[NeonMidget]

Heres a video to give you background if you can't be bothered doing your own research ... :smug:

I have been on a long journey of removing myself from social media and the internet in general over the past few years, I have managed to whittle down my social media and internet use as much as I can for now... I have deactivated my facebook, I don't use twitter and I try to limit my instagram/snapchat and youtube time but as someone who is a student, enjoys online games, keeping up with friends from all over the world and being someone who exists on this world today it is pretty impossible to totally eliminate all exposure to the internet.

What do you spend your internet time doing? what else could you be spending your time doing? is your internet use stopping you from pursuing something? Please let me know! :ball:

Are you addicted to the internet?

 

[Mmmm]

I've been thinking about this recently, because I think it has become a bit of a crutch for me, as opposed to talking with people in the real world. I'm on before work, during breaks, after work, before bed, it's getting ridiculous. Besides PerC the only other "social media" platform I have is my Yelp account. I've been wanting to wean myself off, to focus on self improvement. These are some of the personal goals I've brainstormed so far:

1) I would like to take an online class, doesn't really matter on what, as long as I can learn something new.
2) I have a lot of personal research/study I would like to do, I just haven't been motivated to start my projects.
3) I want to get back into writing.
4) I would also like to reconnect with family, I usually correspond with them once or twice a year, but this year I didn't write to anyone. Yes, I actually mail them a card, or letter.
5) I think I need to get back to volunteering again, even if it's just a couple of hours a week. I know a couple of homebound people that I could visit with, & hopefully be of some practical use as well.
6) I want to get back to spending more time with friends, I used to see everyone weekly. I would like to get back to that again.
7) Physical exercise is important too, I need to get more serious with that as well. I'm hoping that will help alleviate other issues also.

Edit: Maybe instead of an online class, I should take a class at the local college. I could even take an exercise class too. I used to go to a stationary bike class, that was fun.

 

[Radiant Wheelbarrow]

I would like to encourage you and anyone trying to cut down on internet and social media. Good luck!

 

[Hurricane Matthew]

I feel like I have an internet addiction... I actually kind of hate being online so much but at the same time I don't really know how to socialize any other way. I have autism and a speech impediment that makes people look down on me because my communication skills are weak. Literally nobody listens to me IRL because I struggle with speaking ((lots of pausing and stuttering)) and it makes me sound more stupid than I am. When I'm online, I can actually get my say on things and find people of similar interests. I can finally "fit in" when at college I couldn't make a connection to anyone. My internet addiction basically started in that first year of college since it sucked so much on campus socially.

But I also hate my internet life since all of the people I like and consider as friends live far away in other countries and I'm constantly reminded of our distance. I don't like sitting around for long periods of time or staring at screens, either, but I'm too lonely to not be on the internet, as pathetic as that sounds. If I could, internet and computer time would only be used for my digital art and writing projects ((it's really hard to sell art without the internet)) and then have friends to hangout with IRL so I wouldn't need the internet to build relationships so much. Internet relationships are extremely fickle because of the distance and often a difference in language and culture between people all over the world. Misunderstandings are incredibly easy online and so much unnecessary drama happens because of this. It's also a lot more difficult to trust people who you can't see in person. Everyone online could be lying to you about literally everything and you'd never know.

I dunno... I'm probably not as addicted as some people are. I barely use my phone and when it dies I don't plan to replace it since I hate the feeling of being chained to a mobile device ((I don't want to be accessible to people 24/7)) and I'm pretty sure if I did gain a good IRL friend it'll be really difficult for me to keep an internet presence since a big reason why I'm online in the first place is the lack of anyone to talk to IRL.

...Talking to people IRL is also hard because of the internet addiction other people have, too. I pretty much never get to have conversations with my brother anymore since he's always doing stuff on his phone and he used to be one of the few people who had enough patience to talk to me as I fumble with my words. He even brought his phone to the Christmas dinner table so he could play mobile games while eating =.= His addiction is so unhealthy that it made me question my own relationship with the internet so I've been more aware and cutting back a bit. I could still do better, though.

One thing that saves me is that I'm naturally an outdoorsy person and love being outside. Though all my outdoors time is mainly spent alone with my dog and nature and not with other human beings xD

 

[JennyJukes]

I actually did my University dissertation research on Internet Use and Mental Health! Very complex topic, for some people the internet had positive effects (eg for isolated people who had no other way of meeting people - I've used forums where I've known very lonely, depressed people who met someone online and are now extremely happy for example) but for many it had negative effects.

For me personally, I find excessive internet use can be negative on me. I also find that a lot of my internet friends who go missing and come back to say Hi generally say they've been happy since they left the internet. I consider myself to have an internet addiction but I can now go without it and enjoy it when the internet goes down (and I can read my books or do the housework for a change!). Before, I used to get really anxious and annoyed when my internet would go down and try everything to try fix it. I was only able to change this by changing my views about myself and trying to rely on people less (as socialisation is the main reason I use the internet). Now I only use forums/servers which have a positive influence on me. As soon as they don't, I get rid of it.

I'm long distance with my boyfriend so the internet is the only thing we can use so it's sort of necessary for me (and I've tried sending him snail mail and it never reaches him!). I hope when we close the distance we can use the internet less and focus on real life hobbies. I'd love to learn to cook and bake more but I end up looking online for recipes and get distracted or I would rather use my time to talk to my boyfriend. When he isn't online (University or asleep - we're 4 hours time difference) I do find that I get very bored and do things IRL and when we are together we don't spend much time online, so I'm hopeful we won't go back to excessive internet use as we'll be enjoying each other's company. With my ex he never wanted to do anything with me and he was constantly glued to his video games so I used the internet to talk to people and we grew apart and I don't want that to happen in my current relationship.

 

[series0]

My contention is that this topic is more and more related to people's desire vis a vis their personal empowerment. What that means is that lacking a readily available more rewarding alternative to internet use, including most poignantly all forms of informing oneself and entertaining oneself, one chooses the internet.

That is not to say that if a person was not empowered to make a better choice, they would not. What it does say is this: things have become so confused and difficult and all encompassing in the external world, that the chances of meaningful success and progress there is nil compared to the internet.

Each of us can play a game, reach out to cool foreign friends that have zero chance of invading our lives physically, inform ourselves on specific topics we directly choose, and even witness and sometimes interact with an oversexed (chosen from thousands) perfect body to feel a physical sexual release. That is all tremendously wonderful even if it is not quite genuine in any whole way. if we connect with the higher mind, the physical is missing. If we connect in the self help physical way, genuine feelings and investment are missing. If we are entertained, it is rare that achievement is involved, and when it is, it is because the real life barriers are lowered via imagination, which has a crippling effect on us, because we subconsciously realize that we are not a 100th level super sexy elf wizard who killed the big bad and got the gold, we do not ride a pastel glitter unicorn shooting rainbows out its ass for real, and gold and XP are not so readily available so easily in our external lives.

But, really, the challenge IS NOT just to us as individuals. Society itself has created this situation. Our values or lack thereof has created this situation. Demanding that the afflicted fix it by themselves is cruel and wrong. The basic challenge to society is the same as the 'get a job' challenge in reverse, 'Make progress in life easier for everyone, and make sure the rewards apply only to those that deserve them, and otherwise catalyze wisdom amid the structures and policies of society, ... OR ELSE!'

If the Matrix is vastly preferable to real life, why would anyone choose real life? It does not matter that real life offers a genuine suffering with chances to earn real wisdom, if real life is also so unfair and immoral in its catalyzed truths that playing real life is a losing proposition. People cannot get to the place in the real world that your inspirational poster's picture was taken. They lack the money and access to that service. They do not have the girl as a girlfriend in the picture nor the budget she had access to that ensured she wore the perfect clothes and makeup for her body style. They do not have the peace of mind to rest and enjoy the calm of that scene because they are struggling just to eat, and the foods they eat are poisoning them but they cant afford organic, the boss's daughter who is an asshat got the good job and they quit in protest and now their water utility is shut off because YES, of course, they kept the internet. At least their fB image crafting can still put the proper spin on their life and others will see only lies similar to the inspirational poster.

Make real life BETTER!

 

[strawberryLola]

 

[crazitaco]

I should probably be more bothered by it, but....
eh

 

[Mick Travis]

I spend my social internet time on PerC. I enjoy the sounding board. I appreciate the apparent frankness. I'm getting insight into how minds work and different genetic dispositions. I'm addicted to understanding.