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Why do you waste so much time on the internet?

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Re: Why do you waste so much time on the internet?

#21

Post by dcchambers »

My completely unprofessional opinion is that almost everyone that uses the internet throughout the day has developed some form of undiagnosed ADD/ADHD.

The modern internet has broken our slowly evolved brains. We are not built to cope with these types of attention destroying activities and media. At least 20 years ago you had to sit down at a specific place and use a chunky computer. Smartphones have made it 1000x worse.

There's no easy solution. I don't think becoming a digital luddite is the answer...but we all need to be more intentional with our time.

It's not the only answer, but Cal Newport's book Digital Minimalism^1 is a good read for anyone that finds themself feeling this way.

[1]: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40672036-digital-minimal...

Re: Why do you waste so much time on the internet?

#22

Post by jansan »

dailyplanet wrote: post #5

If it annoys you, then you're probably an extrovert. I am an introvert and I like being alone and being able to choose how much I self-express and communicate. In person, I do not have as much choice about my time and energy commitment in front of company if I want to be polite. It's just easier for me to manage my social bandwidth while being on the internet.

I think he is more annoyed of being unproductive, i.e. wasting time on social media instead of getting work done. I am more of an introvert and love working alone, but I hate looking back at a day and realizing that I spent most of my time lurking on certain wensites instead of implementing that undo functionality which I had originally planned.

Re: Why do you waste so much time on the internet?

#23

Post by senectus1 »

dcchambers wrote: post #21

My completely unprofessional opinion is that almost everyone that uses the internet throughout the day has developed some form of undiagnosed ADD/ADHD. The modern internet has broken our slowly evolved brains. We are not built to cope with these types of attention destroying activities and media. At least 20 years ago you had to sit down at a specific place and use a chunky computer. Smartphones have made it 1000x wo…

information/stimulation addiction is a thing....

Re: Why do you waste so much time on the internet?

#24

Post by leodriesch »

I’ve been thinking about this for some time, since so many people (including me) seem to struggle with this, even while being completely aware of our behavior.

I think legislation should force social networks to:

- have a reverse chronological timeline for your network

- optionally disable any algorithmic recommendations

Social Media companies are mostly unrestricted in the current legislation system while they are trying their hardest to maximize user engagement.

Just like the use of certain drugs this something some people can’t responsively deal with themselves, hence it should be regulated.

And probably my idea is not very fleshed out, but I think something has to be done, and it has to come from states as the companies themselves can’t be held responsible.

Re: Why do you waste so much time on the internet?

#26

Post by alisonkisk »

dcchambers wrote: post #21

My completely unprofessional opinion is that almost everyone that uses the internet throughout the day has developed some form of undiagnosed ADD/ADHD. The modern internet has broken our slowly evolved brains. We are not built to cope with these types of attention destroying activities and media. At least 20 years ago you had to sit down at a specific place and use a chunky computer. Smartphones have made it 1000x wo…

is it ADD or is it just a common pattern of human nature?

Is eating sugar when it is offered a disease, or an environment that is toxic to instincts that usee to suit us well?

Re: Why do you waste so much time on the internet?

#27

Post by DanHulton »

I'm surprised nobody's mentioned ADHD yet. It's not clear-cut or anything, but I recently just went through diagnosis and testing and mentioned this behavior. For me, I tend to resort to this behavior when I can't summon the focus to work on things I know I SHOULD be doing, so I end up scrolling for hours instead, because there's so much less inertia to overcome there.

It may be worth talking with your family doctor about. If so, there's medication and/or targeted coaching that can help significantly.

Re: Why do you waste so much time on the internet?

#28

Post by leodriesch »

Apreche wrote: post #17

Just speaking for myself, I've noticed that my habit is to eat what is in front of me, and clean my plate. I mean this both literally and figuratively. If I have dessert in the house, like a bag of chocolate, then I eat one after dinner. If I don't have it in the house, then I just don't eat dessert. If I have a social media feed full of content, then I'll scroll through all of it until there's nothing else that's ne…

Doing the same, but this does not really apply for algorithmic feeds.

When you open YouTube the recommendations are always the first thing you see, same for TikTok and Twitter (although at least you can configure it there).

Sure you can say “just don’t use recommendation systems” just as you can say “just don’t go on YouTube”.

Re: Why do you waste so much time on the internet?

#29

Post by spir »

I am addicted to twitter and reddit. Especially reddit. It often takes the place of reading, hobbies, quiet moments, improving my home, talking with my spouse, and playing with my baby.

When reddit records a click or an upvote, it thinks it has been a Good Product, and created Engagement. Reddit then takes those feedback loops and tunes the algorithm and feedback loops to create further engagement.

But in reality, there's almost no positive relationship between my engagement with social media and my personal human flourishing. I think these products are mostly poison for my soul.

Re: Why do you waste so much time on the internet?

#30

Post by dan12ha »

zelias wrote: post #10

Hits a little close to home. I'm sure I'm not the only one, and anyone who speaks out about this should be applauded. Years from now we will still be examining the after effects of years spent at the mercy of addictive user engagement algorithms.

Well done, you have condensed and encapsulated the problem into a single line. This is evil corps motto, "Keeping you at the mercy of our addictive user engagement algorithms since 20xx".
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