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YouTube addiction, one month sober

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Re: YouTube addiction, one month sober

#141

Post by mtlmtlmtlmtl »

_xivi wrote: post #134

Once I was aware of the amount of psychology tactics that goes behind youtube channels, I've come to the realization that I'm not "chilling" while on Youtube, more like being targeted by psychopaths. I heard MrBeast on a podcast (the flagrant) describing the formula they developed to manufacture `captivating` content, how they make multiple thumbnails and A/B tests which one is more engaging, and all the effort and p…

Vsauce is the saddest one for me. It used to be really interesting long form(at least back then it was "long form", now several hours long videos are fairly common in that space) educational content, now it's just spamming shorts in order to sell their subscription boxes full of toys.

Re: YouTube addiction, one month sober

#143

Post by edg5000 »

timeforcomputer wrote: post #122

I feel like something bad is happening and I am unsure how much of this is me being negative. I "quit" the internet in late 2018 due to severe addiction and years-long disengagement in my hobbies (reading, programming, thinking, music, art, ...) and only recently have started reintroducing it into my life, for example, catching up with what people do on YouTube, trying to get an idea of "what people are talking about…

With the larger platforms, the more you use the platform the more specific the feed or recommendations become. What you describe sounds indeed like the surface level feed that a new or logged out account would get. Ignore all feeds and search for specific things, such as collision detection. Then you will come across genuinely good channels which you can subscribe to. The feed will then no longer show those crappy superficial popular topics. However the YouTube Shorts has an insanely addictive nature, I regret every second spent in that feature. To contrast, the rest of youtube contains so much useful educational content. I really learned a lot thanks to these videos. In the last two years I stopped watching regular videos and started watching Shorts, which I find truly regrettable.

Re: YouTube addiction, one month sober

#144

Post by mnky9800n »

webdoodle wrote: post #115
futureshock wrote: post #46

It’s bit weird, but I feel like this conversation about screen time and digital addiction dropped out of the public consciousness during Covid, never to return. Apple released their screen time features in 2018, so this issue was just starting to hit critical mass right as Covid hit and dumped us all deep down the digital rabbit hole. Now I notice even more social proof to keep going deeper into the digital life. Pub…

I've seen the opposite. I drastically reduced my smartphone and online time a couple years before Covid, but completely ditched my phone at the end of 2019. It took a few years before I met anyone with my level of dedication, but now I meet them every few months. Most are tech or ex-tech employees, but some are just closer to retirement.

I have to many two factor authentications that for some reason only use Google or Microsoft apps. Also there's bankid but I guess that still can use a key fob for the time being. Otherwise I would be happy to get rid of my phone.

Re: YouTube addiction, one month sober

#145

Post by nomius10 »

farleykr wrote: post #35

One thing that made a huge difference for me was turning of my watch history. If you do that you get a message on the homepage saying that it can't recommend videos until you turn on your watch history. Not very visually pleasing but it keeps me from scrolling through recommendations and now I only watch videos when a channel I follow puts out new content or when I choose to specifically search for something.

I want to point out that you can do a similar thing on reddit too. There's a setting for disabling recommended posts on the home tab. Combine that with unsubscribing to all subreddits (maybe except /r/nosurf) and you get a detoxified home tab.

I tried to do something similar with twitter (now known as X), but it doesn't seem to work.

Re: YouTube addiction, one month sober

#146

Post by winternett »

futureshock wrote: post #46

It’s bit weird, but I feel like this conversation about screen time and digital addiction dropped out of the public consciousness during Covid, never to return. Apple released their screen time features in 2018, so this issue was just starting to hit critical mass right as Covid hit and dumped us all deep down the digital rabbit hole. Now I notice even more social proof to keep going deeper into the digital life. Pub…

It feels like I haven't logged onto it in ages... Chrome pushed an update that made me have to log in and do TFA each time I opened the browser, and that was a nail in the coffin.

The best content on YouTube is berried behind a wall of Mr Beast and Pewdie Pie style fluffery that I can't find any real value in most of the time. They dictate what is favorable, and that ruins the entire experience for me. The search has been flooded with SEO title spam, which makes finding specific content damn near impossible and/or very tedious.

I don't think you can be addicted to a hammer if it's a highly functional tool in getting work done. I don't think you can get addicted to a television if it's a tool used for relaxation or entertainment. I think we need to stop considering that apps become addictive, and really speak on if they manage to deliver on their promises and functional purposes.... Just my opinion.

Most apps become extremely annoying after years of being highly functional, and that represents corporate corruption more so than having an addictive product. It's not addicting if it does not fulfill a valid purpose when it begins to charge money for ad laced content or repeatedly waste people's time, apps cease to be useful after that point.

Re: YouTube addiction, one month sober

#147

Post by carlosjobim »

themagician wrote: post #90
futureshock wrote: post #46

It’s bit weird, but I feel like this conversation about screen time and digital addiction dropped out of the public consciousness during Covid, never to return. Apple released their screen time features in 2018, so this issue was just starting to hit critical mass right as Covid hit and dumped us all deep down the digital rabbit hole. Now I notice even more social proof to keep going deeper into the digital life. Pub…

Social media is no longer just some activity you do. For many, it has become a way of life. Their income and livelihood relies on it. Many children growing up today aspire to be popular on social media. What happens on social media has become part of their core identity. It will only accelerate from here.

Social media has been the only open venue for young people for a while now, where the door to success is not closed and welded shut by old folks. Sure, all those likes and followers will not give them any monetary benefit to speak of, but neither does working or having a career.

If it was conceivable to raise in the ranks and get good compensation and respect by hard and diligent work, young people would be very interested. But that's not been the case for a long time. Young people will always flock to where they can succeed on their own merits, wether that was being a soldier, sailing in the merchant fleet, digging for gold, acting, business, technology, etc.

Re: YouTube addiction, one month sober

#148

Post by reidjs »

DougN7 wrote: post #87
futureshock wrote: post #46

It’s bit weird, but I feel like this conversation about screen time and digital addiction dropped out of the public consciousness during Covid, never to return. Apple released their screen time features in 2018, so this issue was just starting to hit critical mass right as Covid hit and dumped us all deep down the digital rabbit hole. Now I notice even more social proof to keep going deeper into the digital life. Pub…

The casino scene in the Percy Jackson movie [1] (and book) have always seemed hauntingly accurate to me as far as describing much of modern life. The thing we all have a finite amount of is time, and we’re increasingly distracted to where we waste more and more of it on unimportant, artificial digital worlds/life while the real world passes by. As I’m getting older, I’m seeing how precious youth, energy, and health a…

I am completely lost as to how that clip corresponds to anything mentioned thus far...

Re: YouTube addiction, one month sober

#149

Post by jjulius »

xyst wrote: post #69

I can put away social media. But I can’t put away my phone due to how everything is digital now - bank, health, travel.

Genuinely curious - aside from, say, 2FA, what do you need your phone for for those services that you can't do via the web on a laptop or desktop? I'm not trying to be confrontational, I'm just thinking through how I use bank/health/travel services and am struggling to think of something that can only be done via a mobile app.

I've forced myself to go laptop/desktop-only with most services and have found that I can keep my phone away from my person for most of the day, save for moments where a service requires 2FA.

Re: YouTube addiction, one month sober

#150

Post by slothtrop »

data_ders wrote: post #11

I’m so addicted to the internet that when I block social media, I find I get quite the similar fix from work Slack. Like browsing channels I have no business being a part of and constantly checking for validation of my comments via emoji reactions. Does anyone know of ways to be a successful work-from-home knowledge worker while also locking down Slack to not be another slot machine?? Does anyone else feel conflicted…

You have to deliberately make time for, and schedule, other activities away from your machine. Otherwise your idle time on the machine will just be spent on similar cheap thrills that are either glorified social media or feeds.

I walk, read books, exercise, cook, and spend social time with others. If I'm not exhausted I'll also practice my instrument and write. Eventually you won't have to think about it too much just by avoiding excess screen-time, but until such a point, owing to habit and conditioning, one feels very lost going without.

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