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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?

#221

Post by agumonkey »

tayo42 wrote: post #204
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 think pod casts just replaced radio. I don't think that's as interesting of a phenomenon as youre suggesting.

i don't know why everything old feels like it had more flesh, even with the limitation and flaws (conflict of interests etc)

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

#222

Post by sdo72 »

I think the internet just feeds what most people want or our minds want. It can be in a form of happiness, agreement, entertainment, etc... It's just part of spending time on things that we like to do. It may be considered as wasteful to some, but may not since that's what we want.

There are many people who have tried to quit and eventually gotten back because life out there may be boring, at least to their mind temporarily.

Until there're some serious conditions that cripple our physical bodies, then we consider some changes.

I think it's all a part of living things. We don't normally say "why does human waste so much time on earth?"

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

#223

Post by modinfo »

Honestly I have the same problem, but I found a very simple solution to be productive.

The problem is not the internet itself, but a fast internet that allows you to watch videos.

A simple and yet very effective solution is to have 64kbps internet, at first sight it sounds absurd, but actually it's a very good solution for people who want to be productive, with such internet you can easily browse the most important sites like Stackoverflow/GitHub/HN, download packages from npmjs or use IRC/SSH.

I've been working on 64kbps for two years now and if it wasn't so, I wouldn't get as much as I did thanks to the low speed internet.

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

#224

Post by dawidw »

uuyi wrote: post #212
skocznymroczny wrote: post #202

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 sel…

What is so bad about keto diet?

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

#225

Post by trash_cat »

joaomacp wrote: post #125
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.

It may be a common trait in programmers, since we're rewarded by getting to the bottom of things: "why is this function failing? who calls it? in which possible states?" Most programmers have experienced being so immersed in code that we don't notice time is passing, forgetting to eat or sleep. It's similar with immersion in social media / food / whatever. We become lost in the activity and lose our sense of self. I'…

It's worth mentioning that conscientiousness is a personality trait that's part of the "big five" personalities traits. It's a personality trait brouping that is supported by evidence [1] unlike Myers Briggs [2].

[1] https://www.simplypsychology.org/big-five-personality.html

[2] https://www.theguardian.com/science/brain-flapping/2013/mar/...

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

#226

Post by agumonkey »

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…

There were a few points in my life where:

- I forgot how time could pass outside of internet. Days were flying in-house.. yet everytime I walked to anything 5mi away.. suddenly I felt like I lived a whole life yet only 1 hour had passed.

- It reached a point where when my ISP was failing, seeing the internet box being solidly offline dilated time in the blink of an eye. I had a giant "oh god yes." screamed by my brain because I felt free.. no more F5/refresh of stuff that only satisfied me shallowly and forbid mind wandering or in-depth activities. Stunning effect an electronic pipe..

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

#227

Post by jbverschoor »

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…

We are just monkeys smashing buttons in front of us

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

#228

Post by chrsig »

darkerside wrote: post #115
psyc wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 addic…

Unfollow everybody on Twitter. Why does HN bother you like that?

There are a lot of incredibly frustrating, problematic, and exasperating opinions and personality types to be found on HN. The particular members of any of those sets will differ based on the eyes of the beholder.

There's no shortage of passive aggression, angst, oneupsmanship,virtue signaling, dogwhistling, etc. It just so happens that there's a sufficient about of incredibly useful opinions and comments from subject matter experts that make it worth consuming in spite of the fact that it's a forum on the internet, and all of the baggage that entails.

(side note: this isn't intended as a dig on HN moderation - you probably all do a better job than most other venues. kudos.)

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

#229

Post by IntFee588 »

psyc wrote: post #51
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 addic…

For me, reddit is the one that gets me angry. It's addicting, but also seems like teenagers and bots arguing with it each other. Instagram is increasingly inundated with ads, but at least I get to see thirst traps and cute animals.

Youtube is the only social media site that I think is a net positive on my life, because I learn so much, but I've started going for runs again because I really need time away from a screen and the constant dopamine hits.

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

#230

Post by bsder »

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.

> I can never eat just part of a bag of chips.

To me, part of it is being mindful. Don't open the bag of chips and then watch a movie or surf the net while munching on them. You will eat the whole bag.

If I mode change from sitting in front of the computer to standing in the kitchen eating the chips and then mode change to back in front of the computer, I don't mindlessly consume the whole bag. But I will still sometimes consume the whole bag.

One thing I have also tried to do is differentiate between "I want chips because I'm hungry" vs "I want chips because I'm craving salt". It's not easy for me to tell the difference. I coat some baby carrots in salt or Old Bay seasoning and munch a few--if that keeps the munchies away, my body wanted salt. If I'm hungry again 15 minutes later, well, my body wants calories.

Nevertheless, I'm mostly in the camp of "Just don't have chips/cookies in the house". It also helps that I learned to bake as a child. I like tasty desserts, and most of what now exists is mostly sugar overload with no flavor. So, a dessert easily sets off my "Is this dessert tasty enough to merit skipping two entire steaks to compensate?" And, if my that activates, the answer is almost always a resounding "No." and I skip dessert.

Unfortunately for me, I found a middle eastern place that does homemade Baklava with a cream filling. It's right next to a Mexican restaurant that I also find quite nice. This is a bad thing for my waistline.

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