I think HN is very different from Reddit, in the sense that I don’t think is addictive at all (for me).
HN doesn’t have infinite scroll, doesn’t have infinite pages with different posts. And that’s what I think would make something addictive. You keep finding new content, without leaving the site, as long as you want, until you get some reward.
On HN I have to reload the page to see something new. And I would have to keep reloading the page for several minutes until I happen to see one new post in the front page.
I want to keep up with everything that gets to the front page all I have to do is come back every hour. With a good chance of keeping up with everything checking just every 6 hours or so.
There is no way to mindless get new content in front of you.
Even keeping up with new comments is hard.
HN is no where near Reddit and other social media sites in addictiveness.
Ehh, HN is just like any social media site in that the pleasure of using it is similar to that of IRL social interactions both good and bad. To be incredibly reductive, it's that you have a chance of having a really engaging conversation, or hearing some really awful takes (can you believe what he said earlier?!). HN isn't as bad as reddit for the reasons you stated, but it is addictive for the same core reason.
That’s the point, it is un-optimized to the point where it’s addictiveness is an order of magnitude lower.
Optimization is what generates addictive behavior in social media. Optimize to feed you with infinite new posts with minimal fraction. HN simply doesn’t feed you with infinite posts in a day and adds friction to find new posts (UX focus on a front page with 30 posts and pagination).
Also, moderation plays a role. Social media addiction thrives in controversial topics while HN bans flame wars. The heated the discussion the heavier the moderation.
HN is not in the same league of Reddit, IG and others regarding addictiveness.
I disagree. The subreddit system breaks up content on that site into classifications. Yes, major subreddits have an unending stream of content just like the site as a whole does. But if one is interested in only niche subjects, the flow is rather low. HN, being unorganized with no sort of category or tag system, forces one to reckon with the stream in realtime.
There's often good nuggets that are buried under new, that don't make it to the front page. Sometimes one only serendipitously finds that content when being dumped into new after posting one's own submission. So if one really wants to search for content on HN, they'd be continuously refreshing new.
There are also plenty of heated discussions on HN. Just because they are using highfalutin pseudo-intellectual speak instead of common vulgarities doesn't mean there aren't as controversial topics here. And these days, HN is scarcely less politicized than Reddit, or any other place in the world online or offline is. Moderation can only go so far, and there are many threads that fall through the cracks.
The comment system of HN, without notifications, also invites one to continuously refresh threads. I personally use Dan Grossman's HN Replies service, but those who don't and wish to see replies on their content would have to no choice but to refresh their comment history.
HN can be just as bad as Reddit, but in different ways.
You missed the point. Try to keep up with everything on Reddit or Facebook or Instagram or Twitter if you follow enough people. You can’t. It is impossible. It is designed to be impossible in order to be addictive.
HN it is not only possible, as you can wait a whole hour without any relevant update in posts. In the other sites soft reload of the feed after 1 second will change the posts.
But answering your question, I don’t see coming back every hour as a problem. Precisely because it is enough interval time to not incentivize an addictive behavior so you don’t feel the need to come back every hour. It is much easier to ditch any addiction you might have on HN because you are forced to take a break since you know there won’t be any new thing to give you a reward. On Instagram you can consume it 24/7.
Imagine if slot machines had to make you wait 5 minutes between plays. They would be exponentially less addictive
I agree with that completely, I don't think it's designed to be addictive, neither was email. But the randomness of the reward can create that compulsion to check.
HN doesn’t have infinite scroll, doesn’t have infinite pages with different posts. And that’s what I think would make something addictive. You keep finding new content, without leaving the site, as long as you want, until you get some reward.
On HN I have to reload the page to see something new. And I would have to keep reloading the page for several minutes until I happen to see one new post in the front page.
I want to keep up with everything that gets to the front page all I have to do is come back every hour. With a good chance of keeping up with everything checking just every 6 hours or so.
There is no way to mindless get new content in front of you.
Even keeping up with new comments is hard.
HN is no where near Reddit and other social media sites in addictiveness.