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Addicted to Distraction

nytimes.com

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Re: Addicted to Distraction

#91

Post by codemac »

jfim wrote: post #52
codemac wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Just like it is possible to fix alcoholism by having someone remove alcohol from the house It's different because alcohol withdrawal can kill you. It can give people seizures and hospitalize them for weeks. Telling someone to "remove alcohol from the house" as a cure is so left field for me it feels like you're missing the very real medical struggle long-term alcoholics go through. I'm livid but I know this should…

None of the "solutions" I mentioned are actually serious solutions and were intended to show that the parent's reasoning didn't work (ie. you're not going to cure internet addiction by unplugging the router just as removing alcohol from the house won't prevent an alcoholic from seeking and obtaining alcohol). Someone who's really addicted to something will seek the object of their addiction and think about it constan…

Wow - ok, I totally missed your point then. Thank you for your reply with explanation, much more sensible than I was interpreting.

Re: Addicted to Distraction

#92

Post by daenz »

scep12 wrote: post #33

I recently wrote a chrome extension that helps me curb my "compulsion loop." It's pretty simple; each time the browser loads a website that has potentially distracting content (think: twitter, FB, reddit, hacker news, rotoworld, etc) that I tend to over-visit in search of new tidbits, the extension keeps track of my visit and the text content of the page. The next time I visit, I do a text comparison that checks how…

Not a chrome extension, but in the same vein of limiting distractions: https://github.com/amoffat/focus

It's a proxy DNS server that runs locally, and based on user-defined rules (which can be anything that can be described with code), will limit your access to websites.

Re: Addicted to Distraction

#93

Post by RightWingRabble »

rl3 wrote: post #4

This type of distraction is just another form of procrastination, which in turn is a product of any number of underlying psychological issues. Anxiety and depression come to mind.

Yes and no. The typical distractions trigger dopamine releases without any effort. When your brain gets satisfied with its current level, you need more and more. Your brain gets desensitized, which causes the anxiety and depression. Soon, real life isn't enough, you need the extra stimulation.

http://www.abdada.com/the-low-reward-to-high-reward-guide/

Re: Addicted to Distraction

#94

Post by digler999 »

thrwy111 wrote: post #31
Disruptive_Dave wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I disagree. Addiction is defined as: "a strong and harmful need to regularly have something (such as a drug) or do something (such as gamble)." Do you not put phone/internet usage into that category? In a 2-hour drive this morning I had three near-accidents all because of the drivers on their phones. Ask the average American 30-year-old to avoid their phone for 24 hours straight and that will be a significantly diffi…

Then we need a new definition for what I know as addiction. I think your quoted definition may actually get in the way of helping addicts. There's no way that if society imagines addiction as merely a "strong and harmful need" that they'll ever be able to sympathize with people who have addictions as I know them. "Oh, you're trying to quit smoking? I quit Farmville once."

It sounds like you're just getting addiction confused with dependency.

Re: Addicted to Distraction

#95

Post by [deleted] »

scep12 wrote: post #33

I recently wrote a chrome extension that helps me curb my "compulsion loop." It's pretty simple; each time the browser loads a website that has potentially distracting content (think: twitter, FB, reddit, hacker news, rotoworld, etc) that I tend to over-visit in search of new tidbits, the extension keeps track of my visit and the text content of the page. The next time I visit, I do a text comparison that checks how…

[deleted]

Re: Addicted to Distraction

#96

Post by collyw »

stygiansonic wrote: post #68
cobweb wrote: post #54

I can easily go a bit tab mad. And noticed this in myself ages ago. At work I vowed not to look at sites that weren't work related. And instead checked personal email/sites before or after work. I was more organised. I even used to sit on the train and plan my days work. And it paid off. These days I'm more and more distracted, have issues concentrating, and I don't have a smartphone, which I'd probably gravitate tow…

My take on multitasking is that it mostly doesn't work, at least not for cognitive activities. But, I guess it depends on your definition of "multitasking" and "working/not working". There are, perhaps, some activities which most people can multitask at - such as, driving a routine route while carrying on a light conversation. (But even that might distract from one or the other) But try something more complex - such…

I am pretty sure in the past that it has been shown that talking on a moble increases the chance of crashing a car. It was a while ago that I read it so I can't provide a reference.

Re: Addicted to Distraction

#97

Post by collyw »

kordless wrote: post #71
cobweb wrote: post #54

I can easily go a bit tab mad. And noticed this in myself ages ago. At work I vowed not to look at sites that weren't work related. And instead checked personal email/sites before or after work. I was more organised. I even used to sit on the train and plan my days work. And it paid off. These days I'm more and more distracted, have issues concentrating, and I don't have a smartphone, which I'd probably gravitate tow…

Anyone who thinks they are a good multi-tasker is disillusioned. Multi-tasking requires context loading and unloading, which always seem to have some challenges associated with it that are less than obvious. Don't sweat it. Being able to focus on one thing is a gift!

A gift that I seem to have lost over the years.

Re: Addicted to Distraction

#98

Post by arikrak »

scep12 wrote: post #33

I recently wrote a chrome extension that helps me curb my "compulsion loop." It's pretty simple; each time the browser loads a website that has potentially distracting content (think: twitter, FB, reddit, hacker news, rotoworld, etc) that I tend to over-visit in search of new tidbits, the extension keeps track of my visit and the text content of the page. The next time I visit, I do a text comparison that checks how…

I was thinking of making an alternative that just checks how long it's been since you visited that page. If you visited Facebook/Reddit/Etc. in the last 1-4 hours, you shouldn't be visiting it again, regardless of whether Facebook updated the content.

PS - Can you share your extension on the Chrome store, even before you clean up the code for Github?

Re: Addicted to Distraction

#99

Post by Scarblac »

scep12 wrote: post #33

I recently wrote a chrome extension that helps me curb my "compulsion loop." It's pretty simple; each time the browser loads a website that has potentially distracting content (think: twitter, FB, reddit, hacker news, rotoworld, etc) that I tend to over-visit in search of new tidbits, the extension keeps track of my visit and the text content of the page. The next time I visit, I do a text comparison that checks how…

I've been fighting this kind of thing for decades now (it started with Usenet), and when reading this and stuff like the Shallows...

This is going to be a huge health problem ten years from now (it must be already the largest productivity killer in the workplace), and great solutions for this will be profitable some day.

Re: Addicted to Distraction

#100

Post by sophacles »

nugga wrote: post #80
thrwy111 wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Then we need a new definition for what I know as addiction. I think your quoted definition may actually get in the way of helping addicts. There's no way that if society imagines addiction as merely a "strong and harmful need" that they'll ever be able to sympathize with people who have addictions as I know them. "Oh, you're trying to quit smoking? I quit Farmville once."

I'm sure you know this but addiction isn't just the physical dependence where your body requires the stuff to feel normal or 'well' during withdrawal. Even then the strength of dependence varies rather than exists as a binary thing. You might feel anxious without your daily doses of caffeine or sleep worse and get the sweats after discontinuing weed. In the worst cases, with alcohol especially, you might even die dur…

People make a very odd distinction between "physical" addiction and "psychological" addiction. I don't understand why, but I suspect it has something to do with "morals" and "strength". When its "just psychological" you'll see a lot of people who treat it as a personal failing, rather than an actual, difficult thing. Much like people treat depression and other mental illness.
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