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think you've hit several nails on heads: for one thing, novelty is subjective and there's a huge amount of digital content out there to explore without the latest smart fridge or whatever
Great stuff as usual, Grinds. Reminded me of a stretch of time in HS when I started replaying SNES games of my childhood. I'd put a CD on the stereo and jam out peacefully playing through all the classics I had never proper beaten. At the time, it was seen as anti-social or weird for me to do this, but I think if I could get back to that space of genuine contentment with a "simple" set up, I'd be radically happy.
A much better and more comprehensive version of the points I attempted to lay out in my article User Engagement is Code for Addiction
Between this essay and this one by Corey Doctorow, https://pluralistic.net/2024/07/20/ransom-note-force-field/ , I feel like a lot of new tech is not as counter-cultural and more corporate, hence less 'novel'.
Thanks for the feedback everyone. I wondered if this would come across as a "tech is bad and everything is bloat (except the stuff I use)" type of post. Glad it hasn't.
@ghostscape absolutely, the internet archive alone offers a near-endless stream of entertainment. @nohappy, I was a certified Sega-boy, but I have similar memories of simpler times. Radically happy times even.
@misterdizzy That was a good article. I remember reading it ages before we were following each other here. I don't know if mine is "more comprehensive" though. @murid, Doctorow is always an interesting read. Intriguing that he brings up Mark Fisher in that essay, because his writing has been on mind a lot as I think about this stuff.
What a great gift! My Ps2 is still going after all these years, I love it immensely. I rarely play games anymore but its just such a fun little console
@murid @misterdizzy both those articles absolutely fuck, thanks for the signposting!! all making me think about a thing I've been circling around on the idea of satiation and how to centre/recognise it instead of *gestures vaguely*
I really enjoyed this. I think there's a way aging can effect our craving for novelty, too. There's only but so many times you can be sold the "next great thing" before you anticipate the rush wearing off before it's even started. Best to just find the things you enjoy for their own sake, not because of novelty.