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Internet addiction and the habit of book reading

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Re: Internet addiction and the habit of book reading

#221

Post by trompetenaccoun »

the_af wrote: post #211
ivansavz wrote: post #205

I'd like to share two hacks that have made a big difference for me: /1/ black-hole certain websites in /etc/hosts, see here for details https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29217297 /2/ making the computer read books to me using the text-to-speech feature. See here for instructions to setup keyboard shortcut for Mac OS users https://docs.google.com/document/d/1mApa60zJA8rgEm6T6GF0yIem... and this is the command line…

Re: 2, I find that listening to something (that is not music) while doing something else makes me zone out for one of the two activities. I tried listening to podcasts/conferences while coding, or listening to a zoom meeting while reading my email or doing work, and it doesn't work. I tend to zone out on the listening. If it was audio, I must rewind and listen to it again. If it was a zoom call... oh, well, "what wer…

There have been many studies on this, people much overestimate their ability to multitask. Of course if you listen to a book being read to you while doing other stuff, retention isn't going to be as high. You also won't be able to reflect as much on what's being read to you as you would if the book had your full attention.

What I'm curious about is if people actually read less or if people who read less tend to congregate on social media, which would make sense.

Re: Internet addiction and the habit of book reading

#222

Post by Arisaka1 »

All I have to offer is nothing more than personal anecdotes.

I think there is a "habitual framework of the mind" that we condition ourselves to operate, and that it's a side-effect of the ways we consume information on a daily basis.

Now we simply want to learn about what big event happened moments after it happened. We want to be entertained in our free time and there's a surplus of ways to achieve it, to the point where we can even desensitize ourselves by chasing more triggers than before. Another opinionated and not so scientific book about this subject is "the shallows what the internet is doing to our brains".

Last but not least, I don't believe that this is simply a matter of aging. Correlation does not imply causation. It takes time for the mind to get into this state but I don't think it's just the passing of time that causes it, but also what you're doing with. A sufficiently accurate metaphor would be that of the person who exercises daily to maintain a level of fitness that's deemed "very good" for their age. I'm ashamed to admit that my grandfather would easily fall in this category. My grandparents lived far away from town and they worked in the fields, biking etc. daily. As a result my grandfather could easily kick the lights out of me if he wanted to. That's how much of a chair slug I am.

And just like there can be a wide discrepancy of physical strength that correlates with habits and activities, so can it happen for mental strength or parts of which in our case is concentration, information recalling and memorizing new things.

Re: Internet addiction and the habit of book reading

#223

Post by ivansavz »

the_af wrote: post #211
ivansavz wrote: post #205

I'd like to share two hacks that have made a big difference for me: /1/ black-hole certain websites in /etc/hosts, see here for details https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29217297 /2/ making the computer read books to me using the text-to-speech feature. See here for instructions to setup keyboard shortcut for Mac OS users https://docs.google.com/document/d/1mApa60zJA8rgEm6T6GF0yIem... and this is the command line…

Re: 2, I find that listening to something (that is not music) while doing something else makes me zone out for one of the two activities. I tried listening to podcasts/conferences while coding, or listening to a zoom meeting while reading my email or doing work, and it doesn't work. I tend to zone out on the listening. If it was audio, I must rewind and listen to it again. If it was a zoom call... oh, well, "what wer…

True that — I can only combine the "speech input channel" in my brain with very low cognitive load tasks like data entry or doing the dishes.

Interestingly, I've noticed that "can you understand the article while doing the dishes" is a very good test of the quality of a piece of writing. Whenever I lose track on the narrative repeatedly (I must stop the computer and restart from the beginning) it's usually a sign that whatever I'm reading is too "fluffy" (convoluted sentence structure, no clear point, roundabout explanations, all-opinions, outrage narrative, etc.).

Re: Internet addiction and the habit of book reading

#224

Post by ilteris »

kqr wrote: post #83
wincy wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I used to read books all the time. I spent most of my waking hours as a teenager reading books. I’m 35 now and can barely hold attention on anything, I read maybe 3 books a year if I’m lucky. Even on Hacker News I almost exclusively read and comment on the comments, not the actual article unless I see someone says “have you read the article?” I don’t really know why. I have 8+ hours a day screentime on my iPhone, whi…

> I used to read books all the time. I spent most of my waking hours as a teenager reading books. I’m 35 now and can barely hold attention on anything, I read maybe 3 books a year if I’m lucky. Even on Hacker News I almost exclusively read and comment on the comments, not the actual article unless I see someone says “have you read the article?” I used to be this way too. Then I just started reading again and now I ca…

What's your e-reader of choice and what kind of unlimited plan are you on? Thanks

Re: Internet addiction and the habit of book reading

#225

Post by Akronymus »

klohto wrote: post #134
najqh wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

These days, I can't even concentrate in games or media such as movies. I wish I could, because I remember having lots of fun playing games. Oh well.

I had the same experience but my problem was from the sheer amount of games being released. I couldn’t pick one, became overwhelmed and then lost the drive to try something. So I stopped worrying about the reviews, about length about all the details behind a game. I check out Steam 250 or SteamDB charts, pick one out and just try it. I have no expectations going in, and I’m happy to drop it if I don’t find it enjoyab…

> I had the same experience but my problem was from the sheer amount of games being released. I couldn’t pick one, became overwhelmed and then lost the drive to try something.

Yeah, I don't even pay attention to what is coming out anymore. If something is worth playing, it'll reach me through the grapevine.

Altough, I only really play very few games atm. Dead cells, payday 2 and warframe in this case.

Re: Internet addiction and the habit of book reading

#226

Post by CubsFan1060 »

ivansavz wrote: post #205

I'd like to share two hacks that have made a big difference for me: /1/ black-hole certain websites in /etc/hosts, see here for details https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29217297 /2/ making the computer read books to me using the text-to-speech feature. See here for instructions to setup keyboard shortcut for Mac OS users https://docs.google.com/document/d/1mApa60zJA8rgEm6T6GF0yIem... and this is the command line…

For 1, I use Focus: https://heyfocus.com/

It used to be much cheaper, but it really helps to stop the surfing urges for a time. Well, not stop them so much as force me to realize when I have them.

Re: Internet addiction and the habit of book reading

#227

Post by ticklemyelmo »

ivansavz wrote: post #223
the_af wrote: post #211

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Re: 2, I find that listening to something (that is not music) while doing something else makes me zone out for one of the two activities. I tried listening to podcasts/conferences while coding, or listening to a zoom meeting while reading my email or doing work, and it doesn't work. I tend to zone out on the listening. If it was audio, I must rewind and listen to it again. If it was a zoom call... oh, well, "what wer…

True that — I can only combine the "speech input channel" in my brain with very low cognitive load tasks like data entry or doing the dishes. Interestingly, I've noticed that "can you understand the article while doing the dishes" is a very good test of the quality of a piece of writing. Whenever I lose track on the narrative repeatedly (I must stop the computer and restart from the beginning) it's usually a sign tha…

I feel like I actually get a bump in comprehension if I do a menial task like dishwashing while listening to an audiobook, versus sitting down with my eyes closed. I think the key is to occupy that little bit of your brain that would otherwise spin off on an internal tangent with every new idea you hear.

Re: Internet addiction and the habit of book reading

#228

Post by dash2 »

ReactiveJelly wrote: post #40
dougmwne wrote: post #17

An aside, I find it a bit interesting that at some point we stopped talking about internet and game addiction. It used to be a hot topic, but I guess now that we are all completely addicted after decade of intense behavioral experimentation, none of us are interested in reading about it anymore.

Breaking it feels hopeless. If I wanted to quit a drug addiction, I could probably find a sober community to try to bond with, and you can do stuff that doesn't involve drugs. But it doesn't feel like there is a real-life world left for me to return to. If I turned off the Internet, I'd be even more alone than I am being on the Internet talking to people all day. I can't imagine what withdrawal would be cause I can b…

I wish there were a community that people could move to where everyone agreed they wouldn't be on their smartphone. Maybe we could fix up some shacks in the hills and ensure we are out of 4G range.

Re: Internet addiction and the habit of book reading

#229

Post by kqr »

ilteris wrote: post #224
kqr wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I used to read books all the time. I spent most of my waking hours as a teenager reading books. I’m 35 now and can barely hold attention on anything, I read maybe 3 books a year if I’m lucky. Even on Hacker News I almost exclusively read and comment on the comments, not the actual article unless I see someone says “have you read the article?” I used to be this way too. Then I just started reading again and now I ca…

What's your e-reader of choice and what kind of unlimited plan are you on? Thanks

It's not really my choice. My employer threw a Kindle at me on my first day, and then I e-mail my Amazon receipts to an administrative person at work who makes sure I'm reimbursed as part of my next salary payment.

Re: Internet addiction and the habit of book reading

#230

Post by JoeAltmaier »

dash2 wrote: post #228
ReactiveJelly wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Breaking it feels hopeless. If I wanted to quit a drug addiction, I could probably find a sober community to try to bond with, and you can do stuff that doesn't involve drugs. But it doesn't feel like there is a real-life world left for me to return to. If I turned off the Internet, I'd be even more alone than I am being on the Internet talking to people all day. I can't imagine what withdrawal would be cause I can b…

I wish there were a community that people could move to where everyone agreed they wouldn't be on their smartphone. Maybe we could fix up some shacks in the hills and ensure we are out of 4G range.

Put a jammer in your house? Then you could live there and not have to move.
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