Internet/Smart Device Addiction

[Johnny Velvet]

EDIT: Removed

[Paul S]

I don't have that affliction but I can understand how other people have fallen into this pit and end up checking their devices all the time. I leave my mobile on as I am on call for search and rescue call outs, but other than that I get very little from other people. Sometimes I look at whatsapp and discover loads of chat and I wonder how on earth I missed it all and when did I last check my phone. But other times - like you - I find myself checking all the time. I think sometimes you have to fight these things head on and try turning your mobile off. Try going for a walk without it and funderstandl how naked you feel, you'll be shocked by it. On the other hand it will be nice to get your life back when digital devices don't rule your life anymore.

[ad hoc]

I have found that the Freedom app ( https://freedom.to/ ) works quite well for me. Basically it shuts down your online access for a specified period of time, and it can't be overridden. So, if I set it for say 30 minutes, then for 30 minutes I can't use the internet nor receive anything. When i first started using it, I thought it was utterly ridiculous that I actually needed an app to cover for my own lack of self-discipline, but now I have realised that this is in fact OK*. To begin with I used to do a blanket setting which blocked absolutely everything (I have it on both my laptop and my phone so it works across the two). Now, I unblock certain pages (as more and more work i have to do is actually online, including these days editing documents, I do need to be able to access certain places), but it really works (for me, it may not for you). The first time you use it you may find yourself curled into a ball sweating waiting the interminable time until the clock winds down and you are back online, but hopefully you'll find it helpful

*Actually, the reason it works I think it along the same theory that all around us, our environment is tweaked. So, when cars these days make an annoying noise if you don't fasten your seatbelt, that's the same principle (also less positively the ways that supermarkets are arranged to entice you to spend more money). Disconnecting from the Net is just another environmental tweak.

[Snake Plissken]

I absolutely have this problem right now and it is leading to insomnia on a Sunday night as my brain isn't ever switching off from things. I've been thinking about blocking sites in certain times in an effort to actually try and concentrate on one thing. The problem is with WFH, I actually need to be connected a fair bit.

[pebblethefish]

The last time I got a text that wasn't from my network provider, my vpn provider (it sends me a log-in code every day) or Dominos Pizza was Christmas Day. Since then, I have made one call and received none. I also haven't checked my email in that period (I just had a look, and there wasn't anything worth reading).

I seem to have the opposite problem from the rest of you.

[gjw100]

Although I post on the Jazz thread most days, I tend to limit my OTF access to less than an hour a day (and not particularly consciously), just to catch up with some of the threads that I find interesting or amusing. I don't do social media of any sort so my online activity is fairly low key. The only time it became a problem was Spring/Summer 2019, when I started betting again on horseracing (something that I had practised pretty successfully in my younger days). The gambling itself wasn't the issue and I actually did OK, but I found during the afternoons and early evenings I was constantly checking my phone or logging on to the laptop for the results or to watch a live stream of the race, often sneaking away from my wife to do so. After a few months I realised how ridiculous and how much a thief of my time it was, and knocked it all on the head. .

[johnr]

I don't have that affliction, but thinking I might develop something like that - particularly the 'missing a work call' and 'what if I don't reply straight away?' things - were the reasons why I took the decision to never get a mobile phone 20 years ago. I've never regretted it.

[Forest Gump]

I'm firmly in the addicted camp here, my attention span is almost non-existent. I can't remember the last time I watched a whole game of football on TV without being on my phone too.

Twitter and Instagram are my worst offenders. I feel like I get a lot out of Twitter... Until I read the replies. Oh god, the replies.

I've tried using apps which limit the time on an app, like ad hoc suggests, but they seem to conflict with my phone's launcher and never really work.

I've now tried going cold turkey by uninstalling the apps altogether. It's been amazing (and worrying) to see how often I pick up my phone and try to open Twitter. It's ingrained in my muscle memory.

I think it would be a lot easier, if my job wasn't in part social media management.