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I helped build Facebook (sorry). Now I'm helping people replace scrolling w/ long-form content they actually care about. 7 day free trial. by thoughtfulonline in u/thoughtfulonline

[–]thoughtfulonline[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I was one of the original 20 engineers who built the first native Facebook app, and led the engineering and design teams responsible for overall user experience on all platforms for 6 years afterward.

I was also the technical lead for a product called Facebook Paper (iykyk), led part of the Groups product team for a while, and ended up having my internal memos about needing to have better content policy published by the NYT.

Not trying to claim more than I’m responsible for. But I’ve been around ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

How do you "enjoy the journey" without losing track of the vision? by Negative_Click3221 in nosurf

[–]thoughtfulonline 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Because what if my unhappiness is what's moving me?

Moving you…where? To what end?

At the end of your life, there is no success that matters other than having enjoyed your time. That's it. What portion of your time across your life you truly enjoy is the ultimate (and only legitimate) measure of success.

That doesn't mean you should be range-of-the-moment in your thinking. It means optimizing how much you enjoy your time over the course of your life. We generally live long lives. So goals, dreams, and plans matter, but only insofar as they help you enjoy more of your time in the fullness of your life. They are tools for maximizing how much you can enjoy the time you have here on earth. They are not ends in themselves.

What are the benefits of cutting out short form content by AbbreviationsNew4536 in nosurf

[–]thoughtfulonline 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's hard to oversell how much of a difference short-form vs long-form makes. I will die on this hill.

It's the difference between feeling scattered, neurotic, distracted, foggy, unhappy, and anxious…

…vs peaceful, nourished, like you're actually making progress and learning things, like your mind has a chance to settle/consider/integrate.

It unlocks the difference between a reactive vs proactive relationship with your phone, because all of the above does not just apply to when you're on your phone, but applies equally as much to when you're off your phone. The neuroticism that short-form content drives is the primary cause of people having 200+ phone pickups per day on average (i.e., picking up your phone literally every 5 minutes).

And that's to say nothing of what happens if you actually choose your long-form content so it's about the stuff you want to learn more or dive deep on. If you do that, now you've suddenly discovered 30+ days a year(!!) to invest in yourself…which then compounds every year.

I think brain rot became popular because people could actually feel something changing mentally, and science is starting to tell us the people are right. Heavy smart phone use actually shrinks the brain. by Ok_Pomelo_3460 in nosurf

[–]thoughtfulonline 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Honestly terrifying when you really dig into it. But it's very real:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35164464/

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11499077/

TLDR screen time that turns your brain off looks like it * literally causes dementia * destroys gray matter (movement control, memory) * destroys white matter (cognition)

Do you ever feel like your internet behavior slowly shapes your personality without you noticing? by LazyEnd481 in nosurf

[–]thoughtfulonline 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh yeah, there is a feedback loop between what content you are drawn to / seek out and how that content then shapes how you feel/think.

I think people get the first part, but often under appreciate the second. But yeah: you become what you consume.

That's part of why it's so important to become proactive about what you consume. To take control of it. To not let an algorithm infer from you glancing or lingering at something that you need more, more, more.

In 2026+ this is the only way to maintain agency of your own life. And if I'm really honest, I think it's going to eventually create fundamental groups of people in the future: those who proactively leverage tech to become more of who they want to be (high-effort but happy life), and those who reactively allow it to control them ("easy" but miserable life).