-sy" creative efforts like painting, long-form writing, or sewing could all provide the same benefits.
Fast-forward to finding the link to NightCafe a half hour ago, where I just had to type a ridiculous phrase for it to spit out something that attempted to match my description after just a few minutes: https://creator.nightcafe.studio/creation/sPsmFbpijhePoRDwqF...
Still, I don't see using this for anything more than gags with friends right now. But it's a solid leap forward.
ADHD doesn't necessarily present as "hyperactive child" or the other stereotypes to which it often gets associated. Many people receive an ADHD diagnosis in adulthood after years of (more or less) successfully coping by employing organizational strategies, e.g. good list-making, appointment reminders, setting extra alarms, and so on.
In terms of OP's rotating interests, the colloquial term is "hyper-focus" and it occurs because people with ADHD are dopamine deficient and generally crave novelty. That can lead to both regressive behaviors like substance abuse or more progressive behaviors like adopting new hobbies and interests.
For the latter, it's easy to get quick dopamine hits when you first dive into a new subject/hobby. But as time goes on and you dive deeper into it, the novelty you first experienced begins to wear off. The quickest antidote is to find a new fixation and start the process over again.
I've experienced this phenomenon many times myself, and much of what OP described resonates with my experiences.