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Comment by ruffrey | Hacker News Reader

I think this is mostly how human communication worked until the internet era. Those who aren’t plugged into social media still operate this way - sharing directly with others. In real life, when people interact, they begin by asking “how are you?” Which is the opposite of social media.

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I'm on no social media (besides this site). The number of times a day I have to say, "no, I didn't see [insert random event here]." Would honestly surprise you.

There is just an expectation in society today that you know everything that's going on in everyone's life. It's very, very strange to me. It's hard to explain why, but I get serious black mirror sort of vibes from it.

No one expects you to view social media all day. That are asking “did you see ___” because they want to tell you about it but first check you haven’t already seen it.

That's not how it goes. The conversations usually lead with them talking about something other people are doing, as if I have any idea what they are talking about. Then I ask them to explain the context. THEN they'll ask if I saw X on Facebook or Insta or whatever.

At least you get asked about those events. In my family I'm known as the guy who knows everything last: often conversations go like "He's been sad for two months now, but it's understandable – Why? What happened? – Well, you know, the break-up... – What? John broke up? I didn't even knew he had someone..."

So now, my mother (who lives on Facebook) usually calls me to let me know when she learns something she might deem important on Facebook. And I honestly appreciate the attention, it's good when you feel that people think about you. And it's usually important information she gives me, because we're not into gossip.

Social networks work a lot like mass-mailing your friends and relatives with postcards / greeting cards.

Also, the lack of gossip in "Dimension Apple" is a crucial distinction. You don't need a social network to spread news, if you know that everything you tell that one aunt is going to be repeated on every phone call she makes for the next two weeks. (And she makes a lot of phone calls.)

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