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Internet addiction? How to tell?

Discussion in 'Off-topic Discussion' started by Deleted Account, Jan 16, 2018.

  1. How do you know if you have an internet addiction or maybe should consider cutting down? I know that pmo addiction may coincide with internet addiction. I notice I enjoy checking out this site often. I also catch myself going on YouTube and clicking around on different videos and can’t pay attention on a video for too long And I like to skip around. I don’t use the computer much, like an hour twice during the weekday and on the weekend I’m on the computer for 6-7 hours watching YouTube or watching a tv show. Weekdays I spend like total 2 hours on the phone. Does this sound like a problem?
     
  2. GeneralismoKilgore

    GeneralismoKilgore Fapstronaut

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    I too have issues with this. I think one of the best approaches to this I've heard is that if you have no self control buy a brick phone and use that instead. Weekends, try and think about scheduling it so you have only a 3 hour window you are allowed to do stuff on the computer, and then you have to do an hour of walking or jogging as compensation.
     
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  3. I know I should be doing this but deep down I don’t want to :/ I’m so stressed, anxious and burnt out during the weekdays, that when the weekend comes, I just want to relax. Well I’m between every few hours I meditate or read for like 15 minutes. That’s not much I know but it’s something?? Do you think my amount of usage sounds like a problem? I also worry about the dopamine receptors. Some say using computer and phone isn’t a problem, others say perhaps. I get mixed answers. What do you think
     
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  4. An addiction is when you try to stop something and physically cannot. So you already wanted to cut down, so attempt to. You may be able to or you may not be able to.
     
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  5. Ongoingsupport

    Ongoingsupport Fapstronaut

    The issue is not so much that you're addicted to the internet as a thing, since it is a huge network with a lot of places, but more like you are constantly- oh look a chicken!

    Interrupted.

    It's what it does to our attention span and focus. If we're used to being entertained with whatever we want with easy access then our brain will be used to short stupid content, and you can't really argue with someone who doesn't comprehend enough of the big picture about it because they are not capable of the perspective that requires a longer attention span.
     
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  6. Hmmm I can, but sometimes I gravitate towards it and I can’t help but enjoy the phone a little, maybe to get some dopamine.

    I mean pmo is some what an internet addiction as well, some would say, with all the clicking. But I do agree, the internet does mess up our attention span. We’ve conditioned ourselves to skip around and take quick glances, it’s very bad
     
  7. Ongoingsupport

    Ongoingsupport Fapstronaut

    There's a book called Rewire by MIT guy Ethan Zuckerman about digital cosmopolitanism, apparently most people don't really check out the stuff online they are not familiar with. A part of it is language barrier but it is also cultural and we are just more likely to be looking at the kind of things we are already familiar with. So just on content alone it isn't like thfere's a lot of diversity, people use it to reinforce their existing biases. So it's really being addicted to only certain little parts of the internet, we don't really broaden our horizons either socially or in terms of the subject matter of content.

    Especially true of Americans btw
     
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  8. letter

    letter Distinguished Fapstronaut

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    +1

    OP / @theMorningSword : Try spending a week totally separated from the internet. Pay attention to your emotions and what you find yourself gravitating towards. If the week is difficult, you likely have an unhealthy attachment to something that has to do with the internet.
     
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  9. That sounds like a good idea, I probably have an unhealthy attachment

    Is it normal to want to peek at the phone every few hours in the day? I’ll be at work and I’ll want to check out the phone and chill a bit, read on some stuff or check this forums. Also, I’m a little obsessed in finding out healthy routines or herbs or foods for erections etc, do you think this is bad?
     
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  10. letter

    letter Distinguished Fapstronaut

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    This is why I say to keep track of what happens as you draw away from it. Your emotions can point you towards where the issue lies. As example, if you find yourself missing FB, it may have something to do with friendships. Even with NoFap, if you miss the fulfillment of seeing someone like your post, it may have something to do with a need for being validated.

    Normal, though, is an interesting subject. What is normal? If we could paint the picture of an ideal human life, maybe we could call that normal. Then, anything which deviates from this ideal would not be normal. Consider this, friend, you are asking someone who displays himself as “OutsideTime” what normal is :p my version of normal may seem insane to you. Truly, all of us are different and there should be room for us to be who we uniquely are.

    I’d say that a man should be content, happy & at peace, without need for anything other than simple food, water and his thoughts. Of course, a man can find great fulfillment in other aspects of life...but he should not have the need within him to.

    What do you think normal should be? How do you think you can get there?
     
  11. That’s an interesting point. But when I used to hang it with my friends, I’d still check fb like mad, so it may or may not be it, but it sure does change my perspective a bit. So you think next week I should cut out technology and write a journal?

    Hmmm good question. Well, when I say normal, I’m thinking is this how people generally act or how often they consume computers/phones. But I think it’s more I want to know if what I’m doing is still okay or in between range of okay, not unhealthy yet.

    I agree with that last paragraph, very wise and enlightening. Well, I guess normal is something that doesn’t cross the line and cross into addiction or obsession or a strong want, I guess? Very hard to define, because th answer can be so individualistic
     
  12. That is true I think, we only search for what we are looking for, probably never the opposite. Problem, like pmo, is the novelty, each click is something new and it’s fast.
     

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