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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?

#371

Post by darkerside »

chrsig wrote: post #228
darkerside wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 subjec…

I find HN with its moderation to be night and day difference from many other forums.

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

#373

Post by 331c8c71 »

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…

Excellent points and a fresh perspective.

We should be happy we have a few hours to "waste". Enjoy it instead of punishing yourself pointlessly.

If you wish to force yourself into a habit of doing something else instead -- take steps but also question the intent.

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

#374

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?

#375

Post by bvinc »

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…

Everyone else replying to you is trying to convince you with arguments that reddit isn't a good use of your time. As you already know, this won't work. You're already convinced.

The only thing that works is a site blocker. It actually works. Convince yourself that the block is permanent. Delete the app. This of course won't completely stop you, because you could always unblock yourself. But it'll stop you from mindlessly pulling up reddit.

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

#376

Post by nebulous_two »

tlokas wrote: post #266
criddell wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For me it depends on how my day is going. When I first read about willpower being an exhaustible resource, it totally aligned with my experience. A few years later I read that those ego depletion studies had been invalidated and that surprised me. Running out of willpower seems like something I experience.

That is my experience too. But it might be something that is subjectively felt, and people then attributed it to be something that depletes. Even if the depletion is invalidated, the subjective feeling might however still be valid. --- If I should suggest another possibility on the spot, I would suggest mental fatigue. You get tired of denying yourself things the same way you get tired of denying your kid pestering y…

It might be worth thinking about what it is that is being depleted, exactly. When I "run out of willpower" it doesn't really feel the same as when I "simply cannot do it anymore". If I lift a weight enough times, eventually I simply can't anymore, no matter how much I will it. It's not a decision, like a decision to stop working on a problem. That would be a lack of willpower to continue...?

Is there really a mental equivalent to physical exhaustion that leaves us beyond the ability to make a decision? Is that what running out of willpower would be?

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

#377

Post by soared »

Crabber wrote: post #330
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…

>Watch some livestreams of lions on youtube, what do they do? 99% of the time they just sit under a tree doing absolutely nothing, and I bet they don't feel guilty about it Lions are at peace with the world. They sit around with clear minds, watching nature go by. They are content with the world and their place within it. This is absolutely not the same as a human who spends 4 hours a day doomscrolling through twitte…

The point is that lions are chasing down prey 100% of the time, and so humans also don’t need to be actively doing something 100% of the time either. Doomscrolling isn’t a great example, but is comparable to the leisure of lions.

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

#378

Post by drpotato »

senjin wrote: post #322

I know exactly why I do it and it feels impossible to stop. I scroll endlessly to avoid the pain of everything else in life. Doing work, doing chores, doing hobbies, talking to anyone, making decisions even about projects I'm excited to work on, it all causes a small hit of emotional pain. I don't really know where this pain comes from either. Maybe some childhood trauma that I can't even remember? I don't know. The…

Mate, if you haven’t already, go talk with a therapist. I’ve struggled with avoidance my entire adult life – avoiding awkwardness, pain, risk, “bad”emotions, difficult conversations, conflict – and talking with a professional has really helped me.

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

#379

Post by jordanpg »

senjin wrote: post #322

I know exactly why I do it and it feels impossible to stop. I scroll endlessly to avoid the pain of everything else in life. Doing work, doing chores, doing hobbies, talking to anyone, making decisions even about projects I'm excited to work on, it all causes a small hit of emotional pain. I don't really know where this pain comes from either. Maybe some childhood trauma that I can't even remember? I don't know. The…

I believe the sociologists of the future are going to look back at this era and cite the manifest lack of meaning in human life as source of the ennui that is the subject of this thread.

For a long time, religion filled this void, but for almost everyone, it no longer does. I don't even think most people who hold themselves out as religious really find any significant meaning there -- not doubting their sincerity, only the compatibility of those beliefs with modern secular realities.

It is simply true that it is a simple matter to learn enough about what we know about the universe to know, somewhere in the back of your mind, consciously or unconsciously, that none of this means anything. And the rest follows. It is garden-variety Camus' Sisyphus.

I believe this results in a void in our primate brains that is inadequately filled by anything yet available. We are in a transitory period where we are looking for true secular meaning to replace what we evolved with.

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

#380

Post by [deleted] »

metadat wrote: post #242
taurusnoises wrote: post #241

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 singl…

We like thought provoking discussion.

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