Internet addiction and the habit of book reading • Hacker News Board

ReactiveJelly wrote: post #40

dougmwne wrote: post #17

An aside, I find it a bit interesting that at some point we stopped talking about internet and game addiction. It used to be a hot topic, but I guess now that we are all completely addicted after decade of intense behavioral experimentation, none of us are interested in reading about it anymore.

Breaking it feels hopeless. If I wanted to quit a drug addiction, I could probably find a sober community to try to bond with, and you can do stuff that doesn't involve drugs. But it doesn't feel like there is a real-life world left for me to return to. If I turned off the Internet, I'd be even more alone than I am being on the Internet talking to people all day. I can't imagine what withdrawal would be cause I can b…

I’ve taken breaks before, and it’s really not that bad and you do adapt. But you’re absolutely right, there’s less and less of a “real-life” world left out there. I lived in a cabin and carried around firewood for 6 months. It wasn’t exactly modernity.

Re: Internet addiction and the habit of book reading

#56

Post by silisili » Sat, Dec 18, 2021, 6:13 AM UTC

bmitc wrote: post #23

Natsu wrote: post #3

I mean, yes, I mostly read things online nowadays, but... I'm still reading, it's just on the computer now.

Long form things? The longest things I read on the Internet are articles, blog posts, and papers, which are all at most 30 pages.

If I'm blunt, I rarely read long form things. I've found that most long form things are filler. If you make a movie, people expect 2 hours. If you make a book, people expect 200 pages. Both are generally full of a big amount of filler to meet said metrics.

Re: Internet addiction and the habit of book reading

#57

Post by anoncow » Sat, Dec 18, 2021, 6:14 AM UTC

wincy wrote: post #36

senortumnus wrote: post #22

HN represents a wellspring of deeper reading than is generally afforded by the current entertainment cruft portals of the web - reddit, FB, insta, USA today, financial times, etc etc down to the SEO hellholes of recipe sites, youtube product placement; you get the idea. Let's appreciate HN for the quality of reading material and its curb on our drift to the rest of the 'popular' web. And I don't think I'm alone in al…

I used to read books all the time. I spent most of my waking hours as a teenager reading books. I’m 35 now and can barely hold attention on anything, I read maybe 3 books a year if I’m lucky. Even on Hacker News I almost exclusively read and comment on the comments, not the actual article unless I see someone says “have you read the article?” I don’t really know why. I have 8+ hours a day screentime on my iPhone, whi…

Somethings that helped me -

1. Delete frequently visited websites in chrome on Desktop and mobile and populate it with websites that you want to visit more frequently.

2. Create a new profile on YT and subscribe to channels you like that add value.

3. Keep a separate work phone.

4. Keep your personal phone away for certain times of the day

5. Read a book that you have been waiting to read on a dedicated Kindle or in a physical copy.

Ask yourself what the problem is and try to find a solution that works.

Re: Internet addiction and the habit of book reading

#58

Post by xcambar » Sat, Dec 18, 2021, 6:14 AM UTC

Suite timely, a few days ago, I've asked HN about reading habits: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29530981

Re: Internet addiction and the habit of book reading

#59

Post by dukeofdoom » Sat, Dec 18, 2021, 6:16 AM UTC

Without facial expressions, it's a problem that its hard to tell how serious someone is being on the internet. So every comment is treated like the persons solemn sworn testimony for which they should be judged not just in the current moment, but forever into the future, and everything they every said in the past is relevant, if need be, to show how bad of a person they've been.

Re: Internet addiction and the habit of book reading

#60

Post by knaik94 » Sat, Dec 18, 2021, 6:17 AM UTC

dougmwne wrote: post #17

An aside, I find it a bit interesting that at some point we stopped talking about internet and game addiction. It used to be a hot topic, but I guess now that we are all completely addicted after decade of intense behavioral experimentation, none of us are interested in reading about it anymore.

I think we stopped talking about it because most people realized that it's not a proper application of the word addiction. Adapting to the changing times doesn't make people ignorant. I dislike how when certain groundbreaking changes in the way people consume content is introduced, people who don't understand it call it an addiction. It's insulting to people who suffer clinical addiction. A perceived bad habit isn't an addiction.

We aren't addicted to having to use cars in suburban towns. But some can argue that people's legs aren't used like they were used to and we should all embrace biking or running everywhere. Not to mention traffic, pollution, road accidents. There's articles written in the last five years that use the term car addiction to describe modern population's necessity of cars for travel. https://www.credit-suisse.com/about-us-news/en/articles/news...

I think most people realized that the term internet and game addiction is most often used by people who simply don't understand the culture surrounding the internet or gaming.