r/nosurf • u/pirateprivateer • 4d ago
Everyone talks about "social media addiction" but no one talks about generic internet addiction, mostly "searching and information-seeking addiction."
I’m not addicted to social media. I only have accounts because career mentors told me to. It’s a work tool. It actually helps me. I use it when work demands engagement.1
That doesn’t make me productive or mentally stable. I’ve had depressive episodes and suicidal ideation2 my whole life, with or without social media. I also had happy periods, again, with or without social media.3
So what is my problem?
Pervasive internet use, the classic kind. The browser, not apps. The open web, random searches, Wikipedia spirals, chasing thoughts down rabbit holes, researching trivialities.
Also, YouTube. Most of the time, I’m reading comments instead of watching the video. For the record:
(1) On mobile, I don’t use the official app, I use NewPipe and PipePipe; if they're down, I use the browser + uBlock Origin in incognito mode.
(2) On desktop, a dummy account to shape recommendations ("building the algorithm" for what I like) or browsing incognito, so I always have to manually search what I want.
Here's the trap: "useful uselessness." I do learn things, for instance, home repair, organisation, random facts I carry for life, but it’s always unfocused.
Here's and example of what I mean by unfocused: every month, a new book trends on YouTube. Do I read it? No, but I want to. I watch videos that implement the "book’s system." The shit part? It works well enough to keep me hooked. However, if I, indeed, do read the book, I stop chasing those videos. Why? Because most of them are wrong. I'm bot saying this in an arrogant way, it's more like: "What is this person even talking about? That’s not what the book says. They’re just saying this for clickbait." That’s especially true with pop-psych books. If I spent two focused hours reading the book, I’d gain more depth and clarity (I do that occasionally, so I know this effect).
The ambiguity: sometimes this habit backfires usefully. I’ve learned Spanish and French by forcing myself to consume media in those languages. But other times, I end up watching an ASMR video, thinking about nothing.
I've even tried replacing this habit with meditation. For months, I meditated 1–1.5 hours daily: still depressed, surfing the web for hours (now with more awareness).
I waste time on other sites too (Reddit, occasionally) but the specific website doesn’t matter. I’m just searching whatever.
I've used greyscale mode on mobile, blocked nearly all entertainment sites on my network, but it didn’t help. Some sites were essential (communication, job info), and honestly, I wasn’t even using most of them. When I’m working, I am the one distracting myself, not the tech.
I use paper notebooks. I journal. I track habits. I brain dump. I work out. I study. I have friends. I am organised. I have an analogue and digital system, I am productive but I still lose hours of sleep and sanity to this habit. So it’s not social media (at least not in the popular sense), it’s me vs myself.4
I’ve been dealing with this for years, but there’s little discussion about it, or maybe I just can’t find it (which is ironic). Most discourse focuses on social media or obvious dopamine traps. This kind of compulsive searching, however, is often seen as "disciplined" or "studious" from the outside, or something that only nerds do anyway, so most people don't care and it flies under the radar because it gives the impression of "Wow, you’re so focused and knowledgeable." Yes, and it helps my job, but that doesn’t mean the negative side isn’t there.
I don't really have much advice do give here, but two things helped:
Having good friends, so you never feel alone, because this is a lonely habit, it's not like drinking or smoking, which you can do socially);
A sane, small to-do list. Why? Because it's small enough to actually be finished, so, after it's done, I can end the day. This kills the "I can do more" spiral, it lets me wander guilt-free. Doesn’t stop the habit, but kills the shame.
That doesn't mean I don't stray away and doomscroll sometimes, I do, but it's like 30~60minutes every other week, maximum; also, my algorithm is great: I only see posts related to my career. I treat those apps like they're radioactive stuff, so I feel like I'm wearing a hazmat suit every time I open them.
This is an adult topic, so, there it goes the bad words: suicide, kill myself, depression. We're not on TikTok, trying to censor th0s3 w0rd5 is pointless.
Do not misunderstand: I am not saying "social media is harmless" by using myself as an example. I am simply describing my situation, which may help other people in a similar situation.
Also, most of the popular advice isn't applicable to me, like "put your phone in aeroplane mode", "in another room" or "in a drawer", because most of the times I need my phone to work, so, even though it distracts me, it's a work tool. I dedicate specific moments to answer messages I received, with the exception of my family, which I put special notifications so I can respond immediately (yes, it is needed).
8
u/K-Dave 4d ago
Your main topic seems to be control. And you probably know that ;)
I believe there's not much to gain due to extensive personal knowledge in this era, because it's outsourced, weaponized and distorted anyway. Especially broad, associative knowledge. If you're a specialized freak, there may be a chance to find fulfillment in research, but you probably would use other resources than web-browsing therefore.
As humans we have two forms of intelligence: Knowledge and wisdom.
You probably need two things: The ability to focus on one or two main interests and a deeper connection to matters of the heart - whatever that means to you personally.
2
1
u/Able_Plant_1502 1d ago
The real edge is depth. If you’re a specialist, maybe research gives you joy—but even then, doom-scrolling isn’t the answer.
For me, I started using SearchPulse because I was constantly getting pulled into “just one quick search” and losing an hour. Now, I park my thoughts there and get back to work. It’s a small thing, but it gave me space to focus on what actually matters.
9
u/Present_Potential618 4d ago
Yep. Not really addicted to sm, can happily leave my phone somewhere off and forget about it. Laptop on the other hand, digital entertainment/ content consumption in general, and constant information seeking… that’s something else. It feels like everything out there is “how to break up with your phone” but that is decidedly not my problem- I can just set it down. On my laptop then theoretically I could start doing what I’m supposed to be doing at any moment…
1
5
u/tinkerwell 4d ago
There's actually an alcoholics anonymous for Internet and technology addicts. The meetings 8ve been to are a bit awkward but then I've only ever been to 1 and never have any others a chance after that awkward meeting
3
u/Jan_Asra 4d ago
It's tricky for sure. Social media addiction always seems to be chasing something, but when it's just doom scrolling it's as often running away from something. Boredom, anxiety, depression, whatever. You said you have depression in your post, it may be more effective to tackle that, not an easy process I know, than cutting the branches and trying to just address the behaviour.
3
u/QuantityWhich7509 3d ago
Have you ever looked into gifted psychology? It’s the only place I’ve heard this talked about, the most common factor is an intense curiosity. This might even be 2E behavior due to the hyperfixation.
For me, this stems from lack of intellectual stimulation in daily life and not being mirrored. This might be why hiding your phone doesn’t work. Taking classes or joining groups with other curious adults seems to help.
2
u/Fli_fo 4d ago
It's not discussed so much probably because so many people use smartphones and since most people's addiction is media consumption which is easy to do while swiping on a phone.
The internet addiction thing goes back to probably the time just after internet was paid by the minute. So, the first dsl and cable connections...
It's serious and yes it's a bit of a thing because you can easily trick yourself that wikipedia is 'study' instead of another form of wasting time.
What works for me is having no internet connection at home at all. And a simcard without data plan. So call/sms only. When I need internet I go to friends and use their wifi. Or to a place with public wifi. There I do my banking, email, etc.
2
1
u/AutoModerator 4d ago
Attention all newcomers: Welcome to /r/nosurf! We're glad you found our small corner of reddit dedicated to digital wellness. The following is a short list of resources to help you get started on your journey of developing a better relationship with the internet:
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
1
u/mothy444 1d ago
Yeah I have the same problem, and I also am more addicted to my laptop than my phone, since that's where my addiction started originally.
0
u/Able_Plant_1502 1d ago
Dude, I get this. I used to lose hours to random Google spirals. What helped? Whenever an idea pops up, I don’t open a new tab — I just throw it in SearchPulse and keep going. Later I check it if it’s still worth it. Total game changer.
1
u/fanplusonebot 1d ago
I struggled with this too — deleted apps, but always ended up reinstalling them. The only thing that really worked for me was using Blockrr.App. It locks social media and only lets you unlock screen time with the steps you’ve walked that day.
Weirdly enough, it turned doomscrolling into motivation to actually go outside. After a couple weeks I cut my usage by more than half and even got fitter in the process.
•
u/Wonderful-Concern571 9h ago
very relatable... blocked all the social media, blocked youtube (same thing with reading comments) - only have youtube on TV where i cant read, BUT still spending tons of time online just googling things
-2
u/Unusual_Public_9122 3d ago
Use AI to leverage the fragmented focus instead of suffering from it. My life has changed dramatically for the better by doing so.
26
u/Fine-Wallaby-7372 4d ago
I don't have any advice but I relate a lot