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Ask HN: How do you manage Facebook/Whats App/Twitter/Email/Etc addiction?

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Re: Ask HN: How do you manage Facebook/Whats App/Twitter/Email/Etc addiction?

#61

Post by unfocused828 »

igetspam wrote: post #13

Of the items listed, I only use email. Call me a Luddite but all of those other things are just unnecessary distractions. I find that my life is much more focused when I control the funnel of noise. I have an RSS reader for news and email or a phone for communication. All these other potential streams of data are like road signs or commercials: I know they're there but I've made such an effort to ignore them that the…

The problem with /etc/hosts is that it is too easy to simply undo. I use https://selfcontrolapp.com, which lets you block a list of sites for a set period of time and does not have a way to circumvent that.

Well, since the app is open source, you surely could just read the code and figure out a method. However, doing that requires enough focused effort to source-dive and debug something. It is much much easier to prevent oneself from doing that than to keep oneself from editing a file.

If anyone is thinking of responding to this comment by speculating how to circumvent the tool, take that to another thread.

Re: Ask HN: How do you manage Facebook/Whats App/Twitter/Email/Etc addiction?

#62

Post by unfocused828 »

Reedx wrote: post #16

Just don't use them. Really. The addiction will go away or at least decrease after a couple days or so. I'm really only addicted to HN these days, but I solve it by not going to HN at all when I need to be in Get Shit Done mode. After a day or two I don't find myself thinking about it that much.

If you find that this is actually not your experience and you find that you are addicted/distracted for an extended period of time, know that you are not alone.

Re: Ask HN: How do you manage Facebook/Whats App/Twitter/Email/Etc addiction?

#63

Post by unfocused828 »

ashwinaj wrote: post #7

Having a Pomodoro [1] app on your desktop/laptop helps. It sounded lame to me initially (do work in 25 min chunks), but it seems to work for me. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomodoro_Technique

You might also find that a different cadence than 25 minutes works better for you. I personally use 90 minutes because I find that if I make it shorter than an hour, that the timer is just an annoying interruption.

Re: Ask HN: How do you manage Facebook/Whats App/Twitter/Email/Etc addiction?

#64

Post by unfocused828 »

armenarmen wrote: post #38

I uninstalled a bunch of apps and put a domain blocker on chrome. I can get past all of that if I need to, but the extra 5 seconds of work needed to get to 'social' gives me some time to catch myself.

What domain blocker is there available on chrome for mobile?

Re: Ask HN: How do you manage Facebook/Whats App/Twitter/Email/Etc addiction?

#65

Post by elorant »

CrackpotGonzo wrote: post #50
elorant wrote: post #24

Simple. I don't have an account on Facebook/Twitter/whatever. While others might find it necessary I find them utterly boring and irrelevant. I think that not owning a smartphone helps a lot in that aspect. I have a dumbphone with a battery that lasts for weeks and I'm happy with my choice. As for e-mail, I have two accounts, one for work, one for everyone else. I don't check the latter while at work, ever.

What kid of phone do you own?

I have a Samsung E-2600. Brilliant phone. The battery lasts for at least two weeks with moderate use and also it's light and compact. I have to admit, every time I see someone pulling out a behemoth with an 5.5" screen to talk puts a smirk on my face. The model is currently obsolete so I guess anyone interested will go for the next in line.

Re: Ask HN: How do you manage Facebook/Whats App/Twitter/Email/Etc addiction?

#67

Post by sneakycr0w »

I used to have a problem logging onto Facebook, Twitter, and other social medias every few minutes. Even while I was at work. It was really bad. Every time I had a spare second that's immediately where I went.

What I learned in one of my courses where we talked about addictions, is that people with addictive personalities tend to replace one addiction with another. Now, saying this doesn't present it as a positive thing, but it can be.

I started by completely taking these socials medias out of my life for a whole entire month, strictly. I didn't get on a single time to any of them once. And I replaced the addictions with something else. At first I thought maybe games would be good, but it was hard to get on my phone without going to these sites. So what I did is I replaced them with reading. I would take 2 minutes to read a couple pages, read on my ten minute breaks, read on my lunches, etc.

You don't have to do that, although I recommend it, but I would try to replace it with something that didn't have access to it, and then you'll have more control over it.

Re: Ask HN: How do you manage Facebook/Whats App/Twitter/Email/Etc addiction?

#68

Post by SyneRyder »

sneakycr0w wrote: post #67

I used to have a problem logging onto Facebook, Twitter, and other social medias every few minutes. Even while I was at work. It was really bad. Every time I had a spare second that's immediately where I went. What I learned in one of my courses where we talked about addictions, is that people with addictive personalities tend to replace one addiction with another. Now, saying this doesn't present it as a positive th…

This is a really good point. I've deactivated my Facebook account (going on 4 months, feeling much happier without it) and one of the "addictions" I've replaced it with is Duolingo. If I know I'm going to be addicted to some kind of distraction, learning a language (of a country I hope to move to one day) makes it a much more positive thing in my life.

Re: Ask HN: How do you manage Facebook/Whats App/Twitter/Email/Etc addiction?

#69

Post by nareshv »

If we can find "why" we go to all these apps/websites, then we can find a solution by ourselves by satisfying the "why" with some other one which can improve our skills (or any other desired quality)

For example, if we always check emails just to see how many new-emails we have got, so that we can act on them asap, Its a good case as its going to improve our productivity and time-to-respond lower.

Another example, if we always check fb to see what other people's activities are. Well, we can turn this around and make us the person who is doing lots of personal activities (outside of internet domain) and posting it to facebook (may be weekly), or restrict it to closer pals/family.

Personally, if we interact more with Nature around us, it feels great.

Restrict the use of these "virtual" worlds and try to participate more with the world around us. Instead of posting a message on facebook, may be call your best friends and say hi. Its million times better than seeing 1 like for the post in the virtual world.

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