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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?

#151

Post by grvdrm »

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…

Are there entire feeds that you've deemed too wasteful? I get that you can slash much of what you look at on Twitter and still get what you want.

But what about things like Instagram, TikTok, etc. - did you delete those apps altogether or also aggressively trim (if you use them)?

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

#152

Post by dcatx »

The folks building the internet are very, very good at exploiting our weak points to keep us scrolling.

I've recently gotten way more aggressive about managing my screen time because I realized I had become incapable of just sitting in silence and peacefully focusing on a single task — even while working I was constantly using my phone to open Reddit or Twitter or Discord, for reasons that I couldn't explain. My brain needed constant dopamine hits to function and spending more than a few minutes on any particular task was extremely difficult.

I've had a lot of success recently by leaving my phone in another room and replacing as much of my non-work screen time as possible with slow, screen-less activity — writing in a notebook, reading real books, walking through the neighborhood (with my phone left at home), gardening, cooking. Basic stuff, but all things that had gradually disappeared from my life as my smart phone and laptop took over every part of my brain.

The first few weeks of this were pretty tough, I was constantly looking to where my phone normally would have been and I had to relearn how to just focus on one thing at a time. Now that I'm in the groove my brain feels dramatically more clear and calm and the urge to grab my phone every 30 seconds has mostly faded away. I'm getting more comfortable feeling "bored" again. As a bonus, I've regained my ability to read novels — I've read more fiction this year than I did in the last 10 years combined.

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

#153

Post by ehnto »

acwan93 wrote: post #133
aantix wrote: post #42

I wonder if this is because we're lonely..? Just wondering out loud here. E.g. Twitter - feels like many of the "thought leaders" I follow, their "friends" are also on Twitter. And they tweet/respond so much I often wonder if they're really ever "building a business". And are they ever interacting with their real-world friends or family? Or if their lives just consist of a constant refresh of their feed. Even at dinn…

I've read that the decline of religion also plays a role here. Aside from the religious aspect, the sense of community and regularity you get meeting the same people on a regular basis is lost. It's kind of the mix of a loss of "third place" (institutions, coffee shops, etc.) and the increase of social media bubbles that pushes us to be more polarized, I think.

The only place I've gotten the regularity feeling of a third place was a really specific gym I used to both work and train at. Everyone knew who I was even if I didn't train with them, because I also worked there, so when I trained there it was my third place as well and I was always having great conversations.

I haven't had anything like it since, and I've been relatively proactive too. I have hobbies, go to meets, and go to the same coffee shops and restaurants so often that they know my order, but there is always this barrier between everyone, like no-one needs eachother because they have their phones. I ride the same bike park twice a week and go to the gym every couple of days, but I moved on to a 24/7 gym and everyone is buried in their phones, and I don't see the same people twice at the bike park. Me and the cleaner always have a great yarn though, I appreciate that.

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

#154

Post by emadabdulrahim »

devmor wrote: post #142

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.

I'm curious, do you feel the motives for your voracious information digest are positive or negative? By that I mean, do you feel you're making up for something by wanting to learn as much as you can about different subjects? perhaps some kind of insecurity? Or is it just good old curiosity about the world and trying to be less ignorant each passing day?

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

#157

Post by dotnet00 »

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 noticed the same about myself and have been doing something similar. I haven't been as focused on cutting down things I follow (actually even increasing), instead just paying attention to what I find valuable and aggressively cutting out everything I either dislike or find superfluous and spammy (eg if I see the same post multiple times on my reddit feed, I'll quickly check the poster's profile, if they spam the same content on several subreddits regularly I'll block them even if the content is something I enjoy).

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

#158

Post by criddell »

dbalatero wrote: post #106
twobitshifter wrote: post #81

Has anyone tried?: * Using an apple cellular watch and leaving your phone at home * Using a smaller phone like an iphone mini * Using a lower tech feature phone * Using screentime And found success that way?

Yes, I use an Apple Watch for maps/subway directions and a flip phone for my phone. Works well, best of both worlds. Apple Watch is hard to waste time on due to the cramped UI.

Do you also have an iPhone that you just leave at home?

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

#159

Post by wrycoder »

rvbissell wrote: post #91
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 almost never regret time spent reading a book. But I frequently regret time spent on Reddit/Youtube/Twitter, even if I enjoyed the content at the time.

I'm more likely these days (as the decades pile up) to deliberately stop reading a book, if it hasn't engaged me by the time I've read 20% of it. Of course, many never get started, once I do a quick scan.

I estimated how many more books I would likely read before I die, and it's a shockingly small number, even though I read a lot! So - choose wisely.

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