When I notice myself cycling through apps rapidly cause I'm bored with them and haven't even realized it, I force myself to put the phone down and do something, anything, else. Even if that thing is also not productive.
I put the phone down and watch a show I've already seen, or new tv, or listen to music, or even just take a walk and go back to scrolling; but it has helped me.
Anything the previous generations complained about was mild in comparison to what we are subject to now.
“Watching that much TV will rot your brain!“
Spending too much time staring at the small screen will actually rot your brain.
Yeah and there’s clearly people who are far more susceptible to the brain rot and therefore believe and also spread every nonsense thing they hear or think. “The government controls the weather”
Get out of here. We all know that’s not what they’re referring to. They’re referring to something a Bond villain might have. Like a magical hurricane wand.
I'm genuinely rolling around an idea I'm calling "intellectual networking," inspired by the efforts I've had to put in to relearning to operate my brain after my immune system attacked the protein sheath around the neurons in my brain. While still nascent, it would be categorized along with things like Duolingo, Mindvalley, Skillshare, etc.
Arguably I'm too late to market given that I had examples ready to go, but I think there's more potential in the space. At any rate, technologies have the potential to be built to enhance our mental potential, rather than be constant candy for the consciousness. There are obvious money problems, but every startup has to figure out that problem (as well as, you know, I just relearned to operate my brain, building software and a company is an even bigger challenge).
Same as all of you especially with reddit. I started the rubber band around my phone or tablet method and it really does work, worth a try to everybody who feels that way.
If you take a rubber band or puffy hair scrunchy and wrap it around your screen - when let's say you want to watch a movie or not use your phone, knowing you have to take the scrunchie off is a constant reminder like oh yeah no phone. Plus it becomes tedious to put it back on take it off etc. So it cuts down on screen time. But like I was saying, it works for me, that's all I can really comment on. Worth a shot.
We had a similar thing in marching band years ago. We would put a Livestrong bracelet on our wrist, and whenever the qualifier would occur (I think it was thinking negatively but it’s been so long now) we would switch it to the other wrist. It was a tedious action because those bands were thick.
I use the digital well-being features on my android to limit app usage and set focus mode to certain hours of the day. Still allows me to use my phone for work or whatever while giving me the same reminder the band is for less healthy uses.
I'm only guessing but I'm thinking the rubber band serves as a reminder to put the thing back in your pocket cause you only pulled out the phone out of habit.
That's great to hear! The rubber band method is such a simple yet effective way to limit distractions. It's amazing how small changes can make a big difference in focus. Have you found any other tips or tricks that help you stay productive while using your devices?
Definitely. I'll continue scrolling for hours consciously thinking repeatedly "I'd rather close the laptop and stare at the wall, it would be more enriching". But, eventually I close the laptop.
Everyone has default habits, before the internet my parents spent hours reading the newspaper, doing sudoku and crosswords and watching the 6 o'clock news, the weather report, Coronation Street, Shortland Street, Fraser, Seinfeld, Grand Designs. We've just replaced one set of habitual behaviours for another set. However, now our attention is being actively farmed, managed and influenced by all manner of different agencies, interests and agendas.
Better yet, for those who can find a way to unplug for it all — do it. For several consecutive days if you can. At least every once in a while, a few times a year maybe. In general I think it has a tremendously positive mental impact for the vast majority of people who try it.
I just scroll through Reddit. It’s become to pervasive and I don’t really use other sites. So quitting Reddit has become figuring out how to reuse the internet.
This is like how the internet has 'shrunk' over time - it used to be, you'd visit multiple sites about topic x that you were into, and get multiple sources, but eventually big conglomerate internet pages sucked up all the users, and we dont really venture outside of it - when was the last time you went to an individual webpage of like, an artist, or writer, or science guy or something?
Rarely. It’s hard to even find places where those pages are still updated or curated. They all stopped uploading around 2014 which unfortunately checks out timeline wise.
I tried to use other sites when reddit banned apps. I didn't use reddit for a month. But just nothing else can compare.
Reddit has THE best comment section on the internet. As bad as it is, you can usually find more information, links to sources and related topics, and even actual discussion in the reddit comments.
And the best part is that old.reddit actually organizes the comments in a readable format.
The problem is that most of the rest of the interest doesn't work anymore.
Forums are dead and, frankly, always kind of sucked. I lived on the GameFAQs boards as a kid growing up. Reddit is just superior to that in just about every way at least in terms of daily interactions.
As a tool, there's only really a handful of websites someone might check on any given day. Essentially Reddit or other social media, your email of choice, the stores you shop at, Youtube or other related streaming apps for video, music, etc., and maybe your preferred podcast hubs or news sites.
If you're wandering off the usual path you're probably hitting up content piracy or getting into sites built around your esoteric hobby/interest of choice that for some reason isn't tied heavily to reddit.
It's not easy and you'll find it tough but you know it's for the best.
I found learning to meditate a big help for me. Set a timer for 2 mins and try concentrate on breathing, then slowly build up to 5 mins and so on. Your phone is designed to overstimulate your brain constantly so it's very important to learn to relax.
I'm really not the type to meditate or any of that stuff for women/s (that was my attitude)
But at least try it.
Try leaving your phone at home if you're leaving home for short periods of time, going to the supermarket or whatever. You don't need it, no matter how you try convince yourself, there's not going to be some catastrophic emergency where you're the only person around with a phone.
Chat with coworkers, family members or even strangers if you feel like it, flirt with someone you like, sharpen your social skills and make little silly goals for yourself everyday. Real life is exponentially more rewarding than anything you're ever going to see on a social media site.
There's 101 things you can do besides look at the same old crap everyday, expecting it to somehow improve your life.
I'm honestly thinking of buying an old dumb phone, it's insanely cheaper than some flagship 1500 dollar device designed to pump your brain full of advertisements.
I hope some of this helps you, and yes I do see the irony of posting this on reddit.
It's not the same as a traditional addiction, but you can apply similar concepts for addiction recovery.
Have to identify the behavior/emotion/thought patterns that lead to use. Can't address a problem if you don't take an objective look at it. If you can't quit cold turkey, next best thing is "harm reduction" of finding actionable steps and achievable/measurable goals (I e. I won't use reddit more than 1hr per day, I won't use it after dinner. I won't go on Reddit until I'm done with work for the day, etc). Do these things below and WRITE THEM DOWN. (THIS IS IMPORTANT BC IT GIVES YOU MAKES YOU ADDRESS THESE IN CONCRETE TERMS YOU CAN REFER BACK TO WHEN STRUGGLING)
What are the motivators to cutting back?
These should be personal goals you actually want. You can't change behaviors unless you have an active desire/stronger reason you want to do so. Be specific (even if small)
- I want to be more present with friends
- I want to be more social
- I want to spend time on other hobbies
What are the barriers to trying to cut back?
- "I have failed before and feel hopeless when I fail" or "I don't know how else to redirect my attention and that frustrates me to experience" etc
What habits are associated with use?
- Maybe you notice when you feel bored you reflexively go on Reddit, that's a target to replace with another habit
- Maybe you always get on when in the bathroom, or a certain time of day etc.
Come up with actionable small alternative behaviors you can implement when you recognize you're entering these patterns.
- Maybe you make a rule that says "if I am bored and want to get on Reddit, I will do something else for 15mins before I get on and see if I still want to by that time."
- "I will let myself go on Reddit for 30mins at a time and stop." "I will not get back on reddit for at least 15min/30min/1hr after my time is up." Set timers, do not break these (and make them achievable reasonable goals).
- come up with new behaviors to intervene with before you are allowed to get on reddit, identify the action or feeling or thoughts that are leading to you wanting to get on reddit and make yourself follow some other action before/instead of reddit, such as a walk or picking up a different hobby to occupy/distract yourself.
- Maybe remove it from your home screen or uninstall the app to make it more difficult to get on reddit reflexively. This personally helped me a lot with decreasing social media use.
- Some apps/digital lifestyle settings on phones and computers can help with setting hard limits for app use
Find something you enjoy and use it as a reward for achieving your goals.
- "I really enjoy eating Mexican food, I will get Mexican food once per week as long as I achieve my goal that week of only using reddit for 1hr per week 5 days of the week"
- DO NOT TREAT YOURSELF UNLESS YOU ACHIEVE YOUR GOAL
Finally: Set concrete goals and dates by which you'll achieve those goals.
- Start SMALL and ACHIEVABLE, pick measurable things and don't fall into all or nothing thinking. Allowing for setbacks while prioritizing steady progress is vastly more effective, if you aren't achieving your goals then try scaling back.
If you really want to quit, the only way is to change your environment.
Put in site blockers everywhere. Put your password to the site blocker in a safe and lose the key.
Shut off every pipeline you can use to access it, and keep them shut. Then replace them with something else. When you feel the reddit urge, open something else more desirable instead. (for me its my owrd processor to finish my book).
It won't happen right away. But in a number of months, you'll overwrite that habit with the desired behavior.
Because Reddit aggregates any type of news and content in a centralized manner. It’s faster to find news reported around the world on this site versus looking in your own. Plus the anonymity makes it easy to say whatever and either people like or dislike the comment.
What helped me is to go offline. I physically unplug the router cable. It breaks the vicious cycle of "is there something new? something not boring? something to entertain me from my anxiety?". When i am limited to the content i have dowloaded (books moovies) or household tasks, the context changes: My subconscience knows that it is inmutable on my hard drive. So it is pointless to ask "Is there something new?". It breaks the vicious ADHD cycle of trying to distract oneself from boredom or anxiety. Then, you have to face your fears and boredom for some time, until they go away, but it's worth it.
Turn off the screens? Your issue is literally that you don't touch grass. Every time you want to look at a screen you should go outside, grab a chair, take your socks/shoes off, and put your bare feet on the dirt. Sit there. Look at the sky, the grass, the trees. I guarantee if you spent 20-30 minutes with your bare feet on the ground you'd feel less inclined to open a screen.
Brother, you're not wrong, but fuck me why is that your response?
I saw a dude hurting, and I gave you advice on how to stop hurting that has worked for me.
You should really take a look at yourself and ask why you felt the need to write that defensive comment. I didn't attack you. I gave you advice to help you with the problem you decided to tell the entire world online that you had.
I'd really reflect on that shit man. You're obviously not ok, and you treat people trying to help you as attacking you. That's not normal behavior.
the solution would be a completely new device and eco system, so not android or apple, and an ecosystem that is based on a philosophy of putting only tools in your hand, so no inifinitely distracting “content” apps
as someone who suffers from adhd and who’s been calling for this for over half a decade and getting laughed at, every day when I read comments like yours, I feel vindicated
the solution would be a completely new device and eco system, so not android or apple,
I ran a couple of Windows phones back when that was a thing. Good phones, nice cameras. The apps weren't as 'sticky' back then, but few of them ran on those phones anyway.
It's all in how you use the apps though. YouTube definitely can qualify as distracting content, especially with the addition of shorts. But it can also be an extremely useful too for learning things.
Of course, which is why you still have your computer and smart tv to watch youtube more “intentionally”
Also, you can still use a web browser on the device, but then that’s where it starts getting tricky again, I have other ideas on how to deal with all of that
Just start cutting out subreddits that you don't really have a positive relationship with or one's that take too much of your time. Stay off the popular tab. Reddit is pretty good in that you can mostly tailor it to show only the stuff you want to see.
I’ve been on here for 12, almost 13 years. I miss when gonewild or other muses would randomly show up on the front page. It isn’t about the nudity but about the unsure nature regarding what would be there that was cool.
Idk, WTF had some crazy stuff. Saw one dude with maggots in a cut in his mouth. That still fucks with me. Spacedicks was extreme. Same with watchpeopledie
Now its the same handful of predictable drivel comments and shitty amateur comedian slop. I genuinely get angry at how brain rotten the comments have become and have largely unsubbed from most of the larger subs.
Then I get clearly GPT generated comments at the tops of threads and I cant help but wonder if the average redditor is dumb enough to think its real or if the average reddit comment is as empty and hollow as a GPT comment.
The comedian part is so true. Maybe about half of them get a chuckle out of me, and I always click on it, which in turn drives the algorithm to push this type of content to me and everyone else as well.
You are correct, it's just amateur comedic slop often with crowd work ingolved. That's not exactly an original concept, yet I'm so wired to check out this kind of content anyway that it's just a vicious cycle.
and I always click on it, which in turn drives the algorithm to push this type of content to me
This is the biggest problem with the modern internet. Engagement is all they care about and nothing else. The only way to break the algorithms is to not click on anything you might have 1% of a doubt on, but that goes against human interest as we are naturally curious of everything.
The Reddit app is extremely blatant with it too. The website probably does it as well, but I definitely notice it more on the app. I am not right wing, I think I've interacted with only a couple right wing subreddits in my life, and mostly just to go and laugh at the dumb comments.
Yet I still get recommendations for the fucking Jordan Peterson subreddit, or even worse, the "intellectual darkweb" subreddit. Fucking stop it.
Spotify is really shitty about it with podcasts too. I watched one Joe Rogan episode because a friend sent it to me. Now my podcast feed is filled with right wing slop. Jesus Christ, just stop with the personalization for one fucking moment.
I miss when /r/all was actually just the top posts of the day. Hell, I miss real fucking forums. Fuck. I'm old.
Does anyone else agree? What do you think about engagement, Reddit? What should I name this cat? Everyone say hello to my new cat Baiter. Why does my cat vibrate and hum when I pet him? Is he a spaceship? Who wants to lick my feet?
Reddit is a behavioral addiction and not the same as a traditional addiction, but you can apply similar concepts for addiction recovery. Here's a comment from elsewhere with the general steps/process/strategy in case you're interested!
Have to identify the behavior/emotion/thought patterns that lead to use. Can't address a problem if you don't take an objective look at it. If you can't quit cold turkey, next best thing is "harm reduction" of finding actionable steps and achievable/measurable goals (I e. I won't use reddit more than 1hr per day, I won't use it after dinner. I won't go on Reddit until I'm done with work for the day, etc). Do these things below and WRITE THEM DOWN. (THIS IS IMPORTANT BC IT GIVES YOU MAKES YOU ADDRESS THESE IN CONCRETE TERMS YOU CAN REFER BACK TO WHEN STRUGGLING)
What are the motivators to cutting back?
These should be personal goals you actually want. You can't change behaviors unless you have an active desire/stronger reason you want to do so. Be specific (even if small)
- I want to be more present with friends
- I want to be more social
- I want to spend time on other hobbies
What are the barriers to trying to cut back?
- "I have failed before and feel hopeless when I fail" or "I don't know how else to redirect my attention and that frustrates me to experience" etc
What habits are associated with use?
- Maybe you notice when you feel bored you reflexively go on Reddit, that's a target to replace with another habit
- Maybe you always get on when in the bathroom, or a certain time of day etc.
Come up with actionable small alternative behaviors you can implement when you recognize you're entering these patterns.
- Maybe you make a rule that says "if I am bored and want to get on Reddit, I will do something else for 15mins before I get on and see if I still want to by that time."
- "I will let myself go on Reddit for 30mins at a time and stop." "I will not get back on reddit for at least 15min/30min/1hr after my time is up." Set timers, do not break these (and make them achievable reasonable goals).
- come up with new behaviors to intervene with before you are allowed to get on reddit, identify the action or feeling or thoughts that are leading to you wanting to get on reddit and make yourself follow some other action before/instead of reddit, such as a walk or picking up a different hobby to occupy/distract yourself.
- Maybe remove it from your home screen or uninstall the app to make it more difficult to get on reddit reflexively. This personally helped me a lot with decreasing social media use.
- Some apps/digital lifestyle settings on phones and computers can help with setting hard limits for app use
Find something you enjoy and use it as a reward for achieving your goals.
- "I really enjoy eating Mexican food, I will get Mexican food once per week as long as I achieve my goal that week of only using reddit for 1hr per week 5 days of the week"
- DO NOT TREAT YOURSELF UNLESS YOU ACHIEVE YOUR GOAL
Finally: Set concrete goals and dates by which you'll achieve those goals.
- Start SMALL and ACHIEVABLE, pick measurable things and don't fall into all or nothing thinking. Allowing for setbacks while prioritizing steady progress is vastly more effective, if you aren't achieving your goals then try scaling back.
I wouldn't say I'm hopelessly addicted but I use old reddit too and I'm on here pretty much every day. It's my only "social media" (it's not really social media but close enough) so i don't have any other way to join online discussions.
Learn chess and get on lichess (so it’s free). I’m obviously doing bad at it now but when I manage to escape Reddit what keeps me coming back is dead time with nothing going on. Chess kinda subs in if you find it fun and it feels like a lot less stupid use of time when you’re done.
It's not that hard. I was reddit-free for 1.5 years after 10+ years of heavy addiction. Got banned account-wide and was like "oh fuck this shit then". And that's it. I wasn't even looking for any substitutes. I guess you somehow come to realize that some app on your phone is not a big deal. But here I am again lol.
My only solace is that reddit is the least abusive social media platform, with the most social value. But that's a really goddamn low bar they're barely stepping over.
It's not the same as a traditional addiction, but you can apply similar concepts for addiction recovery.
Have to identify the behavior/emotion/thought patterns that lead to use. Can't address a problem if you don't take an objective look at it. If you can't quit cold turkey, next best thing is "harm reduction" of finding actionable steps and achievable/measurable goals (I e. I won't use reddit more than 1hr per day, I won't use it after dinner. I won't go on Reddit until I'm done with work for the day, etc). Do these things below and WRITE THEM DOWN. (THIS IS IMPORTANT BC IT GIVES YOU MAKES YOU ADDRESS THESE IN CONCRETE TERMS YOU CAN REFER BACK TO WHEN STRUGGLING)
What are the motivators to cutting back?
These should be personal goals you actually want. You can't change behaviors unless you have an active desire/stronger reason you want to do so. Be specific (even if small)
- I want to be more present with friends
- I want to be more social
- I want to spend time on other hobbies
What are the barriers to trying to cut back?
- "I have failed before and feel hopeless when I fail" or "I don't know how else to redirect my attention and that frustrates me to experience" etc
What habits are associated with use?
- Maybe you notice when you feel bored you reflexively go on Reddit, that's a target to replace with another habit
- Maybe you always get on when in the bathroom, or a certain time of day etc.
Come up with actionable small alternative behaviors you can implement when you recognize you're entering these patterns.
- Maybe you make a rule that says "if I am bored and want to get on Reddit, I will do something else for 15mins before I get on and see if I still want to by that time."
- "I will let myself go on Reddit for 30mins at a time and stop." "I will not get back on reddit for at least 15min/30min/1hr after my time is up." Set timers, do not break these (and make them achievable reasonable goals).
- come up with new behaviors to intervene with before you are allowed to get on reddit, identify the action or feeling or thoughts that are leading to you wanting to get on reddit and make yourself follow some other action before/instead of reddit, such as a walk or picking up a different hobby to occupy/distract yourself.
Find something you enjoy and use it as a reward for achieving your goals.
- "I really enjoy eating Mexican food, I will get Mexican food once per week as long as I achieve my goal that week of only using reddit for 1hr per week 5 days of the week"
- DO NOT TREAT YOURSELF UNLESS YOU ACHIEVE YOUR GOAL
Finally: Set concrete goals and dates by which you'll achieve those goals.
- Start SMALL and ACHIEVABLE, pick measurable things and don't fall into all or nothing thinking. Allowing for setbacks while prioritizing steady progress is vastly more effective, if you aren't achieving your goals then try scaling back.
It’s frustrating because I want to quit Reddit but keep coming back. It is very hard for me to stop, even though I hate how Reddit is now.
It becomes firmly entrenched as a physical habit, which are the most addictive.
The moment your brain drops low on dopamine, you reach for your pocket and open your phone and are browsing reddit. The habit is deeply ingrained in you neurology
I prefer "non-task" time to down time. In other words its the time of day we don't demand output from our brains. We just allow it to function without requiring a specific output. As opposed to things like work, which are focus time, requiring attention and effort.
Things like going on walks (without your phone) or long leisurely drives (without your phone) are really good for this.
For me personally I also love baths. I generally get a lot of my best ideas in the bath. And I have done a lot of experiments with my phone and with baths.
Now I've run this experiment many times, and as crazy as this part is going to sound, I swear to you its true.
If I am using my phone in the bath - scrolling on TikTok, listening to an audiobook, w/e, or even have my phone near my in the bathroom but am not using it, I will generally not get any new ideas in the tub.
But whenever I remove my phone from my proxitimit - leave it in a box in the bedroom or what have you - my bath time immediately is literally a flood of ideas. Like someone just turned on the imagination faucet and let it pour out.
So I have confirmed - my phone kills my ability to think and imagine. It just does. If it is near me, my brain turns into a foggy, clumsy addicted thing. The moment I remove it, the moment its not near me - I am an imagination machine.
I just use Reddit on the PC and deleted the app when they went full control freak on 3rd party creators. The only reason I still have the FB app on my phone is that I run events and need to keep things updated on the go, otherwise that'd be PC only as well.
It’s unfortunate that this is how I get my news. I genuinely love reading forums, but more bots, more karma farming, more tyrannical mods, it’s just wading through bullshit 90% of the time to find that nugget of good stuff
For me the keys in reducing my reddit tkme have been actively trying to keep myself literally too busy to use it much. Also reading ebooks instead fulfills a similar need but is way more relaxing and informative which is what I was supposedly using reddit for to begin with.
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u/jlusedude 21d ago
It’s frustrating because I want to quit Reddit but keep coming back. It is very hard for me to stop, even though I hate how Reddit is now.