#147

All social websites have a lifespan, as users age, as other platforms enter the market. Facebook’s users have aged as they’ve got older, and as they’ve got older they’ve started using it less.

Initial users are in their late-30s now, and the excitement of reconnecting with old friends has petered out, and the method of staying in touch has shifted to whatsapp, or twitter. Facebook’s growth in the UK is amongst baby boomers, who are still joining in large numbers, and using it (see Theo’s thread from yesterday). Below the mid-20s, there are lower numbers joining and lower activity from those who are there.

I’ve not posted a status update in six months (which was thanking people for sponsoring me when I ran the marathon). Other than that, I can check it twice a day and comment on the odd post, but that’s it. Judging by my feed, that’s pretty common.

#148

Early 30s, given it launched in 2004 for college students.

#149

Uh huh, that’s what I thought. You all brought Mark Zuckerberg into your lives and now you want the police to shoot him.

1 Like
#150

Ok fair enough, a cursory google shows that there isn’t anything concrete about the internet and diminishing attention spans, but there is stuff about how it is a problem for people with attention deficit or addictive traits and that still is a lot of people, so still think it is a bit off to be dismissive of it especially as people in this thread do have issues with it, maybe we fall under genuine sympathy category and not the morons to be mocked but still I wouldn’t invoke the later in a thread when people have been sinscerely describing their issues

2 Likes
#152

But look at what they’re looking at in those papers. It isn’t that.

And even the Metro requires your brain to be at least partially engaged - I’m talking about grown men playing Candy Crush.

#153

Advanced pattern-recognition, lateral thinking and problem solving?

2 Likes
#154

Was finding myself on reddit, FB and DIS far too often during commutes so made a conscious decision to take a book basically everywhere I go. Finally got properly back into reading for the first time since I started uni so very happy with that result.

I like the ability to quickly be able to find out who an actor is or when the next episode is coming out, even during a show, but hate that I can find myself browsing useless shit even in the middle of a key episode of a favourite show. Try to leave phone out of arms reach during dramas now, or after the first ten mins of a film.

#155

Yeah. I basically use it as brain training.

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#156

Candy Crush is actually a reasonably tricky puzzle game. Odd choice to pick really. Its montising system is disgraceful but that’s another issue entiraly. Its also a game abd would exist in some format regardless of the internet or not.

#157

It’s a game that did exist before being Candy Crush. Match 3 games have been around since not long after Tetris came out. It just never used to aggressively target people’s wallets.

#158

Yes it is true that the internet has made microtransactions easier. But my point was that games were probably always going to become more culturally mainstream particularly as phones improved. Its sort of a related but different issue

#159

I’d say it’s very deliberately slightly tricky. I’ve spent hours playing it. And Soda Crush. And that one with the thing that fires bubbles. And Plants vs Zombies. And Microsoft Solitaire Collection, and…

So I’m one of those people xylo’s on about. My beef is that I do this shit in the comfort of my living room. A couple of decades back the thing everyone was complaining about was people wandering around shouting inane drivel into their phones all the time. Now the world’s full of people blundering/shuffling around staring at their hands all the time. I can’t wait for that to pass, only presumably the next technological leap will be even worse. Maybe in ten years time people will be walking around with bags over their heads that also emit the sound of a screaming baby dragging their fingernails down a blackboard. Here’s hoping.

#160

I find the “I’m not paying you a penny for this shit” element to be pretty much the most enjoyable strategic part of the games.

2 Likes
#161

This is all going off on a weird tangent. Very surprised to see Candy Crush being defended on DiS of all places.

#162

!!! No way am I defending it!

#163

I would not defend it as a that great game although it is perfectly serviceable and very polished. Nor would I ever defend its business practices which are messed up. But I just don’t buy the cultural degradation argument against it that is being made.

#164

Something I wonder about with this new found (to me) info that it doesn’t affect people across the board, a few of my friends describe similar experiences to me, and the thing is we are quite similar, in that we are slightly nerdy and used to be able to really focus attention and obsess on things, know absolutely everything about our interests, binge watched box sets back when they were actual vhs box sets, nowadays it seems like the average person is more like that than they used to be, where as us who were are always like that are not like that, but instead spaced out husks with completely fragmented brains and general restless agitation. Don’t know what my point is, maybe people have different thresholds for craving information that interacts with how much information is available, and we are like canaries warning of how everyone is going to go or something. Both anecdotal and speculative but yeah

#165

Hmm…

#166

All this stuff is pretty good imo, reckon today’s young people will grow up much better equipped generally for coping with the negative aspects of the internet

#167

Yeah, but on the flipside they’re going to be the first generation that has to work out how to live their lives fruitfully whilst also being the Slaves of Ultron.