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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?

#141

Post by vorpalhex »

senectus1 wrote: post #23
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....

No, it's not. This "X is addictive" where X is porn/videogames/making popcorn view is based on a flawed understanding of brain circuitry.

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

#142

Post by devmor »

I am addicted to absorbing information. Always have been. I had textbooks about random subjects as a kid (my favorite was a geology book mainly on Groundwater), and my most used computer program before my family got internet access was an interactive encyclopedia.

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

#145

Post by pythonb3sss »

I wouldn't say I'm addicted to them, but when I find myself bored, I open a meme site (which shall remain unnamed) and just look at mildly popular memes. Doesn't matter what they're about. I just like the occasional laugh I get out of them. I also like social topics being turned into dark, twisted humor which is sometimes captured perfectly in memes.

But when I was going through a rough patch of my life (depression, suicidal tendencies), I would doom scroll said website every free second I could. I just didn't have anything in my life that gave me joy, apart from dark, twisted memes. I'm doing much better now and even though I am an extreme introvert with social anxiety, I find that I have replaced my time that I would spend on that site with time I spend with my colleagues. I still don't have friends, but Rome wasn't built in a day.

Why did I waste so much time on the Internet? If I hadn't, I wouldn't be here. It gave me that much needed laughter every once in a while that kept me from going over the edge and I would just keep scrolling, looking for one more laugh that will make my day a bit more bearable.

Just my experience though. IMO, generally speaking, people are spending more and more time on the internet because the products, or rather the content factories, have become so good at capturing and keeping our attention on them, that in comparison the real world seems bleek and bland.

EDIT: Fixed some grammar. English not native language

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

#146

Post by gigaflop »

Der_Einzige wrote: post #129
the_only_law wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I wonder if this is because people are lonely..? Just wondering out loud here. Discord has propped up my social life for years now. And I mean outside of the internet as well! I also engage in independent, more traditional social engagement and it usually ends in nothing more than a hangover. Not unexpectedly, the internet makes it easier to bring people with similar interests/believes/personalities together. There…

Discord is most likely the most phallocentric large scale platform ever made. It is an abysmally terrible place to go to meet people, and particularly to go argue. Ever seen what the most popular politics server on discord looks like? 4chan is tame by comparison...

Deep rock Galactic is a video game that actually has a decent Discord integration, to the point where I feel like I gain value from being there.

The general chats are whatever, but having a collection of people who may respond to an LFG call is great for when I want a higher-quality batch of compatriots for the more 'hardcore' parts of the game. Plus, they have a bunch of pre-made voice pods that cap at a game's player limit, and have built support for direct-in-Discord lobby invitations.

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

#147

Post by uoaei »

gigaflop wrote: post #87
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 used to spend a lot of time on youtube, in part because I had the free time to spend on it, and had gaps in my schedule that were convenient for watching certain content creators. Since moving into the workforce, my free time is no longer segmented into so many pieces. I don't get as much value as I used to from 10 to 15 minute chunks of entertainment, so I stop keeping up with the sources, and just lose touch. It…

I'm coming to a realization across all facets of my life, where I am interested or engaged in many more things than I have time for. I am starting to prepare myself for the uncomfortable process of sacrificing a few (in fact, many) things I've previously mentally and emotionally invested in, but I know it's going to be a big shift and the dread causes my feet to drag. There's just not enough time... and I don't believe that the solution is "improve focus and productivity" because that's a fast track to burnout and disengagement for all but the most obsessive of minds.

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

#148

Post by whycombinetor »

I read another techno-dystopian rambling within the last 24 hours that this text strongly reminds me of. It even has spelling mistakes too (stratergy).

"i swear its always the days where i cannot help but fall asleep during the day, which always starts as a nap that is supossed to take no more than 20 minutes but ultimately takes more than 2 hours, where i learn something great about myself and feel giddy and silly the rest of the day or utterly destroyed by my own previous obliviousness.... i gott lucky today i took a nap today and feel extremely silly, goofy, and content, the euphoric high of a drained and noided individual..(corny i know but whatever) i swear all the computer generated music and single-wavelength light i see looks and sounds a bit better today.... i think the zuck has infiltrated my brain but i kinda like being online idk about yall... i think i have reached the zenith of what consumer culture and the mall aesthetic inspires in people... i feel as if i have traveled back to the extremely-early 2000s and also simultaneously 50 years in the future..." From the description of this youtube video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCSMaKWzz8Q

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

#150

Post by vorpalhex »

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 would encourage you to not think of this in an addiction framework. Instead think of this as a self medicating framework.

Why are you choosing reddit over spending time your baby? Do you fear handling the baby? Does handling the baby make you feel uncomfortable thoughts or feelings?

Is there something, like ego, that reddit gives you?

This is a good problem for self journaling, working with someone, or whatever your preferred form of self introspection is.

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