I'm repeatedly amazed by what makes it to the front page on HN. I'm not judging, really I'm not, but this is the first post on a blog (so, basically unknown) and is essentially two paragraphs asking "why is it so hard to not stare at the internet all day?" I'm stoked for the author to be getting some HN love, but what about this deserves such an esteemed placement on HN??? It's literally the same question every single person is asking and has probably posted a thousand times before.
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?
#242I'm repeatedly amazed by what makes it to the front page on HN. I'm not judging, really I'm not, but this is the first post on a blog (so, basically unknown) and is essentially two paragraphs asking "why is it so hard to not stare at the internet all day?" I'm stoked for the author to be getting some HN love, but what about this deserves such an esteemed placement on HN??? It's literally the same question every singl…
We like thought provoking discussion.
Re: Why do you waste so much time on the internet?
#243Dopamine addiction. Thank you for attending my TED talk.
Re: Why do you waste so much time on the internet?
#244I'm repeatedly amazed by what makes it to the front page on HN. I'm not judging, really I'm not, but this is the first post on a blog (so, basically unknown) and is essentially two paragraphs asking "why is it so hard to not stare at the internet all day?" I'm stoked for the author to be getting some HN love, but what about this deserves such an esteemed placement on HN??? It's literally the same question every singl…
We like thought provoking discussion.
As do I. I'm just genuinely curious how this caught people's eye. There's no way through the sea of "content" that these two paras could stick out without an artificial boost.
Re: Why do you waste so much time on the internet?
#245Re: Why do you waste so much time on the internet?
#246A big part of the problem: brain plasticity. (Which, ironically, I read about on the internet....) But the idea is if you're doing a lot of one thing, your brain adapts. So if that one thing is "quickly scrolling headlines" or "consuming bursts of updates," over time your brain just atunes itself to that form of stimulation. If that's true, who knows how far it will lead? I was on jury duty, and spoke to the prosecut…
The positive side of plasticity is that your brain can also re-adapt fairly quickly to a lower (healthier) level of stimulation if you can get over the initial hump.
My understanding is that most of this is regulated by dopamine, and your dopamine system needs time to reset in order to adapt to new patterns. In the meantime, it's normal to feel bored or lacking in motivation; that's part of the reset process and you just need to wait it out.
Personally, I've found it's easiest to change habits and patterns via some sort of healthy distraction that takes my mind off whatever I'm trying to change. Travel, getting into a new hobby/project, or starting a really good book are all great for this.
Andrew Huberman goes into this stuff in depth in his podcast, especially this episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmOF0crdyRU
Re: Why do you waste so much time on the internet?
#247I had to reach a point where I admitted to myself that, as much as I may wish I were a person who could handle having a smartphone in my pocket, I'm not. If I have one there, it will suck up time I don't want to give it. I tried putting all kinds of guides in place until I just...got a flip phone that, yeah, can run Android apps, but absolutely sucks to use. It doesn't have a touch screen, so I have to navigate with…
I agree completely, the only reliable way to quit using a smartphone is to stop carrying one. I don't know why we apply such different thinking to digital addictions than physical ones. You would never tell someone who was trying to quit smoking "just carry a pack of cigarettes and a lighter everywhere but don't use them".
Because we still need certain utilities on our phone, like Maps and Music and Search and Camera. Those aren't the problems--we still want those things, which are not addictive and fruitful, but we want less of things which are addictive and fruitless, like Twitter and Reddit. Cigarettes have no such essential and positive utility.
Re: Why do you waste so much time on the internet?
#248I have the EXACT same problem. Constantly refreshing and refreshing insta, reddit, hackernews, etc etc. Shameless plug, I built this to try to curb my addiction -> https://github.com/neriymus/Fetcher, maybe it'll help someone else.
Re: Why do you waste so much time on the internet?
#249Because I have absolutely nothing else than work in my life. Staying connected constantly is the only way I excape the dread of the abyss.
Re: Why do you waste so much time on the internet?
#250I think there is a kind of zapping effect with that. The internet is a constantly changing thing with informations constantly added, and our brain is rewarded with a bit of dopamine each time we find a new interesting stuff for us (even very small, and can be completely unconscious) . Not that we will keep our attention to the new found stuff very long, it’s just the fact of finding something new that becomes an unconscious reward, thus this endless zapping.