Random thread 324

23d

OP

If your base state was nothingness, you wouldn't be having this problem. Social media scrolling isn't "nothing", it's still an activity, so it drains energy and saps attention. You're spending all of your energy on meaningless activity, which blocks you from meaningful activity. You should try your hand at actual nothingness if you want to get out of this cycle. Pick a spot in your home that isn't near your computer or phone and make that your "default" location from now on. When you wake up in the morning, or when you find yourself with downtime, sit there quietly until something worth doing comes to mind, and then go do it. Those little moments spent sitting quietly should be enough to let you store up motivation, and it also gives you time to think and reflect.

23d

OP

Social media has a strong financial incentive to keep your eyes on it for as long as possible.
So yes, by any objective metric, it is brain poison. It has to be in order to compete.
It intends by design to lock you in a dopaminergic loop. Every aspect of the UX is designed as such. All of the content is personally tailored to your personal simulacrum, either for you to agree or disagree with.
>Can anyone please give advice
I'm assuming from the fact you're asking this question that the possibility of simply removing yourself from them is unacceptable to you?

22d

Wild Cow 23d

Social media has a strong financial incentive to keep your eyes on it for as long as possible. So yes, by any objective metric, it is brain poison. It has

Social media has a strong financial incentive to keep your eyes on it for as long as possible.
So yes, by any objective metric, it is brain poison. It has to be in order to compete.
It intends by design to lock you in a dopaminergic loop. Every aspect of the UX is designed as such. All of the content is personally tailored to your personal simulacrum, either for you to agree or disagree with.
>Can anyone please give advice
I'm assuming from the fact you're asking this question that the possibility of simply removing yourself from them is unacceptable to you?

I’m willing to like 90% remove myself from them but it feels a bit extreme to just go off the grid in that regard
It would be like a former fatty never eating cake again after dieting - just the regulation of consumption
was the probably not the thing itself

Wild Cow 23d

If your base state was nothingness, you wouldn't be having this problem. Social media scrolling isn't "nothing", it's still an activity, so it drains ener

If your base state was nothingness, you wouldn't be having this problem. Social media scrolling isn't "nothing", it's still an activity, so it drains energy and saps attention. You're spending all of your energy on meaningless activity, which blocks you from meaningful activity. You should try your hand at actual nothingness if you want to get out of this cycle. Pick a spot in your home that isn't near your computer or phone and make that your "default" location from now on. When you wake up in the morning, or when you find yourself with downtime, sit there quietly until something worth doing comes to mind, and then go do it. Those little moments spent sitting quietly should be enough to let you store up motivation, and it also gives you time to think and reflect.

Interesting I’ll try that
I have heard of like the staring at a wall shit
I’ll probably just swivel my way away from my PC and go in a corner

Only thing is I wonder if I’ll find myself ever wanting to do things again, especially sporadically, because that’s another thing I miss from my youth
Not having to pre-plan stuff just being able to relax and do things naturally
But I guess it would just take a bit of willpower and less priority on desire to do some things and get momentum again

22d

OP

Yes, every time you read a post, get a like or a follow your brain releases dopamine, which in turn wires you to crave more of the same. You should be getting dopamine from performing difficult tasks to completion, that enables growth and deep fulfillment.

21d

OP

How am I supposed to settle for C-cup sally when I know titcowGODDESSes like that exist THOUGH?

21d

Jolly Walrus 22d

Yes, every time you read a post, get a like or a follow your brain releases dopamine, which in turn wires you to crave more of the same. You should be get

Yes, every time you read a post, get a like or a follow your brain releases dopamine, which in turn wires you to crave more of the same. You should be getting dopamine from performing difficult tasks to completion, that enables growth and deep fulfillment.

In addition, complete abstinence is the best way to handle any addiction. Because once you get a little taste again after stopping, your brain will try to reason with you that it needs more. If you agree to give it more, it spirals quickly, and you’ll be back to square one before you know what happened.

20d

Gold Giraffe 21d

In addition, complete abstinence is the best way to handle any addiction. Because once you get a little taste again after stopping, your brain will try to

In addition, complete abstinence is the best way to handle any addiction. Because once you get a little taste again after stopping, your brain will try to reason with you that it needs more. If you agree to give it more, it spirals quickly, and you’ll be back to square one before you know what happened.

Isn’t it also possible to just not start your free time with it too?
It won’t suck away from your available attention span you have left for that day (assuming a workday not weekend) or get you into that spiral again
Then after getting something done if you use it, you’ll see it’s not as fulfilling / be able to stop sooner

I’ve also considered trying to substitute the pointless tasks by doing them in tandem with things I wanna do
Like only using YouTube if I’m writing along side it for example

20d

Blue Wolf 20d

Isn’t it also possible to just not start your free time with it too? It won’t suck away from your available attention span you have left for that day (ass

Isn’t it also possible to just not start your free time with it too?
It won’t suck away from your available attention span you have left for that day (assuming a workday not weekend) or get you into that spiral again
Then after getting something done if you use it, you’ll see it’s not as fulfilling / be able to stop sooner

I’ve also considered trying to substitute the pointless tasks by doing them in tandem with things I wanna do
Like only using YouTube if I’m writing along side it for example

>Like only using YouTube if I’m writing along side it for example
That seems counter-productive. Your goal is to strengthen your attention span and train yourself to give your full attention to the things you want to do. Turning multi-tasking into a habit like that will fry your attention span and make it ever harder to concentrate in the future.

Right now with your current habits, do you sit and give Youtube your full attention or do you browse social media while listening to it in the background? If it's the latter, one good step forward would be to forbid yourself from ever multitasking. Either give Youtube your full attention or don't watch it at all, because if you're only half paying attention then that means it wasn't worth any of your attention.

19d

I basically graze I guess you could call it
Open YouTube
Find something
Watch it
Or pause it forever while opening another YouTube tab to find something else
Find nothing go on Twitter instead
Scroll
Return to YouTube
Check discord
Jerk off
Edge a bit lose interest
Twitter
Etc

So yeah I guess I am just a fucking ape
Not self hating more just realizing lol
Only one task at a time really does make sense
I do not at all think that setting timers or quotas would help me be more productive, not that you suggested this just stating it cause it came to mind, think I would just avoid doing things at all costs then

19d

Well I suppose when I get home today I’ll just try to not use social media
I won’t force myself to do anything either
But if nothing naturally comes to me I will simply wait until it does

17d

Wow I don’t wanna call this a placebo or anything, but coming home from work and not opening any social media and just starting to write, even if I’ve only done a bit, feels so much better
Way less “noise” in my mind
Not really gonna worry about how much I get done (maybe just on weekends I will)

17d

OP

>I’ve had times where I just close discord and Twitter and YouTube and can perform tasks better, but it feels so odd for that to be the only solution
That's normal. You're not supposed to be consuming multiple forms of media while simultaneously being productive somehow.
One thing to have a podcast on playing a video game, but if you're actually getting shit done, you're probably not consuming other media besides maybe some music.

16d

That went well by I guess I should try and figure out some rules or guidelines so that I can continue being less mind poisoned months from now

15d

I’m just gonna bump to possibly garner more discussion on this topic but I do realize it’s a kinda simple answer of yes

15d

OP

The thing about social media is this, apologies if it's a weird ramble I wrote it as more of a note than proper grammar in notepad

If you use it:
-It is an extremely easy infinite doomscroll machine that wastes your time and sucks all of your attention into it like a trance
-90% of the content you see you don't actually care for, didn't ask for, and won't remember AKA it is just pointless noise

The side effects of using it:
-You cannot have a second of boredom or slowness at all because any time this happens you will instantly jump to the social media to fill this gap in brain activity
i.e. if you are writing and need to think about your next passage you WILL feel an urge to just switch tabs, there is that nagging feeling - this effect is even worse if you start out doing these destructive activities and not an active one because you basically bounce from thing to thing (note how easy they are to use and infinitely too)
-Multitasking by using them while doing something eventful is also bad because it is 1) Not allowing you the ability to focus on one thing at a time 2) Limiting how much you could get done if you focused on one thing at a time 3) Is masking the actual bad effects of using social media by pretending to be doing something good

They ultimately provide nothing, waste time, lower focus and attention span, and make any moment of boredom in your life that could lead to creativity or doing some other productive task have you turn to the infinite scroll brain flogging machine instead.

OP

The thing about social media is this, apologies if it's a weird ramble I wrote it as more of a note than proper grammar in notepad

If you use it:
-It is an extremely easy infinite doomscroll machine that wastes your time and sucks all of your attention into it like a trance
-90% of the content you see you don't actually care for, didn't ask for, and won't remember AKA it is just pointless noise

The side effects of using it:
-You cannot have a second of boredom or slowness at all because any time this happens you will instantly jump to the social media to fill this gap in brain activity
i.e. if you are writing and need to think about your next passage you WILL feel an urge to just switch tabs, there is that nagging feeling - this effect is even worse if you start out doing these destructive activities and not an active one because you basically bounce from thing to thing (note how easy they are to use and infinitely too)
-Multitasking by using them while doing something eventful is also bad because it is 1) Not allowing you the ability to focus on one thing at a time 2) Limiting how much you could get done if you focused on one thing at a time 3) Is masking the actual ba
...

14d

OP

> Is Social Media Legitimate Brain Poison
Yes, and it isn't a conspiracy theory to say that they are optimized for nothing that you should want to partake in, ragebait, dopamine dripfeeding, shilling, FOMO, etc. They have invested millions into this kind of thing, it's soma.

>advice
Pre-decide not to even start consuming content until you have done whatever matters first. You could also read the book Digital Minimalism, but I will say while it states the problem very clearly, the advice is easier said than done if you are truly hooked.

13d

Yeah the more I look into social media the more I am convinced to drop most of it for good
It is just so bad

13d

Yes it ruins your motivation short term because the alternative is infinite low barrier to entry stimulation
But it also ruins it long term because you’ve been separated from reality and in a trance for so long you can’t even really mentally visualize what it is you wanna do

It’s like trying to eat healthy on a stomach full of desserts
You can’t even fathom eating, and you technically had enough calories but no nutrition to go with it for years
More food analogies then when you start finally eating right you’ll be tempted to eat bad things again

Basically it’s like there’s no positives to using it other than it’s easy entertainment
But your brain needs boredom

13d

Jolly Walrus 22d

I’m willing to like 90% remove myself from them but it feels a bit extreme to just go off the grid in that regard It would be like a former fatty never ea

I’m willing to like 90% remove myself from them but it feels a bit extreme to just go off the grid in that regard
It would be like a former fatty never eating cake again after dieting - just the regulation of consumption
was the probably not the thing itself

Interesting I’ll try that
I have heard of like the staring at a wall shit
I’ll probably just swivel my way away from my PC and go in a corner

Only thing is I wonder if I’ll find myself ever wanting to do things again, especially sporadically, because that’s another thing I miss from my youth
Not having to pre-plan stuff just being able to relax and do things naturally
But I guess it would just take a bit of willpower and less priority on desire to do some things and get momentum again

There are people for whom it's easier to regulate consumption and there are people for whom it's easier to go cold turkey. For me it's easier to go cold turkey. I don't eat cake after dieting at all, and I feel great. My wife feels better regulating. Depends on how you're wired biologically. Regardless, that anon is correct, social media/video games sap energy.

I'd recommend either reading or walking or cleaning or baking, just as ideas.

>Only thing is I wonder if I’ll find myself ever wanting to do things again, especially sporadically, because that’s another thing I miss from my youth
You will, it'll come back in like an hour if you're not too far gone. Go lie down on a couch, get bored.

13d

Yes. Go outside and live.

13d

LLM's have ruined my brain

12d

OP

Good luck OP
And yes just stop using those things
They’re not just distractions (and don’t think this means you need to be some productivity machine instead) but they also affect your mind after using them
It becomes harder to focus and think about what you want to do
You’ll have a nagging feeling to check Twitter any time you get slightly bored (even something like dying in a video game, that few seconds of downtime before retrying or respawning or whatever you’ll wanna check Twitter to chase the high)
This in turn trains your mind to be bored

That’s why it feels like you do nothing
Your mind is satisfied but not fulfilled

12d

OP

Would you rather not exist?
I don't have Facebook or Instagram... People stop talking to you when they find out.

11d

OP here
Question if anyone is still reading
How do you guys decide what to do for the day
I juggle multiple hobbies so it can be hard deciding, especially if one isn't exactly calling my name
I also kinda struggle with trying to be as efficient as possible but am teaching myself to care about that less
I think the sensation of always having to do "something" probably lead to social media addiction, it wasn't anything meaningful, but my time was spent activating my brain somehow - but now i realize the importance of down periods and boredom
That being said, it isn't like anything is calling my name
Should I just choose randomly and stop thinking? idk
Either way I am not going back to scrolling and watching videos en masse

11d

Silly Eagle 11d

OP here Question if anyone is still reading How do you guys decide what to do for the day I juggle multiple hobbies so it can be hard deciding, especially if on

OP here
Question if anyone is still reading
How do you guys decide what to do for the day
I juggle multiple hobbies so it can be hard deciding, especially if one isn't exactly calling my name
I also kinda struggle with trying to be as efficient as possible but am teaching myself to care about that less
I think the sensation of always having to do "something" probably lead to social media addiction, it wasn't anything meaningful, but my time was spent activating my brain somehow - but now i realize the importance of down periods and boredom
That being said, it isn't like anything is calling my name
Should I just choose randomly and stop thinking? idk
Either way I am not going back to scrolling and watching videos en masse

Humans crave routine. Get in a habit

11d

Tiny Rhino 11d

Humans crave routine. Get in a habit

I guess, but it seems odd to do that for things that are for free time / relaxation anyway
I mean why write or game in the same order every day

11d

OP

Your mind keeps jumping back to mindless scrolling because we are wired to optimize for the path of least resistance in order to conserve energy. Modern technology made everything so convenient that it's easy to fall into this state.
Unless some external event makes you change your life (unlikely) you have to make a conscious effort to introduce a healthy amount of friction into your life. Basically you have to get yourself into a situation where you are forced to perform purposeful mental and physical tasks so that you won't have time to spend on mindless scrolling. Overtime you will realize that you don't have the need to scroll social media because whatever you are doing is more rewarding.
Solo traveling is a good option for this.

11d

OP

Would you rather never be bored?

11d

Lime Tiger 11d

Would you rather never be bored?

no i have learned that boredom is important

10d

Blue Wolf 11d

no i have learned that boredom is important

I know, that is the point im trying to make. Social Media keeps you distracted, or any screens in general.

10d

Magenta Dog 10d

I know, that is the point im trying to make. Social Media keeps you distracted, or any screens in general.

Fwd.
Allow yourself daily time to be bored, quiet time. It is a form of meditation if you really think about it, while not a formal type like mindfulness or mantras,quiet sitting gives similiar effects.

10d

Clever Deer 10d

Fwd. Allow yourself daily time to be bored, quiet time. It is a form of meditation if you really think about it, while not a formal type like mindfulness

Fwd.
Allow yourself daily time to be bored, quiet time. It is a form of meditation if you really think about it, while not a formal type like mindfulness or mantras,quiet sitting gives similiar effects.

Oh yeah, I am doing this but thanks
Im doing it mostly by having my desktop on my PC be a default place where I decide what to do
It might sound weird but it's better than it being a web browser where it's easy to just open a new tab and do some benign thing you dont actually care about but do habitually
But I understand doing it in a physical spot like towards a wall is good too

10d

OP

Yes it is.

10d

OP

>Is Social Media Legitimate Brain Poison
Yes. It is optimized to be as addictive and crippling as possible.

Here's a particularly egregious example - four months ago, youtube was sued for having an addictive design. During deposition it was revealed designers compared the product they were making to crystal meth, and upper management said "[our] goal right now is not viewership, it’s viewer addiction." Thousands of slides and documents were released during this lawsuit where employees admit the product they work on causes profound harm to everyone who uses it.

I would recommend anyone still using social media immediately quit cold turkey. Never look back, never return for even a second, uninstall every app and delete every account you have. Follow the advice of the people who design these apps, and treat it like you're addicted to crystal meth.

10d

Magenta Dog 10d

>Is Social Media Legitimate Brain Poison Yes. It is optimized to be as addictive and crippling as possible. Here's a particularly egregious example - fou

>Is Social Media Legitimate Brain Poison
Yes. It is optimized to be as addictive and crippling as possible.

Here's a particularly egregious example - four months ago, youtube was sued for having an addictive design. During deposition it was revealed designers compared the product they were making to crystal meth, and upper management said "[our] goal right now is not viewership, it’s viewer addiction." Thousands of slides and documents were released during this lawsuit where employees admit the product they work on causes profound harm to everyone who uses it.

I would recommend anyone still using social media immediately quit cold turkey. Never look back, never return for even a second, uninstall every app and delete every account you have. Follow the advice of the people who design these apps, and treat it like you're addicted to crystal meth.

What about 4chan and other stuff?

9d

Tiny Elephant 10d

What about 4chan and other stuff?

I don't feel like imageboards have been turbo-engineered to be addictive in the same way most social media sites has, so I guess you could keep using them. That said, you could end up just replacing normie social media with imageboards if you don't quit everything, so I don't know really.

9d

Tiny Rhino 9d

I don't feel like imageboards have been turbo-engineered to be addictive in the same way most social media sites has, so I guess you could keep using them

I don't feel like imageboards have been turbo-engineered to be addictive in the same way most social media sites has, so I guess you could keep using them. That said, you could end up just replacing normie social media with imageboards if you don't quit everything, so I don't know really.

Yeah this
Just like doomscrolling it’s easy to just click on a bunch of random boards or threads you don’t actually care about just to get quick information into your brain in the same vein
But it’s probably not as big a worry

9d

Some good general rules I’d set up are

1) avoid whatever social media is plaguing you
2) accept boredom and embrace it
3) do not multitask / worry about productivity, this creates a mind that will doomscroll
4) focus on doing one task at a time, as in, not switching back and forth, this improves focus and helps impulse control

9d

I feel kinda like a castrated retard rn because I realize doing all these things work
But I’m worried I’ll start pulling out my other bad trait of having to be as efficient as possible with everything I do and try not to waste time which would probably make me lose impulse control again

Trying to form a routine when I get home from work that starts with boredom to upset this
Probably staring at my PC desktop or some shit or a wall

Also not using my phone at work unless I have a precise reason why, am doing that purpose without multitasking or going back and forth between it an work, then putting it away

All to build focus and impulse control and keep my mind from turning to sludge at the job (office job where I have my own office and could doom scroll for eight hours if I wanted)

But does ANYONE know how to fight the feeling of needing to be efficient or get more done or “I could’ve done more” etc cause it’s basically against the whole mantra of having low periods of self reflection

9d

OP

Social media is a low effort low friction high dopamine activity.
This makes it far more appealing than any of the other activities you'd prefer doing, where unless you are already in a solid routine you'd expend much more effort to push yourself to initiate it and your brain would receive less of a reward from it. It also affects your baseline dopamine such that these other activities that provide less of a dopamine are in turn less rewarding.

Websites like this and low barrier online multiplayer games have similar effects.

Your best options are either eliminating these things entirely or very strictly limiting the time window you allow yourself to do them, if you can manage that. At first it kinda blows and every fibre of your being is begging to go browse that website or whatever but once you have adjusted to it your brain starts feeling able to do other things.

9d

OP

Yes it is

9d

I deleted everything years ago and it barely helped. The rest of the world is still connected and if you aren't then they are just going to ignore you and leave you behind. I feel even more left out of everything because the only time I use social media is when someone else is showing their social media in my face showing them how cool their life is while I have nothing to show.sdfsdfsdfsdfsdf

7h

tits

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