Ask HN: Thoughts on using mainstream social media via a web browser? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Thoughts on using mainstream social media via a web browser?

1 pointthih95 comments

I’m curious if anyone here uses mainstream social media (Facebook, X/Twitter, Pinterest, etc) via a web browser.

I’m interested in use cases where a browser is the primary access method.

If yes, what is your experience and would you recommend it?

One thing I like about social media via desktop? Opening a new tab for things. ("I'd like to read the comments on this one... but also stay here in the main feed and keep my place.")

So I hate how X.com (on desktop) makes it hard to open things in a new tab. (Like "Trending Topics", or even the original post that someone's reposted.)

Also, on my phone lately Threads has started doing this really terrible thing where the sound auto-plays on every single video as you scroll past it. I can control things like that on my desktop better. And in general on desktop your screen is bigger.

But also, if someone posts a video on YouTube, sometimes I'll want to see it on YouTube (so I can see the date and who posted it and how long it is...) Maybe that's the larger theme here. You have more controls on desktop than you do on your phone - and more options. (Like if a piece of news looks fishing, I can instantly open a new tab and see if it's being discussed by other credible sites...)

I tried using Facebook and Pinterest via Safari on a recent macbook pro, and my experience has been very poor.

Pages take a lot of time to reload, the information density is low, the navigation felt confusing.

In contrast, the Instagram’s native app seems without these problems. Interestingly, 10 years ago social media didn’t feel that slow to me; this may be subjective though.

Am I using my web browser wrong? Or are these platforms (Facebook / Pinterest) best accessed via a native mobile app?

Is there any mainstream social media platform where web browsers get first class support?

I use such things through browsers pretty much exclusively. Working adblock and no push notifications alone are enough reasons to never use a normal app for them.

x kept blocking adblockers so i gave up on any xitter links entirely

I use all of those virtually never (LinkedIn is the only one I view regularly, and that only when job searching or hiring). When I do visit them it’s via desktop browser. I refuse to give their apps any access to my phone whatsoever, and have zero interest in being advertised at or flooded with notifications for posturing and bullshit and drama that I really could not possibly care less about.

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