I managed to stop using tiktok just to get addicted to instagram reels. Never used instagram before now it’s all I use. Now I feel like I’m trying to use YouTube more than Instagram to cut down on that. How do I stop this perpetuating cycle.

People aren't even reading the post. They just read the title and then comment confidently as if they have all the information. There's so many brain dead comments and arguments that could have been easily prevented if people just took a minute to read before participating. I've noticed it get significantly worse in the past year and it's infuriating. I don't want to be here anymore.

Ive noticed everywhere that the whole meaning or people perception of greatness has changed, any flaw you dont like about yourself can be easily regarded as positive and acceptable. There is no need to change it, although that sounds like a good thing it also promotes laziness. Ive fallen for this while being on instagram, I thought I was fine for being the way I was and caved in. Instagram is also known for popularizing the most stupid mundane shit ever and posing it as something that is admirable. All our great leaders are dead, the cause in my opinion is social media. A mural that promotes fake fantasies, shows you what you could have been while you slowly become a sloth that thinks but doesn't do. Im going to quit instagram today, probably reddit aswell. I hope I can come back to this post some day as someone greater, You as well

I (30F) deleted my Instagram for real this time; I've deactivated it in the past. I've deactivated it in the past a couple times because I was spending so much time on it. I also noticed it wasn't good for my social life. I realized I used to text my friends to plan something or to just go hang out. Now I text them to catch up and have conversations or just send memes... I don't want that kind of social life. I realizedy friends have my number and I can text them And they can text me. Instagram also was giving me hopeful feelings like maybe someone I like will message me or something. It just wasn't healthy for me. I'm excited to have that out of my life.

I recently attended a concert and noticed how everyone was on their phones during and in between bands changing sets (including me). This feeling of not being able to just exist in the moment and to constantly be distracted by some form of device is heartbreaking. I’ve been attending events alone now for the past year because to be honest, I don’t have the attention span to carry on a conversation with anyone nor do I want too, including close friends. It’s sick, twisted and lonely. I’ve gotten my screen time down to about 4-5 hours from 10+ but still don’t feel any positive effects. I think cold turkey must be the answer.

Okay. I know everything thinks that you should just quit Instagram completely because every aspect of it destroys your mind. And if that’s the case for you I respect it 100%. But if you are someone that can use social features in a healthy way but get trapped in Instagram reels, I recommend deleting the Instagram app on your phone and using the browser version. I can go on for 5 minutes and check messages/see what my friends are doing but the Instagram reels aren’t as in your face. And the amount of time it takes to load and the low quality makes it more of a pain than a dopamine hit to scroll! Just thought I’d put it out there (:

I can still get everything done on the "small" 5" phone but I find I don't spend nearly as much time when using it as it's just not as effortless/nice to binge on content

Hi guys, I have a lot of niche interests and like to talk about them with other people, but none of my friends like what I like so I usually will comment on reddit. I'm also really opinionated so this leads to arguments (not on this account). I HATE having arguments online, they put me in a horrible mood for the rest of the day and frankly I look insane sometimes with the shit I say. How do I stop?

I barley graduated highschool, have 0 attention span, I have no hobbies at all whatsoever, and this isn't an uncommon experience there was a lot of people in my school like this.

I wish I never had social media at all the things I put online with zero supervision will affect my life forever , I pretty much can never have a job where my identity is recognizable. Which probably sounds like an exaggeration but its not thats the way it is nowadays.

I have genuinley been traumatized by things I have seen online or things sent to me and it affects the way I think about others. I feel like I can't trust people and that most people are bad.

I see so many people giving their kids ipads and social media and I already know how its going to end and it makes me sad for them.

Hi all, thinking about buying brick for me and my family.

Question: Can you brick the phone straight from the app itself? I’m imagining myself in a vegetative state, doom scrolling, and being much more compelled to quickly brick the phone from my device than actually getting up off my ass and bricking it physically.

Moreover, would also love to know if there’s a way to brick the phone on a timer. For example, every night at midnight the phone bricks automatically? That way, brick is more the default than the exception. Thanks in advance!

I have a thought and idk what you guys think...sometimes we quit social medias like Instagram, tik tok and more...and we still spend hours a day on YouTube. Youtube feels like crack. There is always a new video..eiher about sexual stuff or food (basic needa, so highly addictive) or its about new beef between 2 youtubers. I look back at all the youtube I watched in years and it feels like a bunch of immature adults getting rich off young kids supporting them. There is barely something educational in youtube or something that is productive. People spent hours on YT and I think its hypnotizing our whole generation......just thinking about how many crap I have seen in all these years on Yt makes me sad and angry. Is YouTube dumbing down our teens?

What’s the purpose of life when it’s not social media. Don’t know what to do with myself anymore. When I am not on social media I flee from myself by reading books or watching series for hours

I used to say I could just watch the documentaries on YouTube, and use it only for educational purposes, and it would be fine, but it never works like that. In the end, I always am drawn to the mind numbing and drama filled parts who don't add any sort of value or productivity to my life.

If I want to keep up with the news, I can listen to NPR Up First (USA news) and BBC World news (For international stuff) on Spotify. Not to mention PBS News Hour.

If I want to learn about history, I can just read non-fiction history books. Goodness knows I have a stockpile of them plus library card. I'll dedicate one hour in the morning to one. There's always the option of history podcasts in the background. Or documentaries on streaming services on my smart tv. Tubi has an interesting looking series on the Napoleon wars.

I want to start slowing cutting back on the internet. Going cold turkey doesn't work for me, I always come back whether internet or diet. So, I will slowly start limiting the internet out of my life with some challenges. However, youtube is my biggest addiction, and I don't use it for the betterment of myself. Just drama and useless information that doesn't benefit me at all.

Yes, there is a lot to learn with youtube, but at the same time that isn't what I use it for most of the time. I wish I had better self-control over it, but I don't. It's time to see if I can 30 days without it.

Edit: There's also the option of curiosity stream too for my documentary needs

I mean I am doing a lot of things daily, but always with something. Here goes music, podcast, movie. I need to hear something all the time. Whathever i try to go cold turkey, after few hours my head start to hurt so much , often accompanied by mental breakdown, flashbacks and overthinking. Anyone could related?

When you guys talk about being free from the internet you're quick to mention the clearer thinking, increased attention span, improved memory, etc.. However, what you always leave out is the absolute tidal wave of negative thoughts that flood in once you get clean.

I mean holy fuck; I tried to cut off the internet all at once and at the 2 week mark, suddenly 10 years of avoided problems, destroyed relationships and missed opportunities started hitting me one after the other. My life is, apparently, horrifically empty, unfulfilling, lonely, etc.. and I had no fucking clue because I'd kept myself nice and sedated the whole time. I didn't realize how much of a crutch the internet was and now that it's gone I'm learning all sorts of troubling things about myself.

Before, I didn't mind being a social outcast because I had the internet, but now that it's gone, I suddenly miss my friends, who, by the way, have completely forgotten about me. I never bothered learning how to talk to girls because I had porn, but now that I've quit, I've started talking to damn near every girl I see and I'm rejected every single time because I have no clue what I'm doing. I never bothered developing any actual interests or skills because I always had videogames but without those as a crutch, I'm starting to realize how empty my life is and how useless I am.

I wasted my entire childhood without even knowing it and words can't express how devastating that feels. I wish instead of warning me about weed and alcohol they'd told me about this. As a kid, I thought the internet was solving all of my problems but now, as an adult, I realize all I was doing was blinding myself to them.

Ideally, I would put my phone away and go outside scuba diving, partying, whatever. But let's say I want to keep using my computer. If I cannot fully stop consuming, at least be offline, disable Wifi. Being offline just feels different in itself, it might sound cringe, but it for me the change is like: when you are in your room surfing, you feel good, you are entertained, there is a world of novel and exciting stuff waiting for you on the web. But when you just turn off the internet, you realize you're just a dude sitting in a room alone in front of a glowing screen.

So my idea would be, download resources (books, tutorials, movies, etc), then only use computer offline and use WiFi whenever there is a serious need for it. At least this limits scrolling options greatly, and you are more mindful.

Did anyone have an experience with this? What do you think?

I feel like I've become stupid over the last 6-7 years of excessive internet exposure. I don't like to think about things; everything takes too much effort. I'm passive and cannot focus on things for very long. Its hard to learn new things.

Even when I do learn something it almost feels like I learned it mindlessly. I rarely dwell on or think about new information unless I HAVE to, while I remember a time when this process was automatic, because well, I think that's what healthy brains are supposed to be like. Mostly my brain is on autopilot and its blank. I have to put in serious effort everytime I need my brain to engage in any serious mental activity.

But I do feel better when I go without the internet sometimes. I did a week long detox once and I felt like an entirely different person then. But these breaks aren't long enough to be adequately effective and everytime I need to use the internet again my brain goes back to blah.

Does anyone else relate? Why does this happen?

This was something I began to notice really about 2/3 years ago. At the time I blamed general anxiety disorder as it kicked off around that time however I wouldn’t say I’ve got rid of that but I’ve learned to live with it but the attention thing still here.

What I mean is I can’t watch a movie for like 15 mins without lifting the phone and just looking at crap, same with series and I’ll not even mention books, they are the worst. I can read a page and by the time i get to the end if i even do I’ve forgotten what it was about.

I’m mid 40s so grew up without the internet, I remember what life was like before the internet, I could binge endlessly on a TV and movies, and nothing better on a Sunday than sitting down reading a book. These Sundays I have big plans to watch movies, I get through about 15 mins on 3 or 4 then give up as the phone has taken over.

I have had for a long time my news app. I mostly read the headlines of the notifications and just remove them after reading. I almost never get into read the content, just to try to be more productive. Of course I like to get updated with what is happening where I live and in the world.

There are some things I hate:

1. Getting too many notifications
2. Getting too irrelevant notifications (let’s say for example sport events idc about, only if it’s something big for those that don’t follow I guess). Of course it depends on the person but I would like to configure it.
3. Getting too many clickbait notifications. Those that they want you to click so I guess they can get the money from ads. Like “These are the most…”, without telling you until you enter.
4. When they try to put their propaganda in your head. Instead of having just the news itself, putting annoying headlines like let’s say “The problem with… | Opinion”. Idc about your opinion I just want to be updated with facts!!

This is sort of a rant I guess I would like to delete the app like I want to delete Instagram but it just feels wrong bcs of the reasons I said.

I am living for 6months without a smartphone and sold my old one for good 2 months ago. Smartphone was at my friend's place and even if I got it just to sell it, just starting it brought old demons so I just sold it the next day. I can live with just a dumbphone but I see here a lot of people struggling - implementing screen time control apps or having two phones. Have anybody tried doing MDM solution (Mobile Devices Management in corpo-language) to lock a phone beyond what screen apps can do (and you can uninstall them at any time)?

I saw that there are some providers that support one device only and you can set up policy that cannot be broke - add only needed apps, block app installation, block certain websites or allow only specific ones. If the password to MDM is long and strong, possibly super strong (like my mp3 password), it should be more beneficial that screen apps.

MDM is another class of service that goes beyond screen-control apps (that are easy to shutoff) and parent-control apps (that require another device that have full control over other).

This months screen time was !331 hours! and last 14 days screen time was fking !167 hours! also 2months ago I broke my phone intentionally but it was 90% broken so I got stressed and did it impulsively, later took my mom's phone for a while(borrowed) and tomorrow is my last exam, my future depends on it and I just checked my st and got extremely depressed, What do I do, after tomorrow I'll be free from making excuses of studying and scrolling, I feel horrible,help please.

DISCLAIMER: this is a wall of text. If you are like me your attention span is probably fried, i hope you can read it fully.

Reading multiple threads, i noticed a lot of thoughts like:

• The internet is stealing my time and mental sanity.
• Society is doomed, everyone is glued to their screens.
• I end up overriding any resctriction i put in place.

I'm not a native speaker, my english isn't bad but i could use some weird expressions.

The internet doesn't have a will.

It's not an unstoppable force actively stealing your time and energies, YOU are dedicating your time and your energies to it. While this might make you feel shame and regret, it can also be comforting: if the fault is yours, you are also the solution.

Not everyone has a digital addiction.

Talking with many friends in real life about screens usage, i've noticed that lot of them don't have the same issues i have.

We tend to think others have the same experiences as us, but it's not always the case. There are plenty of addicted people and the most of them are even unaware, but there are also many others that manage to use screens properly.

The issue isn't the internet, the issue is you have a bad relationship with it and it's possible to have a healthy relationship.

You need to understand why you relapse.

I tried multiple restrictions in my journey:

• Physical ones like putting my phone away
• Drastical ones like uninstalling
• Technological aids like blockers and timers

I read about lot of people suggesting such methods, stating they felt a lot of better afterwards. Sometimes i felt like shit and i ended up relapsing, sometimes i felt good... and i ended up thinking "now i can have a good relationship with screens", i went trough a short phase of proper, moderate usage, but ultimately i ended up relapsing again. I thought a lot about it and noticed some things:

• Digital addiction isn't my only issue. I have other troublesome behaviours, like mismanaging time in other ways.
• Digital addiction is a coping mechanism. It's not a good one, but it's still my go-to way to distract myself from unpleasant feelings.
• Screens are a hobby and i often have fun with them.
• Screens are a gap-filling activity.

Whenever i attempt quitting, i don't only get rid of an addiction, i also lose plenty of elements that help me dealing with other issues, so everything else now hits me harder and my brain only wants to what i've done for years in such situation, ending up fabricating whatever excuse it takes.

Sometimes the idea i come up with is "maybe i got out of the addiction now, i'm able to make a proper usage now", so i use apps. For some time, it even goes well, which confirms my idea: i'm not addicted anymore! Fast forward 2 weeks, i realize i lost control again and feel i'm a failure.

It makes sense, after all i've used screens for more than 10 years. All the internet-related paths in my brain aren't gone, they look different, but they are merely covered up by some leaves and i REALLY want to get where that path leads me - fun, distraction and satisfaction.

You don't only have to remove. You need to replace.

Keeping the path metaphor, you need to build a new path and stay off the old one. I can't tell you proven methods to do so, but i can share my personal plan.

For avoiding using the phone, i want to put as many steps between me and troublesome apps as possible:

• I'll threat my phone like a chorded phone when at home. It will rest on a specific cabinet in my hall and i'll only use while standing up in that room.
• Ringtone on only for calls and whatsapp, groups, any chat and any app that never generates urgent notifications will be off.
• As hobbies, i'll read books, newspapers and listen to music while going on walks (spotify only).
• As coping mechanisms, i'll exercise, meditate and strive to talk more about my issues with my parents, friends and girlfriend.
• As for filling gaps, chores and... boredom. Phones robbed us of boredom, but as all human emotions, boredom has actually a purpose, it lets our mind roam free, letting us plan daily life better, process thoughts and emotions and sparking creativity.

I plan to do this for at the very least 1 month. The goal is not even feeling the need to use apps again, but technology plays a big role in our society, eventually i'll want to extablish a healthy relationship with it and enjoy running down the old paths once more. But they will be nice grassy paths, meant to be run seldomly, so i'll use app blockers to give me time restrictions, catching a possible relapse and the start and completely quit again, rinse and repeat.

I hope you enjoyed the read and found some food for thought. Feel free to tell me what resonates with you and possibly some advice!

Like all retail chains in the UK, Sainsbury has an app where you digitally access your discount card. I try scanning it and notice it's not scanning. I turn the phone around and notice there's a fucking spinning gambling wheel that popped up on top of the barcode, asking me to spin it for rewards...

Called nectar swipe to win. This is getting ridiculous.

I've been trying to get a handle on myself for more than 10 years. I got to the point where when I try to change I have the thought: "I tried to change before with just as much enthusiasm, tens of times, and it never went anywhere, why would this time be any different?"

Why would it be? I somehow got myself hyped up for the 40th time at being productive, but my approach is the same, I remember feeling this way last 40 times, isn't it stupid for me to think anything would change this time around?

How do you people convince yourself to try yet another time ?

After over a decade (lol), mods/admin of a website have edited some 100+ of my posts so that my old doxxer username doesn't appear anymore. I have made serious waves today in an effort to divorce myself from old online profiles that I no longer find relevant.

Perseverance pays off. It's best to play the waiting game and ask them politely. It took me three attempts, but somebody finally listened.

Edit: The only flipside is that you can't have it every way, there will always be one or two that simply cannot be removed.

Hey guys. I got laid off from my job as a big tech engineer recently (and finally free of my 8 hours required computer sitting). Anyway to stay busy I wrote a little api to use language models to override my comments every 24h (check history lol). No promises but I was wondering if anyone would be interested in using it / would be worth the effort of making a website for. I think it'd be really cool to take some of the dopamine out of all social media sites by making your content temporary and I've found Reddit less addictive when my comments are ethereal.

Anyway feedback welcome

The last couple of years I started exercising, changing my diet, reading daily, but I think I want to turn down my internet dependence as a means to sooth my anxiety/depression. I have a ton of things I want to do, but it's so easy to stick that digital needle in and check out of life.

(tldr just me rambling about phones and how the internet got worse) I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what is the root problem? What’s actually causing this destructive cycle in society? And I kinda boiled it down to two big things in my mind:

First, I think phones are the biggest problem. And ipads, tablets, and to an extent laptops. Even in the 90s, which I think most would agree were wonderful (I wasn’t around yet though), the early internet existed. But it was a pain in the ass to connect to. Today, smartphones give almost everyone quick, easy access to the internet; it’s at their fingertips, in their pocket, quite literally. And this is the problem. It is too easy to access the internet. It is too accessible. Because it’s so easy, it means social media is instantly there, along with porn, scrolling media, and all the other instant gratifications on the internet. And this kinda ties into the second thing I was thinking.

The internet has gotten worse. It’s not like it was in the 90s or 2000s. Even with instant access on smartphones, the old internet wouldn’t be nearly as bad as today’s. The internet isn’t inherently bad. It can be a tool for research, connection, learning, sharing. But it’s not anymore. Social media is a platform to attract attention. Or better, to provide ad revenue. Every website is covered in advertisements. Everything tracks you, so much about you, to target ads to you. Just to make more profit. I think I read someone comment on here capitalism destroyed the internet. And I’m not a commie or anything lol, but I think that’s a good point; greed and the desire to make more money, more content, more everything, is a big reason why the internet is what it is. It feeds the porn industry, the social media industry, mobile gaming. Tying things back together; this hostile environment wouldn’t be nearly as detrimental, except everyone is exposed to it, all the time, because it’s so accessible.

Thanks for listening to me ramble!

Something I've realized is that because of the internet I can't have thoughts or theories of my own- they are all habitually externalized I have to "ask" the internet, for both facts and opinions.

Every time I think of a question, my impulse is to check the internet - "what does the internet say?". This comes at the expense of asking MYSELF what I think the answer might be, or how I could find out on my own, or, if it's about an opinion, what I think, not what someone else on the internet thinks.

But it doesn't stop there, because by imbibing pre-packaged arguments or ideas, the internet can do all of my thinking for me as well.

The cumulative effect is that I barely know who I am or how I feel, I only know where I like to go on the internet; I don't have any interesting ideas of my own, I just know that I follow "interesting" accounts. The self is hollowed out and empty, being fed on false connection - this is no way to live.

By quitting social media (mine are reddit, twitter) and "unhooking" youtube (need for study [or do I???]) I will begin the process of reconstituting my soul and "re-internalizing" my mind, bringing it back home where it belongs.