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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?

#211

Post by XCSme »

haliskerbas wrote: post #59
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.

It's common.

We tend to keep doing what we are already doing (an inertia of sorts). If we are eating, we keep on eating (even if we are not hungry anymore) until an external factor stops us (e.g. the food is over).

Changing states (starting/stopping) is the hardest part, but if you trick yourself somehow to stop it's easy to just put the food aside. The question that remain is how do you stop yourself from doing what you are currently doing? Some people use an "1,2,3 technique", where you just count to yourself and once you reach three you start doing what's needed. Mindfulness also helps, where you take a breath and think exactly what you are doing and why (I am eating, I am putting my hand in the bag of chips, I am bringing the chip to my mouth even if I am not hungry and don't even enjoy it that much, this would just make me feel fat afterwards).

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

#212

Post by uuyi »

skocznymroczny wrote: post #202
haliskerbas wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

An easy way to have self control is to switch to a keto-like diet. You don't even have to count calories and carbs in most cases. There's a variant called lazy keto, where you just stick to approved foods and don't need to count. It's surprisingly hard to overeat on things like cauliflower and pork chops. Be wary however of the more "extreme" advice on keto-like diets. You don't have to stuff yourself with fats, or p…

This is terrible advice. Any fads are. Ketogenic diets are not good for you in any way.

Bad behaviour starts with acknowledgement and the best way to do that is to track what you eat and learn to adapt slowly and develop self discipline. Use a tracker app and set a reasonable daily break even nutritional target and start thinking about what you eat. Slowly substitute better choices in. Eventually you will develop self control.

People want quick fixes but keto just breaks other things.

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

#213

Post by fabk »

There is something in the animal brain that enjoys _variable reinforcement_ more than other kinds of behavioral reinforcement.

I am not an expert, but if something gives you a reward _partially randomly_ -- e.g., the one cool (or otherwise captivating) post on Facebook that sometimes comes out of the 200 you scrolled through -- this kind of reinforcement produces the behaviors most resistant to extinction.

See "Effects of different types of simple schedules" on https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reinforcement.

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

#214

Post by chefandy »

This sounds like a major depressive episode. A very experienced psychologist recently told me that even folks with no hint of mental health trouble started having a hard time with motivation and mood in the pandemic, but many with existing tendencies towards depressive states were plunged straight into oblivion. Talk therapy and medication can be a big help, but CBT exercises can also help if you're against using medication and can't imagine going into a deep dive about your feelings with a therapist. Even if it's not depression, this poster should talk to a psychologist. They're not able to right the ship themselves which doesn't bode well for it improving on its own. Finding a therapist sucks but telemedicine is more accessible than ever at this point.

As an aside— folks love dismissing mental health concerns by saying things like "everybody has a hard time getting motivated." That completely ignores the scope of the problem— it's no different from telling someone their motorcycle accident is no big deal because kids fall off their bikes all the time. There's a boatload of peer reviewed research out there that discusses the debilitating effects of depression. Go read it if you're skeptical— I'm not your research assistant.

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

#215

Post by [deleted] »

haliskerbas wrote: post #59
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.

[deleted]

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

#216

Post by XCSme »

> Why do you waste so much time on the internet?

Because our brain doesn't like to get bored. We need to constantly do things. Also, the brain doesn't really like to start doing the right thing because that feels too much like work, even though once we start being productive we do feel good and enjoy it.

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

#218

Post by bradstewart »

kurofune wrote: post #128

>sometimes i wonder why do i waste so much of time on internet I enjoy my time on the internet and I treasure it as a tool for reaching new intellectual heights but not in a straightforward fashion. I speak two languages more than my own native one thanks to the time "wasted" on the internet shitposting on imageboards & forums, watching JP vtuber clips and anime, playing CRPGs or MMORPGs, etc... and that's just the o…

I don't think OP is implying all time on the internet is wasted. Or that we are meant to always be productive.

Speaking personally, I think all of the time I spent gaming and "hanging out" in specific internet/gaming circles when I was younger was hugely valuable. I think some portion of the time I currently spend reading HN is valuable.

But there are absolutely times where I want to be doing something productive, to be accomplishing a task, but I mindlessly browse the internet instead.

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

#220

Post by pugets »

sarsway wrote: post #124

Because we humans have a lot of idle time. We feel like we're wasting it, and we feel we should instead spend time archiving goals, to better ourselves, to do something more meaningful. But that is not how life works. You are just unnecessarily burden yourself with guilt. Thinking you should be doing something else. There are so many things to learn about, so many things to experience, right? We fear on missing out o…

Maybe that’s true, but it doesn’t provide me with any comfort. I’m only going to live once. When I’m old and bound to a chair (hopefully due to frailty and not because a psychiatrist strapped me to it), I want to feel like I achieved something more than a passive human existence.

All these hours spent consuming forgettable garbage on Reddit, YouTube, Facebook, and in video games… these are hours not spent learning recipes, making music, writing programs, lifting weights, or practicing Spanish. If I could channel my energy towards these things, then the long-term payoff would be much more enriching. Not only that, but I’d probably be a happier person if I was disconnected from whatever daily drama social media wants me to care about.

If I spend the next 10 years of my life the way I spent the last 10, I’ll approach my midlife with no discernible talents, ambitions, or meaningful lived experiences.

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