What are ways to end a web surfing addiction?
That's what we call it still right, I'm not old, right? Anyway I'm horribly addicted to ragebait on reddit and despite being permabanned sitewide (can't even make new accounts) I still keep going back to it. It's obviously depressing and angering. It's not fun!
Just remember you don't want it.
Have a trigger to make sure evertrimrbyou have an urge to go on there you do not. Pinch your arm or smth. Put it in a folder on the last page of your phone and the few extra taps and swipes will be enough to remind you or trigger your memory not to do it.
Find out why you go there?
I really hate all my hobbies, they all have horrible experiences associated with them
I deleted the (patched third party) app and removed all links from chrome history.
Yup, and if you find that it's still not enough then you can add more friction.
For example, if there is a certain subreddit that you go to a lot and don't want to, block that subreddit at the browser level.
You could block the entire website, but you don't want to get into the habit of unblocking things (ex. If you need to access a post with some resource, after coming across it when searching). Better to block what you need to block, instead of overdoing it.
Other changes:
You are, in fact, doom scrolling.
I forgot the term doomscroll lol
For me, the best way to quit bad habits is to find alternative hobbies. Try something new. Join a local group.
Do you have a pet? If you're able to keep a pet, they're great distractions from the self-inflicted psychological damage from consuming corporate social media
I used to. When I move I plan on getting animals, probably adopt old dogs or have smaller ones who don't need as much walking OR just cats for now (or probably get a large dog and walk them an hour a day anyway lol what's 13 hours instead of my usual daily 12 if I live close enough to work 🤔)
Get a dumb phone.
This works. If OP has a SIM card (vs esim) then it’s easy to move it back and forth between phones as the problem ebbs and flows. I have a $60 “feature” phone (the non-slang name for them) that sits in a drawer and comes out a few times a year to quell the noise.
Enjoy spending your time doing positive activities. Things that will help you grow and appreciate life even more. Play music, write, sketch, paint, dance, do a movie, sculpt, or go out for a walk, have a look at whatever nature remains near you... while there is still something to look at. Spend as much time as you can with the people you care about, your spouse and your family maybe? Not with a bunch of hateful and dumber than shit morons.
You're right. I do like to write, worldbuild, and create games.
I blacklisted the site on my router, worked like a charm. Am much happier without it!
Get a different hobby. Find some activity you're interested in. Then focus on that and slowly let go. And keep in mind what matters to you.
Block the domain on your router.
Finally, find something else to spend your time on. Go outside, keep yourself busy, take some classes on something, etc. Replace that time with something else.
Find another activity to replace it and limit your time.
Try to think, "this time, I'm going to go play with that game on my phone" or whatever that activity is.
When I feel like I'm sick of browsing social media I've done things like get up and tidy up, open the day planner, do a chore, play a video game, read, and hell I bought some word search books on ebay to have around to pull out and do. There's tons of other things to do that's better than this shit, you just have to remember that it's there and force yourself to go do it.
Go on a vacation with a dumb phone. Make sure there are tons of active activities to wear you out. Bring a friend if possible who will do the same.
Before you leave, set up some form of blocker/parental controls and have someone you trust set the passwords.
I’m not sure how applicable this advice is, but I had a similar problem with short form content. I would scroll for hours and hours everyday and just felt really unproductive. So, to fix it, I deleted Instagram and got Lemmy! Instead of using software with an abundance of short form content, I forced myself to use software that has limited long form content. By intentionally putting limitations on myself, I was able to correct my behavior. However, I didn’t completely go cold turkey; I allowed myself to consume long form content that I viewed as more “intellectual,” “mature,” or worth my time.
If I were in your situation, I would need something to add some resistance into the process of opening Reddit. For me, that resistance was deleting an app so I had to go out of my way to reinstall it. For you, maybe you could automatically delete Reddit cookies so you have to log in every time? Maybe add parental controls to your router to block it? And as an alternative, maybe block political communities on Lemmy? Maybe read articles or the news instead?
