The real world is wild enough without fantasy.

Perhaps this is a case of the kettle calling the pot black? Have you even considered what I said could hold some truth? I can say I have considered yours and told you I thought there was merit to it.

Does it make sense to go to the extra effort to learn a new language when they could just go to Instagram or lemon8 like many others have done? That is the path of least resistance for feeding an addiction, not overcoming a language barrier.

I agree with your assessment of why people get hooked on these social media apps and what would drive them from switching to TikTok to another app that fills the same role, but I don’t think that’s the only thing that is going on here.

My original comment was framed the way it was because yours seemed to be implying addiction was the only thing driving people’s behavior in this specific instance, but the article your comment was replying to is showing that while people are switching from TikTok to Rednote, there was also a corresponding increase in US users who are seeking resources to learn Mandarin. This implies that more is going on and is where your “people are only being driven by addiction” analysis falls apart.

Sure, I can see people switching apps to continue chasing an addiction, however, the uptick in US interest in learning Mandarin implies that people are interested in communicating with people who speak mandarin. If you looked at how Rednote is currently functioning in English, you can see that it’s not necessary to learn Mandarin to use the app the same way they did on TikTok. People are finding more than just a way to fill a social media addiction.

The fact that they are seeking out ways to better communicate with other users on Rednote suggests they are looking to become closer with that subset of users, which is an action driven by a desire to build a community with them. You don’t go learning a new language because of addiction.

Seconded. HelloChinese is so much better at teaching than Duolingo and it scratches the same game-like itch.

People searching for a means of connecting with a community is a negative thing since when? Better to look at the source of their feelings of alienation outside of the internet and point the finger at that instead of flippantly dismissing people using social media from a social media platform.

Agreed. The general trend of switching to natural gas has led to the release of a lot of methane, which is notorious for leaking during drilling, transport, and storage.

This is much worse than carbon dioxide and has been going on for decades. Methane will continue to rise within the atmosphere and cause further warming for decades even if we stopped releasing it today.

Got it figured out, thanks!

A shit, my bad. I didn’t scroll far enough, thank you!

Still getting a mostly blank page. Similar to what I tried earlier with archive.ph and archive.today.

Is it just me getting no text content?

Archive.ph and removepaywalls.com aren’t working. Does anyone have a way around the WaPo paywall?

I have a boss who will remote to a meeting that takes place right outside his office, then come in-person to the next meeting that immediately follows in the same room. People like the flexibility.

Living rent-free in your mind. Kudos on your dedication to your community, but your time may be better spent on a different hobby. Maybe try reading “tankie” theory?