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Ask HN: How do you deal with information and internet addiction?

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Re: Ask HN: How do you deal with information and internet addiction?

#171

Post by apatheticonion »

For me it was acquired as a buff to my career growth. The more I learned the more I was worth and it would directly lead me to promotions.

Once I got to a place where I wasn't interested in climbing higher (the stress/dollar isn't worth it for me), I felt a vacuum of inertia.

It's uncomfortable to not be buzzing as that's what I was used to, I associate it with progress and reward.

Without the excuse of upskilling for work, I notice that my scouring and crawling for information is associated with stress in my personal life. It's a something I do to distract myself and procrastinate from dealing with whatever stressor is in front of me.

I have now been trying to focus more on my personal emotional growth and looking for ways I can become a better person. Resisting the allure of distraction and dealing with my stressors head on is hard. I don't have an answer for how to yet, but at this stage I am aware of it and on that journey.

One thing I have come to realise is that life is desperately short and I want to strive to experience it in the best way I am wired to.

Re: Ask HN: How do you deal with information and internet addiction?

#172

Post by labrador »

aloer wrote: post #118
labrador wrote: post #11

I handle it by collecting quotes that tell me to knock it off. I've since started to focus on just the things I really care about: The purpose of knowledge is action, not knowledge. ― Aristotle Knowledge isn't free. You have to pay attention ― Richard Feynman "Information is not truth" ― Yuval Noah Harari If I were the plaything of every thought, I would be a fool, not a wise man. ― Rumi Dhamma is in your mind, not i…

In the context of quotes I will throw in what I read on reddit the other day: Addiction is giving up everything for one thing, sobriety is giving up one thing for everything Unfortunately knowing quotes is not enough to kick the habit. Too much time spent on reddit and HN :/

That's a great quote, probably heard in a meeting

Re: Ask HN: How do you deal with information and internet addiction?

#174

Post by gizajob »

Try to produce as much as I consume. Getting an iPad recently is really helping with this, because I can whip it out during every quiet moment on a train or a tram, and type towards finishing a book I'm working on, rather than doomscrolling instagram which is what everyone else seems to do in that downtime. At least by the end I'll have a bad book out of it, everyone else will have little.

Re: Ask HN: How do you deal with information and internet addiction?

#175

Post by milesjag »

pokler wrote: post #65
milesjag wrote: post #41

Some of the tools which have helped me rediscover my focus and discipline: * Use the CLI for everything - reduce the amount of time you have a browser open * An egg timer - use this every time a tedious task needs completing * A dumb phone - small and minimal functionality, easy to forget about * A watch - stop using your phone for checking the time * Cook your own food - excellent use of time * Exercise - no headpho…

> A dumb phone - small and minimal functionality, easy to forget about This requires more diligence, but can't you create the experience you want on a smart phone (no social media, disable all notifications, etc.) without giving up utilities that provide actual value, such as GPS / navigation? > Exercise - no headphones, a gym provides background music and enough human contact to keep boredom at bay Interesting. I fe…

The practical advantages of tiny dumb phones outweigh the technical disadvantages. There are 2 kinds of trip:

A - I travel across the city to visit friends/family/work or go somewhere far but familiar.

B - I travel across the country or for an extended period of time.

A dumb phone will cover A and a smart phone will cover B. The switching of sims is a non-issue as situation A covers almost all of the time.

For exercise, I just found that eliminating the concern of what to listen to was the real gain

Re: Ask HN: How do you deal with information and internet addiction?

#176

Post by mousetree »

whywhywouldyou wrote: post #150
goldfeld wrote: post #147

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I know it's weird but here has been my ANALOG solution to HN information consumption and even to tab overload (a chronic incurable autoimmune disease I acquired when just leaving my teens, during college life, which may have impeded my growth). I write much, sci-fi and always draft some articles (but never publish), so that keeping up with HN is a sort of reference material building activity, other than it I don't go…

This sounds like a reasonable approach, with an explanation on how you personally execute it. The top comment is just a statement, and a very odd one at that, given the context of the original question.

There’s no need to be dismissive. If these quotes help OP then that’s great. They seem to be helpful to a lot of others here too.

Re: Ask HN: How do you deal with information and internet addiction?

#177

Post by ChocMontePy »

labrador wrote: post #11

I handle it by collecting quotes that tell me to knock it off. I've since started to focus on just the things I really care about: The purpose of knowledge is action, not knowledge. ― Aristotle Knowledge isn't free. You have to pay attention ― Richard Feynman "Information is not truth" ― Yuval Noah Harari If I were the plaything of every thought, I would be a fool, not a wise man. ― Rumi Dhamma is in your mind, not i…

> The purpose of knowledge is action, not knowledge.

> ― Aristotle

If the quote works for you, that's all good.

But for the other people adding it to their quote list, it's unlikely to be a real Aristotle quote. In the Nicomachean Ethics Aristotle concludes that the highest activity of human life is contemplation or speculative thinking.

Re: Ask HN: How do you deal with information and internet addiction?

#178

Post by anilakar »

linkjuice4all wrote: post #43
labrador wrote: post #11

I handle it by collecting quotes that tell me to knock it off. I've since started to focus on just the things I really care about: The purpose of knowledge is action, not knowledge. ― Aristotle Knowledge isn't free. You have to pay attention ― Richard Feynman "Information is not truth" ― Yuval Noah Harari If I were the plaything of every thought, I would be a fool, not a wise man. ― Rumi Dhamma is in your mind, not i…

I'm surprised to not see Pascal's quote in this list: "All of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone" ...but maybe that better sums up OP's issue rather than a solution. Either way you'll need to take steps to make it harder to do the things you're currently doing (e.g. get a dumb phone, set up a firewall rule to block these sites, set a timer) but there might be a deeper underly…

> get a dumb phone

I've found a simple "productivity apps only" policy to be enough. Instant messengers, browser, email, banking app, bus ticket.

Re: Ask HN: How do you deal with information and internet addiction?

#179

Post by [deleted] »

aloer wrote: post #118
labrador wrote: post #11

I handle it by collecting quotes that tell me to knock it off. I've since started to focus on just the things I really care about: The purpose of knowledge is action, not knowledge. ― Aristotle Knowledge isn't free. You have to pay attention ― Richard Feynman "Information is not truth" ― Yuval Noah Harari If I were the plaything of every thought, I would be a fool, not a wise man. ― Rumi Dhamma is in your mind, not i…

In the context of quotes I will throw in what I read on reddit the other day: Addiction is giving up everything for one thing, sobriety is giving up one thing for everything Unfortunately knowing quotes is not enough to kick the habit. Too much time spent on reddit and HN :/

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: How do you deal with information and internet addiction?

#180

Post by flakeoil »

anilakar wrote: post #178
linkjuice4all wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm surprised to not see Pascal's quote in this list: "All of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone" ...but maybe that better sums up OP's issue rather than a solution. Either way you'll need to take steps to make it harder to do the things you're currently doing (e.g. get a dumb phone, set up a firewall rule to block these sites, set a timer) but there might be a deeper underly…

> get a dumb phone I've found a simple "productivity apps only" policy to be enough. Instant messengers, browser, email, banking app, bus ticket.

But the browser has everything.
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