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Ask HN: How do you deal with information and internet addiction?

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Re: Ask HN: How do you deal with information and internet addiction?

#51

Post by jen729w »

Just try one thing and see how that makes you feel. The feeling might then spread.

Example: bored of COVID, on 1 Jan 2021 I stopped reading the ‘mainstream’ (sorry) news. The Guardian, ABC, BBC, whatever it was that I’d been looking at: stop.

It helps that I’ve never watched the TV news. So it wasn’t hard to just cut this out.

But I did not stop using Twitter or browsing HN or Reddit or whatever. Just one thing that I identified as having a definite detrimental impact.

I also did not become religious about not absorbing any news. Sometimes I overhear news. I see my partner’s iPad. The radio news might come on. That’s okay. But for two years now, I just haven’t gone to a news site and read the news.

I don’t really know what’s going on, and my life is better for it. My mind is less busy.

Since then, Sam Harris by way of his ‘Waking Up’ meditation app has convinced me of the power of thought. And perhaps because I broke one cycle, I now find it reasonably easy to break, or at least crack, others.

I listen to way less podcasts than I used to. Every spare moment there used to be an AirPod in my ear. Now, I walk to work and listen to the city. I hang the laundry out without worrying that I’m not spending those three minutes absorbing information.

I no longer use Twitter and barely use Mastodon. But I do use it.

And here I am responding to a HN comment, so I’m obviously still here. Like I say, this isn’t some religion. It’s just a nudge in the right direction. You don’t solve this overnight.

Pick one thing to start. Notice the results. ‘Waking Up’ is excellent. One month free here, no benefit to me. https://dynamic.wakingup.com/shareOpenAccess/af0843

Edit: I should’ve said by recognising this as a problem, you have already taken the first massive step. Well done.

Re: Ask HN: How do you deal with information and internet addiction?

#55

Post by bomdawg »

milesjag wrote: post #41

Some of the tools which have helped me rediscover my focus and discipline: * Use the CLI for everything - reduce the amount of time you have a browser open * An egg timer - use this every time a tedious task needs completing * A dumb phone - small and minimal functionality, easy to forget about * A watch - stop using your phone for checking the time * Cook your own food - excellent use of time * Exercise - no headpho…

> Use the CLI for everything

Interesting, can you explain what this looks like in practice?

Re: Ask HN: How do you deal with information and internet addiction?

#56

Post by wkat4242 »

endymi0n wrote: post #34
labrador wrote: post #11

I handle it by collecting quotes that tell me to knock it off. I've since started to focus on just the things I really care about: The purpose of knowledge is action, not knowledge. ― Aristotle Knowledge isn't free. You have to pay attention ― Richard Feynman "Information is not truth" ― Yuval Noah Harari If I were the plaything of every thought, I would be a fool, not a wise man. ― Rumi Dhamma is in your mind, not i…

I like it, will steal some. I followed the same strategy and always added relevant content to this doc, then forcing myself to read it every day. It‘s a non-attributed mashup of several sources. because it‘s from my personal notes: —- Core Question: Is what I‘m currently doing helpful to my goals? Get Bored. Get Calm. Enjoy boredness. Whatever happens on the front page, I’m never involved. It seems like the whole thi…

Totally agree. I've also disconnected from everything but the tech news and not missing anything. We had a discussion recently where people were amazed some hadn't heard of the Turkey earthquake 12 hours later. I only learned of it 1 hour before that.

But really what does it matter? Anything really important will reach me anyway. And there's nothing I can do about most of it. I also can't care about every single person in the world. Even if I know about bad stuff happening I can't help it.

I just read the local paper website once a day now, and that's enough. Anything important like this in Turkey will show up there too. And most of the local news is about stuff that actually affects me.

I also don't have a TV subscription anymore. I don't watch anything live, and have zero interest in watching sports so I just had no need for it anymore. Same with social media, if I could still just follow my friends like they used to offer I would, but they don't. They try to make me engage with low quality nonsense which pushes me away.

The only interruptions I get now is from instant messaging, but most of the people I know and all group chats I have muted and I just check in on their chats when I feel like it. So no notifications there. Only the most important people get through.

Re: Ask HN: How do you deal with information and internet addiction?

#57

Post by wkat4242 »

bomdawg wrote: post #55
milesjag wrote: post #41

Some of the tools which have helped me rediscover my focus and discipline: * Use the CLI for everything - reduce the amount of time you have a browser open * An egg timer - use this every time a tedious task needs completing * A dumb phone - small and minimal functionality, easy to forget about * A watch - stop using your phone for checking the time * Cook your own food - excellent use of time * Exercise - no headpho…

> Use the CLI for everything Interesting, can you explain what this looks like in practice?

Usually a black screen with a bunch of mostly white letters :)

Seriously though, I do this a lot too. All my instant messaging comes though a text interface, most of my note taking and other work. I use the browser a lot still because it's sadly unavoidable.

If I really need to focus I even use my old VT520 CRT terminal. The soft amber glow really helps to focus <3

Re: Ask HN: How do you deal with information and internet addiction?

#58

Post by zzzbra »

labrador wrote: post #11

I handle it by collecting quotes that tell me to knock it off. I've since started to focus on just the things I really care about: The purpose of knowledge is action, not knowledge. ― Aristotle Knowledge isn't free. You have to pay attention ― Richard Feynman "Information is not truth" ― Yuval Noah Harari If I were the plaything of every thought, I would be a fool, not a wise man. ― Rumi Dhamma is in your mind, not i…

Thank you for this -- adding these to my quotes Anki deck.

I would also add to these the TS Elliot quote from his work, the Rock:

> “Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?”

Re: Ask HN: How do you deal with information and internet addiction?

#60

Post by stonedpwned »

Hayarotle wrote: post #5

Find out if your addiction is because you find the world boring, or if you're trying to escape from something you fear. If it's the former, block the addictive content and replace it with other things you find fun (hobbies, books, movies, etc), paying attention to how it's more worthwhile to do so. If it's the latter, find out how to overcome such fear / anxiety and to stop using addictive content as a crutch.

100% agree. I happened to do this this morning as I was dealing internally with another, somewhat similar, sort of addiction.

Earlier in my life, I was addicted because I was fearful/anxious/traumatized. It was a (shitty, yet effective) escape.

Now that my life has been stable for a few years the addiction came back up. I wondered why, and I realized it was because I was bored. It made things more challenging (which was a motivation to quit I thought), but it turns out the challenges introduced by this addiction actually make my mundane day-to-day more stimulating.

Sure is hard to code stoned huh?

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