> Strangely enough, instragram, tiktok, youtube and other social sites have never managed to hold my attention for more than a few minutes.
Same for me. I guess the difference is that HN, Reddit, Wikipedia, and even TV Tropes are giving you some knowledge, occasionally even useful one; every now and then you'll stumble onto something that solves an immediate problem you have, or is otherwise transformative. That's variable ratio reinforcement right there, the basis of gambling addiction, made extra potent because the occasional win you get is actually real and lasting.
Same! For me its some combination of paradox-of-choice for what to go learn about or work on next combined with variable-ratio-reinforcement compelling me to practically do a depth-first traversal of all the cool possibilities.
I think at some point I'll need to turn it all off.
Same for me. I guess the difference is that HN, Reddit, Wikipedia, and even TV Tropes are giving you some knowledge, occasionally even useful one; every now and then you'll stumble onto something that solves an immediate problem you have, or is otherwise transformative. That's variable ratio reinforcement right there, the basis of gambling addiction, made extra potent because the occasional win you get is actually real and lasting.