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Internet addiction and the habit of book reading

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Re: Internet addiction and the habit of book reading

#251

Post by watwut »

najqh wrote: post #137
klohto wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I had the same experience but my problem was from the sheer amount of games being released. I couldn’t pick one, became overwhelmed and then lost the drive to try something. So I stopped worrying about the reviews, about length about all the details behind a game. I check out Steam 250 or SteamDB charts, pick one out and just try it. I have no expectations going in, and I’m happy to drop it if I don’t find it enjoyab…

Nah, doesn't work for me. I know the games I like; they are all old and I know I love them. I don't follow the news on new games at all. I simply can't concentrate on the games I like for more than 15 minutes. I get distracted, I alt-tab out all the time, and eventually I close them. It's the same with movies or books. It takes a superhuman effort for me to sit still and watch a movie. If anybody has any recommendati…

Maybe the real question, why do you want to do thise things? Because games and movies don't matter that much, really. Nor do books, really.

You dont need to force it. Try something else. Try different hobbies to spend time with.

And also, old games are not as good as nostalgia has us remember. Maybe you are alt tabbing, because the books you ate picking, movies you watch were good for past you. And now your interests changed and they don't fit you, actually.

You may just need to change genre.

Re: Internet addiction and the habit of book reading

#252

Post by waylandsmithers »

My side project tries to address this! by replacing the habit with a real book. It's a little half baked but personally I've read 20 books this year, which is the most I've ever read as an adult. Won't self promote beyond that but the link is in my profile.

Re: Internet addiction and the habit of book reading

#253

Post by hypertexthero »

aw9f70gae wrote: post #242
toper-centage wrote: post #233

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's funny you place games in the "bad" side of things, this hich need to be reduced. I group gaming with reading because the kind of games I play require a level of focus and engagement, and my brain rather spend hours scroll HN and Reddit. It really is an uphill battle.

What kind of games? I’d like to stop playing addictive games and start playing games that are better for my mind.

Anything, including any game, can become addictive. As one of the aphorisms at Delphi said, “Nothing to excess”: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Know_thyself

Having said that, there are many games that are more respectful of the player, with quieter user interfaces without design dark patterns to keep you hooked.

Here are some suggestions:

*Microsoft Flight Simulator* - Fly around Earth, preferably at a low to medium altitude with a small airplane. It can teach you about real world flying procedures if you are interested, with things like Vatsim. You can play with others without worrying about griefing as there are no collisions between airplanes modelled. If you want to shoot, too, try DCS World or IL-2 Sturmovik. https://store.steampowered.com/app/1250410/Microsoft_Flight_...

*Everything* - Meditative game about life and the relationships between all things. https://store.steampowered.com/app/582270/Everything/

*Balsa Model Flight Simulator* - Build and fly radio controlled airplanes! By the creator of Kerbal Space Program. https://store.steampowered.com/app/977920/Balsa_Model_Flight...

I find that keeping a physical journal, writing with a real pencil on real paper, while playing games, is good for my eyes and my mind, as is taking regular breaks and going for walks in the real world, every day.

PS. A childhood friend of mine started this website dedicated to relaxing games: https://yinindie.com/

Re: Internet addiction and the habit of book reading

#254

Post by Fannon »

toper-centage wrote: post #233
Fannon wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So I come from where you come from. However, I have mostly (60-80%?) retained my ability to focus on reading without distraction. But there has been something lost and sometimes it feels like an uphill battle to retain your ability to concentrate on one thing at a time. Would be curious what makes a difference here? I did some conscious choices, not sure how they contribute but I have the impression that each of them…

It's funny you place games in the "bad" side of things, this hich need to be reduced. I group gaming with reading because the kind of games I play require a level of focus and engagement, and my brain rather spend hours scroll HN and Reddit. It really is an uphill battle.

Ok, yes I see your point - I should have be more differentiated here. I can see that there are games which could also force you to keep focus. What I had in mind were more of the "almost instant reward" game mechanics.

Re: Internet addiction and the habit of book reading

#255

Post by hiq »

jmacd wrote: post #202

I relate completely with the comments here. I have only recently even managed to finish reading a couple of books, but it took me months. I would really like to blame how busy I am (new startup, 3 kids, other commitments), however I see my wife who is a physician who works in 2 departments and also teaches and runs a residency program and I know she is quantitatively much busier than I am and has far less control ove…

> Our brains are trained on very different cadences.

I think this is a very interesting concept. If you're used to quickly finding out which information is relevant or not for you (e.g. from technical docs, emails, etc.), going back to reading a book from cover to cover is a completely different approach from what you're used to. In this case, would it be easier to try to read books just like you usually read, possibly in a non-linear order, starting with what seems to be more important?

I know too many people who seem to struggle with reading, simply because they have this idea ingrained in them that they have to read the whole book, from the first page to the end. Even if you're a good reader, it's not clear you want to read a book like this when it's still of unknown quality to you.

See also: the levels of reading mentioned in How to Read a Book[0].

[0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_to_Read_a_Book

Re: Internet addiction and the habit of book reading

#256

Post by BMorearty »

CubsFan1060 wrote: post #226
ivansavz wrote: post #205

I'd like to share two hacks that have made a big difference for me: /1/ black-hole certain websites in /etc/hosts, see here for details https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29217297 /2/ making the computer read books to me using the text-to-speech feature. See here for instructions to setup keyboard shortcut for Mac OS users https://docs.google.com/document/d/1mApa60zJA8rgEm6T6GF0yIem... and this is the command line…

For 1, I use Focus: https://heyfocus.com/ It used to be much cheaper, but it really helps to stop the surfing urges for a time. Well, not stop them so much as force me to realize when I have them.

SelfControl is a nicely done, free open source program that does the same thing. https://selfcontrolapp.com/. Code: https://github.com/SelfControlApp/selfcontrol/

Re: Internet addiction and the habit of book reading

#257

Post by hiq »

Brajeshwar wrote: post #89

If one wants to read more and willing to try few ideas, here are few that works for me and our family. - Have physical books always around — at your desk, bookshelf, bedside table, etc. My current ratio is roughly 1:4 of physical against Kindle. - Read multiple books at a time. - If you get bored, don’t feel like finishing a book; let it go. May be you can come back to it later. - Always try to carry your Kindle or o…

> - She gets ₹100 for every book she finishes regardless of genres but ₹500 for any non-fiction documentary-ish like a biography of a great person.

Are you sure that's a good idea? At least at one point, pecuniary incentives for children for "good" behavior were considered harmful to their education, but maybe that has changed.

Re: Internet addiction and the habit of book reading

#258

Post by chernevik »

The Internet is quite new, smartphones are newer still. We're still working out appropriate usage, and social norms about such usage.

It wouldn't surprise me if, in 2035, looking at your phone in public marks you out as a loser who can't focus on anything.

I think the greatest threat to reading is the evolution of our education systems into factories for conformity and indoctrination.

Re: Internet addiction and the habit of book reading

#259

Post by somesortofthing »

aw9f70gae wrote: post #242
toper-centage wrote: post #233

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's funny you place games in the "bad" side of things, this hich need to be reduced. I group gaming with reading because the kind of games I play require a level of focus and engagement, and my brain rather spend hours scroll HN and Reddit. It really is an uphill battle.

What kind of games? I’d like to stop playing addictive games and start playing games that are better for my mind.

You're probably aware of them but just in case, basically anything by Zachtronics fits the bill.

Re: Internet addiction and the habit of book reading

#260

Post by criddell »

wccrawford wrote: post #126
wincy wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

I also used to read a lot more books when I was younger, and for a while, I read only a couple a year as well. And then I started reading at bedtime. Sometimes that's 10-15 minutes, and sometimes it's an hour. However long it takes to get sleepy. Now I read about a dozen books a year, and if a book really grips me, I'll read it during the day at times, too.

I read at bedtime as well and I kind of wish I never started that. I've trained myself that reading means sleep. At any time of the day if I start reading something long, in ten minutes I'm starting to drift off. Any time I pick up my book to read, I have to step back a few pages and start there because I was in the process of falling asleep and don't really remember the last bit of what I read.
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