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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?

#51

Post by psyc »

spir wrote: post #29

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, th…

I’m the same, and I’ve been struggling with it for a couple of years. I’ve even addressed it in therapy, and it hasn’t helped. The only thing that has helped at all is a site blocker.

Twitter and HN mostly fill me with frustration, loathing, and angst. Like the cigarettes I smoke fill me with tar and carcinogens. Reddit at least I occasionally find something interesting, due to carefully curated subs.

It’s just addiction, nothing more.

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

#53

Post by Dave_TRS »

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…

I'm the same way, keep me away from buffets, cupboards containing sweets, and any newsfeed.

One thing I've founds success with was getting a digital Economist subscription (confession, just a shared password). Having a steady stream of high quality content without paywall nonsense helped me replace my regular trolling around internet with something more useful and less addictive. Perhaps paying a bit for something high quality can help fill void for those dopamine seeking internet impulses.

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

#54

Post by est »

I am so used to Internet since young, and sometimes feel guilty of the time wasted on it. So I spent sometime completely cut off from the online world, go back to books and in-person interactions.

Ironically, books and people kept telling me: why r u hearing this now? It's already all over the Internet.

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

#56

Post by codq »

spir wrote: post #29

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, th…

I am absolutely caught in a loop between refreshing reddit, hopping to twitter, hopping to Instagram, and then back to reddit — a cycle that takes just long enough for all three platforms to re-popluate with more content.

It's not healthy, and I feel bad about it.

They have got me exactly where they want me.

And like you, it's very clear that this is not conducive to human flourishing. Unfortunately, I've been caught in this, and similar loops for so long that I have a hard time knowing what flourishing even looks like anymore.

EDIT: One thing that did help me, for a time, was finding a REALLY good book, one that completely sucked me in—in this case it was David Mitchell's latest, 'Utopia Avenue'. It's been a long time since I found a really fantastic book, when you do, there's nothing better.

And I realized that the next morning, when you wake up after a long evening of reading a good book, you remember it. You remember it as being a great use of time, something you can be proud of.

An evening spent scrolling through social media is never memorable. It's never something you're proud of, something you want to tell people about.

A good night with a good book is a good use of time.

I need to remember this more often, myself.

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

#57

Post by almost_usual »

rambambram wrote: post #7

Do you even lift? I mean that seriously. Lifting heavy weights helps one get rid of all that mental bullshit. It's a cornerstone habit. So lifting can form a base for all other beautiful stuff in your life. It's hard to care about trivial shit on Youtube or Instagram when you just lifted dumbbells until fatigue and did some good squats.

Or you start worrying about RPE / programming and comparing yourself to others.

At least that’s what happened to me. Got very strong over the years, didn’t get much happier, and then would stress out about losing any gains that were made.

Eventually I quit caring and started walking more. I feel the same.

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

#59

Post by haliskerbas »

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…

Thought this was just me and it’s so refreshing to hear. I can never eat just part of a bag of chips. Or save the really good sandwhich for later. Or not drink another coffee because I already had one. Etc. etc

Do lots of other folks experience this? I seem to only have self control when it hurts my job or income, and even then, barely.

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

#60

Post by pde3 »

Split this into two questions:

(1) Why do we procrastinate? (2) What is it about various Internet platforms and patterns that makes them so addictive, and good for procrastination?

For me, (1) turned out to be about not having a clear picture of what exactly I needed to do next for my goals, and sometimes not having enough social reinforcement and accountability for the things I'm working on; (2) there are lots of tricks and accidents that have made modern platforms really addictive, but one of the big ones is uncertain reward. I reload all sorts of things hoping for something new and interesting. Noticing that pattern is the first step to damping it.

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