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Has anyone else noticed smartphones have got significantly more addictive recently

I’ve noticed YouTube specifically has become more addictive, I never used to be one to sit and scroll for long durations before but I often catch myself spending way too long on shorts now

Even people or older generations seem to be getting sucked in nowadays

Extrasvhx9he ,

Their algorithm is specifically designed to keep you entertained. Kind of a curse or a gift depending on who you ask. Think the worst cases are children tbh it was insane my first time seeing a tablet kid out in the wild. Faced glued to the screen being walked by their mom

FireRetardant ,

Smartphones are too stimulating for young children. Their brains are wired to really take in the lights, sounds and interactiveness of it all. This is kinda dangerous because this is also when a lot of learning is going on, they will develop socially based on the content they consume.

I’ve heard that some toddlers/babies recently began mimicing the action of pulling a mobile device from a pocket and looking down at the screen. They’ve seen others do it so often that they are learning it as a nearly instinctual action.

Kyrgizion ,

Almost correct.

The algorithm doesn’t give two shits if you are entertained. It only drives engagement. You don’t need to be entertained to be engaged. In fact, most engagement comes from outrage.

THIS is what’s killing the modern internet.

Hanabie ,
@Hanabie@sh.itjust.works avatar

Saw a toddler with a phone in hand today, maybe a year. Couldn’t walk yet, but had no trouble scrolling.

De_Narm ,

I block shorts on youtube, I don’t care for short form content. Give me those hour long analysis type videos. Without shorts youtube still does a rather poor job at recommending new stuff.

That being said, shorts are being more addictive by nature since the barrier of entry to watch ‘one more’ is so low. If you engage with them on any app, you will waste more time on your phone.

sparky678348 ,

Yes TikTok is a disease and I have it.

XEAL ,

Your phone does too with all of their custom spyware…

LemmyIsFantastic ,

🙄 I’ll bite. What custom spyware?

sparky678348 ,

Lemmy is exclusively conspiracy nuts I think, that’s the impression I’m starting to get

XEAL ,

boredpanda.com/tik-tok-reverse-engineered-data-in…

XEAL ,

boredpanda.com/tik-tok-reverse-engineered-data-in…

LemmyIsFantastic ,

Phone hardware (cpu type, number of course, hardware ids, screen dimensions, dpi, memory usage, disk space, etc)

Common. Steam does this. It’s behind a permission these days and nothing is custom or special about this in any way.

Other apps you have installed (I’ve even seen some I’ve deleted show up in their analytics payload - maybe using as cached value?)

Patched out and was common at the time via Androids API. Again zero secret sauce, most apps pulled this.

Everything network-related (ip, local ip, router mac, your mac, wifi access point name)

Bullshit provide some verification in the least bit. It’s a random anonymous redditor mouthing off.

Whether or not you’re rooted/jailbroken

Again in the API patched out several years ago

Some variants of the app had GPS pinging enabled at the time, roughly once every 30 seconds - this is enabled by default if you ever location-tag a post IIRC

More unverified bullshit.

Pro tip: when your source is a random redditor who definitely worked for tiktok maybe consider for a second that someone is just making up bullshit and reaching to push their objective.

You’d think for being the most spyware app on the planet you could provide a source from a professional and not a redditor.

They set up a local proxy server on your device for “transcoding media”, but that can be abused very easily as it has zero authentication

XEAL ,

Lemmy is not fantastic with condescending pricks like you posting comments.

You could have delivered your point without being an asshole about it.

LemmyIsFantastic ,

👌

TheAnonymouseJoker ,
@TheAnonymouseJoker@lemmy.ml avatar

You have other diseases like Youtube and Instagram too, way worse than Tiktok.

Psychodelic ,

The tiktok videos I get recommended are way too long and dense/informative for me to be able to watch too many at one time.

When I first started using it I made a point of skipping anything I considered dumb or any videos I couldn’t fast forward through. Now, it’s mostly all stuff about history and philosophy and I have to purposely search for new things. Still works way better than YouTube at recommending actually interesting content.

nitefox ,

How do you disable shorts?

svamp ,

Youtube reVanced has that option.

nitefox ,

Not on iOS I guess

Johandea ,

Well, there’s your first problem

nitefox ,

I can’t be arsed with wasting time to try to degoogle an android phone and keep my banking applications working.

Apple is good enough for me :)

Rai ,

I don’t touch google products or services, and fully agree.

Plus, iOS is fucking stellar. Every phone I’ve had from them is blazing fast after YEARS of NEVER REFORMATTING

(Posting from my XS Max that I’ve never reformatted lawl)

nitefox ,

Yeah, I too noticed android phones usually go to shit after a few years. Even formatting doesn’t fix them entirely, and I never play games on mobile

Rai ,

Saaame. I loved my android phones before I switched over, but it’s soooo nice to have a phone that works smoothly for so long without fucking about with custom ROMs.

But maaaan this site fucking hates Apple hahaha

De_Narm ,

Firefox has an addon called “Hide shorts for youtube”. I don’t use any other browser on any device.

runjun ,

I too ignore shorts but I disagree with YouTube’s recommendations. It has gotten significantly better from even 2 years ago. I used to only watch my subscriptions, what I specifically sought out, or links from others. What YouTube recommended me was honestly confusing considering the amount of data they have on me and my interests. Now it’ll actually recommend general content I would watch. But also small YouTubers from the types of content I consistently watch. It’s pretty great.

De_Narm ,

That’s still pretty hit or miss for me. I’ve watched a video about cats exactly once a few weeks ago when my cat did something strange, and my recommendations are still littered with click-bait videos about certain cat behaviors. I watch tons of the aforementioned hour long analysis videos and I still need to resort to playlists compiling them instead of getting recommendations. To me, it seems the algorithm really wants to push certain types of content and will flood me with them if I so much as hover a video too long. But it really dislikes other types of content and almost hides them on purpose, despite me liking them. My best guess would be that longer videos have less ads per minute of content and are therefore not recommended as much, but I couldn’t tell, I started blocking ads on Youtube when they added a second ad banner back in the day - long before video ads were a thing.

runjun ,

I have premium so maybe that’s a reason. Also, if I watch a video I know YouTube will latch unto them I remove it from my watch history and heavily use not interested option.

amelia ,

Is it just me or did the recommendation algorithm become much worse a few years ago? I think there was a big update at some point and it’s sucked ever since. If feels like it remembers about the last 10 videos I watched. You were interested in topic XYZ a few months ago and there is lots of new content about it? Sure you don’t want to know anything about it!

flamingo_pinyata ,

Shorts (tiktoks, reels) are designed to do just that, hook you in and keep you scrolling.
It’s like a constant rolling cliffhanger.

Has its good sides - not everything can or should be a long format video. However, I think the scale is tipped too much towards shorts recently. There is not enough time in shorts to formulate a proper statement, so they need to stretch over multiple parts.

My biggest dislike is the separation of context - shorts and longs are completely separate in Youtube even by the same creator, and the most popular platform TikTok, doesn’t even support longer videos.

flashgnash OP ,

Personally I think the problem is that YouTube promotes them so much harder than normal videos

If you look at the homepage of YouTube on mobile you get one normal video, then a row of ~6 shorts, then another normal video and so on

Much more likely to pique your interest showing you so many more shorts vs videos and once you’re in it’s difficult to break free

Bitrot ,
@Bitrot@lemmy.sdf.org avatar

TikTok supports up to ten minutes and 15 minute videos for some, but they are far from the norm. A lot more creators are doing videos longer than the old three minute limit though.

I think this is mostly because the multiple parts are annoying and their UI makes it difficult to find subsequent videos unless they are new.

It’s interesting to see them going longer while other services are clambering for the shorts and doing a mostly shitty job of it.

GlitterNinja ,

100% agree. Same experience here with YouTube and YouTube shorts. I waste far too much time there.

My dad, a boomer, has been watching videos, reading news and listicles, and playing games on his phone more and more lately. 10 years ago, he was still using a flip phone, and just a few years ago (and tbh even still today) needs help using/navigating his phone and there internet.

But yeah, I’ve noticed him getting sucked into it - he probably uses his phone more than I use mine, since I’m on my computer more than my phone (unless we count my phone playing my music in the car and while at work, but that’s not exactly the phone use we’re talking about, so I wouldn’t include that rn).

Similarly, my grandparents, also boomers, are doing more on their phones all the time. For boomers specifically, it could have a little to do with retiring during this age of technology and finally having the time to explore something that seems more difficult for them to grasp.

TLDR: big word dump to echo the sentiment and show that I’m experiencing the same things as you.

Dasnap ,
@Dasnap@lemmy.world avatar

I’ve found I’ve used my phone a lot less, but it might be because I prefer either longer, more essay structured videos, or a good half hour unscripted comedy bit (podcast, video game, whatever). I don’t even bother with a lot of stuff under 10 minutes unless it’s something like an animation or a skit where that time would be unreasonable. Still though, they’re from channels I know, and aren’t ones I’m randomly being served. I’ve gotten more into TV recently because if it, and I read manga when I have a little bit of downtime.

Still though, the way popular web video has gone, it’s funny remembering YouTube nuking short videos a decade back when they changed the revenue structure. They already had the videos being made on their platform and actively discouraged them.

theKalash ,

Not really.

Just stay away from garbage content like TikTok and shorts. But you can’t blame your shitty media consumption on the smartphone.

FireRetardant ,

You can’t blame 100% of your media consumption on the snartphone but I think it is counter-productive to treat it as not a factor in media addictions. Smartphones made media and content more accessible than ever, especially as mobile data rates got cheaper.

SomeBoyo , (edited )

I don’t watch shorts, but the algorithm became absolute trash for me recently.

Carighan ,
@Carighan@lemmy.world avatar

No? The opposite of anything, I consume media much more on my TV, PC and via my ereader recently.

My smartphone has mostly been relegated to a communications device the recent 3-6 months as I’ve lost the will to try to go through media on a needlessly tiny screen. Luckily though, I don’t have a commute any more. But when I did, I read books on the ereader during the train travel instead of being on the phone.

jeena ,
@jeena@jemmy.jeena.net avatar

Same here, I really also switched media consumption to the TV with a nice sound system and only use the phone for communications and podcasts, oh and navigation and music in the car.

flashgnash OP ,

I’ve been considering just getting a dumb phone and maybe a kindle for entertainment

Problem is I want to be able to run apps like signal, WhatsApp, discord etc

WashedOver , (edited )
@WashedOver@lemmy.ca avatar

It seems to also be a switching task issue in our minds. These changes of states takes more effort than playing the next video does or just keeping on what we are doing. It’s so much easier for us to keep playing the digital dopamine slot machine that, TikTok, instagram reels, Facebook and YouTube short videos provide.

From a business sense they want to keep your attention, from a biology sense we are safe and don’t see a need to move with the random rewards another quick video offers.

It’s amazing how well they have refined getting and keeping our attention. We also get rewarded with dopamine from the anticipation of the next story or short video. It gets we don’t even really need the next video, just the anticipation is enough to reward us with more dopamine.

I’ve read doing a simple reverse mental countdown of 5-4-3-2-1 blast off helps us switch gears from another part of the brain. It can also help us get out of bed or off the couch.

cmnybo ,

When I watch videos on my phone, I mostly just watch downloaded TV shows using VLC. I never use the youtube app. If I watch a youtube video, I use Firefox with uBlock origin.

I hate using a small screen, so I watch 99.9% of my videos on my laptop and desktop. I can’t stand youtube shorts, so I use an addon to block them.

flashgnash OP ,

I tend to like watching YouTube on my phone every now and again, I don’t have a problem with proper full length videos. It’s the fact that I’m bombarded with so many shorts in the UI and can’t get rid of them on mobile

Obviously newpipe and piped are a thing but they both are somewhat lacking compared to the official app in user experience

NumbersCanBeFun ,
@NumbersCanBeFun@kbin.social avatar

deleted_by_author

    •
    flashgnash OP ,

    That’s great for you, unfortunately that is not the case for most of the world

    Shalakushka ,
    @Shalakushka@kbin.social avatar

    He didn't say it was the case for most of the world

    marx2k ,

    Duck duck go released an anti tracking feature for Android that stops all apps from mining your dara.

    https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/e283c707-3a7c-44b9-8aa7-55a90037223c.jpeghttps://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/bf962e6c-9515-4b1d-ba43-8d48ff55c561.jpeg

    newtraditionalists ,

    I relate to this more than op. I pretty much only use lemmy and discuit, and then twitch and discord for gaming. And I spend way less time on them than i did on reddit. Youtube has never been my thing. I hate being talked at by some try hard asshole trying to get me to subscribe to their mediocre channel. And the community there feels like it's mostly people under the age of 16. No thanks. In general, the enshitiffication is real, and it's pushing me away.

    foggy ,

    I’ve noticed the recommendations suck now. It that’s their attempt at sucking me in?

    Idk I am pretty addicted, but it’s like Netflix where I spend more time selecting than watching nowadays.

    Kinda looking forward to Google making me fight for ad free YouTube. There is a 0% chance I will continue to use YouTube if there are any ads in my way. Even a stationary suggestion in my feed? Nope, fuck that. As soon as revanced is toast I’ll leave YouTube like I did reddit.

    But the recommendations are God awful now.

    TheAnonymouseJoker ,
    @TheAnonymouseJoker@lemmy.ml avatar

    Its the oversaturated colours, not the short form content. The latter has no alternative, and short form content is sometimes much better than 10 minute filler and sponsorship ridden videos.

    Put your phone on grayscale, doable on both Android and iOS from settings or some system toggle. Short form content is not the convincing answer everyone thinks it is. It has existed since 2000s with US-based Vine (Tiktok is a Vine clone), then Snapchat Shorts, then Instagram Reels, then Tiktok, and now YouTube Shorts.

    Another protip is to find some kind of app or filter to desaturate your screen, if you cannot do grayscale in long term. Desaturate by 50% and see the magic for yourself.

    AMOLED transition on phones did not happen for the dark (crushed) blacks and power saving, that is pure marketing drivel practically.

    Deceptichum ,
    @Deceptichum@kbin.social avatar

    For me it's certainly the short form content, as I've found myself getting hooked on it on PC to the point I have to snap out of it and instantly close the tab once I realise what's happening. This isn't happening with my normal subscription feed, because it's not a never ending stream of content.

    TheAnonymouseJoker ,
    @TheAnonymouseJoker@lemmy.ml avatar

    I need you to try desaturation trick once, and for atleast a couple days or week. You will notice the difference instantly.

    Deceptichum ,
    @Deceptichum@kbin.social avatar

    Okay, I've turned it on and this was the first short to appear.

    I'm gonna be honest, it's not making a difference for me personally. If anything I think I'm staring at it more now because I feel like I can see more details in the videos.

    TheAnonymouseJoker ,
    @TheAnonymouseJoker@lemmy.ml avatar

    Its more about not the immediate effect, but you will develop an observation within a couple days or a week atmost, if the effects are not immediately observable to you. Just turn it off while using camera (obvious reasons), and try at your own liberty.

    flashgnash OP ,

    Giving the gray-scale thing a try, I think the thing that sets modern short form content apart is how fast, snappy and easy to scroll it is though

    Rarely have more than half a second of downtime between shorts, I think that is the issue recently

    TheAnonymouseJoker , (edited )
    @TheAnonymouseJoker@lemmy.ml avatar

    The short form content is doing something else, it is not directly the short length that is to blame. It is the information overload and the methods and information used to incite some form of emotion from you, and to solicit engagement. That is the endgame you have to win against.

    Information overload can also happen with 10 minute videos. You have to stay away from overloading the brain constantly, and give it proper breaks, and even disengage from visually stimulating content to keep a stable, spike-less dopamine feed to your brain.

    nitefox ,

    Maybe Instagram. I don’t really like videos but I like environment, art etc pictures

    Kyrgizion ,

    It’s the opposite for me. I never consume shorts/tiktoks because they simply don’t interest me. Most of the things I watch are very in-depth (Flaw Peacock’s video essays are between 5-7 hours a piece).

    Since I almost exclusively go for this long form content, I feel I have a lot more “say” in what I consume online.

    If you can stay at this side of the fence concerning short form content you’ll be golden.

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