Internet restriction

[the_platypus]

Has anyone ever experimented with restricting their internet use?

Currently, I am doing so. I turned off wi-fi. I'm trying only to access the internet during specific, limited periods of time via ethernet (to make it less convenient). Maybe in the future I will restrict it further, if the experience is positive.

My motivation is I think I am an internet addict. It severely hinders my ability to focus and get anything done. Too much of my free time is squandered on never ending videos, articles, or games. Not enough is spent outdoors, doing things, or with other people.

So far, it has been a positive experiment. It's hard not to cheat with smartphone data, but on the whole I like the feeling of, "I am here." With unfettered internet access, there's always that pull, that feeling that I am only half here, and half thinking of the next thing I want to do online. I've been more productive and enjoyed entertainment media in a more focused manner (books, CDs, DVDs).

The internet is still super useful for researching things. But maybe I should only do that when I am in the library.

The ERE application here is that less internet could help improve focus and thus develop renaissance skills. It also is a low-tech kind of thing which means it is more resilient in the face of change. Learning how to enjoy oneself, how to learn, how to socialize, and how to coordinate with little to no online assistance seem like valuable skills. Sort of like camping indoors, lol.

[Stahlmann]

https://www.pluckeye.net/

[basuragomi]

I used very throttled cellphone data tethering only for a few years, basically only good for text, sound and static images. If I wanted heavy internet use I went to the library. It did help with my other skills. But ultimately you will (subconsciously or otherwise) seek out another low-effort dopamine hit. Focusing on the drug at hand, one after another, isn't as useful as training to recognize and moderate your impulses.

[Miss Lonelyhearts]

My experience has been that endless e-surfing is a very effective way to avoid thinking about unpleasant things. What is most unpleasant for me are problems that I don’t know how to solve. The screen time is a symptom of the larger avoidance. When it becomes more important to solve the problem than to avoid the pain, screen time is reduced.

This process takes time and can be repeated.

[flying_pan]

But ultimately you will (subconsciously or otherwise) seek out another low-effort dopamine hit.

Very true, in my experience if I successfully ditch something I spend too much time on, pretty soon I find something else, probably some other entertaining media. I guess you can trick yourself into doing something positive, but I still think it is a very limited approach.

Still, try to limit the internet, it might work for you and give exactly what you want.

[Gilberto de Piento]

I use the stayfocusd plugin for chrome to limit the time I can access certain websites. It is fairly easy to get around but it is just enough of a barrier / reminder to mostly keep me from spending hours on pointless, addicting sites. Many trashy sites I haven't looked at in years thanks to the plugin. I still spend more time then I'd like keeping up on reddit and the news. I'd like to cut way back on reddit and move to only checking facebook once a month or something.

Unfortunately for me sometimes I just want content to stare at mindlessly while I eat or whatever. If I take away all the waste of time sites entirely I'd have to buy a ton of mindless magazines or I'd be alone with my thoughts which might be way more damaging than spending an hour a day reading news articles.

[sky]

I have been trying to use internet when searching on specific terms, but limiting use of general browsing and visiting bookmarks. I still waste a lot of time on youtube, but the quality level of content there is dropping so maybe I will just not watch as much. There is a lot of valuable information on the internet, so I don't want to quit using it. I do find quality information from searches that I do with search terms of interest to me, and then going a number of pages into the search engine results. Youtube can best be used by subscribing to creators of interest and being skeptical of most algorithm fed content. The content is about 80% complete bullshit on youtube(and rising). The ads are so bad at the moment, its marketing to morons, such transparent fraudulent BS.

[thai_tong]

My experience has been that endless e-surfing is a very effective way to avoid thinking about unpleasant things. What is most unpleasant for me are problems that I don’t know how to solve. The screen time is a symptom of the larger avoidance. When it becomes more important to solve the problem than to avoid the pain, screen time is reduced.

This process takes time and can be repeated.

oh god this is me exactly. I used to binge on news media to distract myself from the fact that my relationship was failing