I wonder why there are so many stories with the title ‘hack’ in social media these days. It’s an odd phenomenon that to be honest is starting to grate on me. I grit my teeth when I see yet another amazing tiktok ‘lifehack’ demonstrating things that our grandmothers knew ;-)
This is especially when we consider the meaning of a ‘hack’.
Hack Definition & Meaning — Merriam-Webster
While there are several main meanings, the most common interpretation a number of years ago would have been a quick and dirty way of achieving something, like writing a computer program quickly without a lot of structure and documentation. The idea being that you would go back and clean it up. This is likely derived from the meaning of hacking being a rough and ready way of cutting wood. And of course there is the ‘hacker’ which is where an unauthorized access to computer programs is made for the purpose of stealing (unusually information). Another interpretation is an ‘ingenious method’ to do something.
So if we go with those thoughts then a hack should be a faster but less fancy way of doing something. But most of these so called ‘lifehacks’ seem to be just a way of achieving the end purpose at all. They are not quicker or rougher or ‘hacky’. Some examples might help.
It is not a hack if you used a vise grip instead of a spanner to remove a nut or in place of a clamp. Its an adjustment to use the tools you have on hand. In fact few of these tips are hacks, they are what handymen know, reminders of good ideas.
66 Cool Tool Hacks — Handy Hints from The Family Handyman
It is not a hack when you use scissors to cut up pizza or bacon. It is a smart and quick way to divide it if you don’t have a pizza wheel handy and a common way to cut up meat
7 Surprisingly Handy Kitchen Scissor Hacks (vivaflavor.com)
And here is an example about healthy living where the actual tips anf instructions are good, the information is useful, but the use of the word ‘hack’ is unnecessary.
“Fitness Hacks For Over 50” Makes It Easy To Add Exercise Into Your Life (aboomerslifeafter50.com)
As for this list…. words fail me.
100 Incredible Life Hacks That Make Life So Much Easier — Lifehack
The other aspect is why ‘hack’ when you can do something properly and get a quality result. I definitely use ‘hacks’ of the traditional kind when needed. But recognize that sometimes the best way is a more measured approach.
A similar trend is for the claims of how <insert your favorite social media> ‘changed my life’. Well I would contest that it was not the social media but it was the person who changed their own life. Yes they received insights from social media, but in the end they needed to actually do something to make a change.
Of course, part of what is happening is the appropriation of the word itself and a distortion of its meaning. The term is twisted to summarise that something was achieved using the described method. Yes language evolves but the rapidity of the adoption of the word hack for this new meaning is remarkable.
And in case you are wondering, no I am not a grumpy old man complaining about social media or about youth (see my other posts). I am just interested in how society is evolving and why. As we have more free time than any previous generation and we have much easier access to information as well. So the need for hacks should be less not more. There are so many forums like Medium, YouTube, Google, GitHub, Cooking sites….. where we can all access great information and techniques to achieve things that using a ‘hack’ seems unnecessary.
What is also interesting is that I have found articles from the stone age (well 2014) raising the same points, so maybe its a lost cause.
Interested in the debate. Feel free to comment. And also to follow me if you find my content of interest as it encourages me to write more.
References
