finally a hackernews article I feel qualified to have an opinion on...
Why do you waste so much time on the internet?
331–340 of 685 posts
Re: Why do you waste so much time on the internet?
#332If you live in the boring suburbs where you have to drive everywhere to do things and see people, then yeah there's basically nothing to do except watch television and browse the internet.
My general theory of existence is that your environment makes up a huge portion of your overall wellbeing. Boredom, happiness, depression, anxiety - it all comes from your environment.
If you set your life up in such a way that the only thing to do is browse the internet, then yeah... you're going to waste a lot of time on the internet. Trying to block the sites, to resist the temptation, etc. is not going to work if there's nothing else to fill your time with.
Re: Why do you waste so much time on the internet?
#333I 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…
What phone do you have and can it run osmand? There aren't many android flip phones...
Re: Why do you waste so much time on the internet?
#334I wonder if this is why the internet hasn't led to the dramatic increase in productivity that one would have predicted a global communications network would have produced? Instead we are turning ourselves into mice with a dopamine feed on tap.
Maybe we need to find ways to value creation far more than consumption. Missing new and cool ideas is peanuts in comparison to creating something from nothing, whether that be art, technology, or friendship.
Re: Why do you waste so much time on the internet?
#335Earlier quoted context omitted.
For those who didn't get the memo: Be warned, folks! Depression is not about sadness, but about not being able to do things. If you are feeling incapable of doing things, like physically siting in front of the computer and not being able to do any work, you are probably depressed. Sometimes you'll sit in front of the computer, try to start some task but somehow end opening hackeer news, digg, youtube. Seek help as so…
> Sometimes you'll sit in front of the computer, try to start some task but somehow end opening hackeer news, digg, youtube. I have to strongly disagree. If that kind of behavior gets out of control it sounds like typical adhd. One still wants to do stuff but unable to get oneself into actually doing it. Depression IMO is when one starts losing motivation and ability to derive pleasure from activities that were norma…
What about "Depression" is a sign that something deep down is shifting or needs changing. After introspection, my loss of motivation is a lot of the times me knowing that I want to work on problems that I dare worthwhile for the future of humanity and earth like climate change, environmental work, planting trees and social work..., and being obliged to not work in that triggers the lack of motivation unless obliged by survival. I am very skeptical of medication to solve these kind of issues.
'Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.'
Re: Why do you waste so much time on the internet?
#336Earlier quoted context omitted.
Not exactly. It's definitely not ADHD if there's no prolonged and debilitating impact. Being distracted an hour there and a couple there is not like ADHD. ADHD would be like more like falling in a pit where one basically cannot do anything meaningful for days and days despite willing to do so (if the motivation is lost, in turn, we are talking about depression-like states). I doubt that many of normal smartphone user…
ADD/ADHD are very much a spectrum. If someone is having trouble focusing for a few hours a day, even if it’s not literal days on end, I don’t think it’s crazy to investigate ADD/ADHD as the cause/name of the problem.
Agreed. Especially if slacking for days would quickly lead to negative consequences. ADHDs are often distracted until the very last moment when the failure becomes imminent -- and then work to avoid it.
Re: Why do you waste so much time on the internet?
#337Earlier quoted context omitted.
100% this. People often ask me "How do you stick with keto? It's such a strict diet." I always answer: "It's actually one of the easiest diets: the answer to most 'can I eat this?' question is 'no'." There isn't a persistently high cognitive load on deciding what you can eat, once you master the foundational knowledge of eating low-carb.
I really want to follow it, but what about the bad breath?! It's definitely a thing, you can smell when people are in ketosis
isn't that ketoacidosis not ketosis? (i'm genuinely asking )
Re: Why do you waste so much time on the internet?
#338Earlier quoted context omitted.
The only place I've gotten the regularity feeling of a third place was a really specific gym I used to both work and train at. Everyone knew who I was even if I didn't train with them, because I also worked there, so when I trained there it was my third place as well and I was always having great conversations. I haven't had anything like it since, and I've been relatively proactive too. I have hobbies, go to meets,…
I always say to people that CrossFit is my church, and while I say it with mild sarcasm, internally it is true. Everyday I turn up, see the same people, build a community to the extent we do socials, help each other out with all manner of things, and honestly it gives me fulfilment more so than anything else I do.
Maybe that's why places like SoulCycle, Barry's Bootcamp, or yoga studios have also sprung up. People do want connection, just not in the way it was before.
Re: Why do you waste so much time on the internet?
#339Earlier quoted context omitted.
Someone introduced me to the same idea a few years ago and it really stuck with me, "the only time people in the modern world experience boredom is in the 15 seconds before they pull out their smartphone". It's in moments of boredom that you start having deep thoughts about the world, start thinking through solutions to problems you have, start thinking about changes you can make in your life. I got rid of my smartph…
>I got rid of my smartphone Teach me! How do you keep in touch with people on the go? This is the only thing that has stopped me from dumping my iPhone altogether. I sometimes leave home without it but I end up relying on others for coordination, etc -- which means I haven't liberated myself so much as fobbed off the responsibility to others. I don't have social media (besides HN), so my main contact with people who…
I just use a £15 nokia phone (they still make them). It calls, texts, and plays snake.
Texting on a T9 keyboard is slow but I've come to consider that a feature. Before I had a smartphone I would just text everyone, now that texting takes actual effort I find myself calling people more, or asking to meet up in person. And I find myself forming much deeper personal connections with people as a result.
Re: Why do you waste so much time on the internet?
#340I think we'd all be spending more time doing things that are "worthwhile" if we felt like they were worth the while. As it stands, I think the vacuousness of modern day life is hiding in plain view. Why put more effort in at work if it just amounts to a lifetime of toil for only the chance at a few years of rest far outside of your prime? Why bother learning something when you have the keen sense that a thousand other people are already working on it who are more talented and resourced than you? Long story short, we live in a world now that doesn't much value people but rather strives to capitalize on the value that people represent. Corporations and institutions have been given relatively free reign to kick people below the belt of their attention and to try and squeeze another ounce of effort, however misdirected, out of them. It's all a numbers game.