This year has been an all-time worse for my phone usage. I'm looking at it pretty much from the time I wake up to the time I go to bed. I've even been late for work a few times because I'm sitting on the couch scrolling Reddit. If something pops into my head, I immediately need to Google it.

I noticed I'm not doing literally anything anymore. I barely watch TV or movies, and if I do I'm missing the entire plot looking at my phone. I don't play video games anymore, I watch my husband play while I scroll my phone. Fuck reading. Can't pay attention.

I come home from work and just want to go on the couch and decompress and stare at my phone. Never want thoughts to enter my brain. Constant distraction. I can't tell if I'm depressed and anxious because I'm looking at my phone all day, or I'm looking at my phone all day because I'm depressed and anxious.

It took everything in me today on my day off to get up and clean my house, which was interrupted multiple times by me getting distracted with my phone.

I'm so tired of it. It's only Reddit and Facebook really. I can't delete my Facebook because it's how I connect with family. Reddit I've deleted in the past but I start to feel out of the loop and hate that I'm missing things. I also Facebook message my sister literally all day back and forth and I don't know how to stop that.

I look back on all the shit I used to do and have the attention span for and I feel sick.

I say for myself, I'm heavily addicted to the media in general and one of the most destructive things I do is continue to search for validation on the Internet and social media for my life choices, but it made me depressed once I stopped spending less time on the Internet. My life blossomed. It is kind of like a coping mechanism from us not taking any actions in our life and you whoever is watching this deep down you already know what you are lacking and let's be honest the reason that makes you search for validation on social media and online and sorry to break it to you while it's comforting for social media and online people to validate you it actually makes your mental health worse overtime take action to work through it and confront it.

I'm having such a hard time staying off the internet, and keeping apps like TikTok deleted. I just have the urge to keep going back and checking for the fear of missing out, and I'm not sure how to stop it. Even Reddit feels like it's addictive at this point, and I can't let go. How do I actually commit to disconnecting from it all?

Let me preface by saying that I don't intend for this to become a debate on which news sources are real/factual/[insert adjective here]. This is a question that I've been going back and forth over for a bit and I wanted to get some insights from folks with similar feelings about the internet ecosystem we've found ourselves in.

Far more often than not, trying to use any social media platform as a means for following news updates ends in mindless scrolling and digesting content designed to make you feel worse. Twitter has dramatically fallen off from being a half-decent place to get a pulse on the day's headlines and follow along with breaking news -- there's no upside to wading through that cesspool anymore. Reddit and Instagram are hardly better and picking up more social platforms to scroll through with Bluesky or TikTok feels asinine.

I've been using a news aggregator app for a couple years now because it can get around some paywalls, but half of the "breaking news" headlines it sends me are clickbait junk. Despite me changing the notification settings to only be Breaking News events and a single evening summary of the day's headlines.

I'm honestly at a loss for a half-decent solution for keeping reasonably informed while avoiding the mind-numbing garbage content.

What's been working for y'all? RSS feeds? Watching the nightly news on TV again? Are there any news apps that don't suck? Should I just give up and throw my phone into the nearest body of water? I'm open to any ideas at this point

If you needed another reason to get off the platform, I'm seeing a worrying pattern of people talking like ai. I don't actually think these are bots; when challenged they respond normally.

So why are they spreading ai speak? English as second language "practice"? Karma farming?

It's easy to spot because it uses the familiar "school essay" style of paragraphs where you "tell ''em your gonna tell 'em, then tell 'em, then tell them you told them". That works in a long essay where the thesis and summary sentences are different than the content but it's very obvious when the "middle sentences" are the same as the summary. Eg the paragraphs are devoid of meaning.

For example, I had an exchange about this just now on r out of the loop and when I clicked to his profile, other people have also noticed they sound like AI...

TLDR get off the internet; it's filled with bots and humans mimicking bots.

I thought the majority of people are addicted to being online because of the underline reason of not having people to genuinely speak to and connect with on a regular basis.

I (15F, with autism/ADHD) am deciding that starting from 2025, I am going to use social media as little as possible. However, I'm so addicted to it that it's so hard to stop in one day. I can't just shut my laptop and turn my phone and iPad off, because it's like they have a force that pulls me back to them. My friends always use social media too. I don't have TikTok or Instagram, but I do go on Snapchat, Pinterest, Reddit, Quora, and of course, YouTube, a lot. And I mean a lot. My friend group's conversations are centred around social media and it's really draining to be talking about and scrolling on social media 24/7.

What made me decide to do this was when I was playing board games with my brothers. I found that I actually had a much more fun time with them than I have ever had with social media and with my friend group. I've been depressed for a while, and my spirits have been lifting up lately ever since I planned not to use social so much, which was one or two days ago lol but still.

The thing I'm worried about is that what if I set myself unrealistic expectations? You know, I say that starting from 2025 I won't go on social media that much, but then I actually go on it for the same amounts of time that I used to. The whole 'new year, new me' has never worked for me as I always return to the 'old me'. I do NOT want to spend so much time on social media anymore. If I catch myself scrolling through negative echo chambers and comment sections again I'm actually going to rip my hair out.

I like certain subreddits of Reddit, including this one, and I find that the subreddits I like here don't drain me so much, but even then, looking on Reddit for so long exhausts me. I also love YT, YT and Reddit are my source for many things, but again, spending so much time on YT is also draining. So I guess I should only spend a certain amount of time on Reddit and YT and only go on certain videos/subreddits.

I suppose what I am trying to say in this post is that I really need advice on how to stick to staying off social media, when my friends constantly use it (Snapchat is how we communicate with each other outside of school) and when I have such an unhealthy addiction to it. I'm tired of being exhausted, and I know that one way to partly help my constant fatigue is being off social media. I just don't know where to start and how to keep off it. I just want to be happier.

Besides domestic abuse and already bad relationships etc as this is more universal, I noticed that many of the life pessimistic content I see on social media made me temporarily scared of relationships, either me entering one or seeing a couple.

There were many manipulative anti-relationship echochambers I was stumbled across online which were mainly monolithic radical incel/femcel content rather than discussing actual issues. Things like how all westerners apparently treat their 8 ft tall guy or 4 ft 11 exposed-clothed gf as their trophy and only caring about them and no one else (not even their family), how 100% of "modern" women have unrealistic dating standards and apparently thinking their dream guy matters and no one else. I mean, if that was 100%, then they will all turn out to be antisocial (unethical behaviour rather than being asocial) and then back at school, half of the class would be excluded as a result. Oh furthermore on this, these guys with monolithic views like this only prefer girls who are blonde and dress sexy, isn't that some unrealistic/unfair expectation? As a guy that is wrong.

So, as a result of this echochamber, I get scared whenever I see a couple in public (particularly if they are at my age) in which the guy is slightly taller than the girl, when broadly guys are usually taller than girls naturally. I mean, I shouldn't have been scared as I dated twice and the girls I dated were just a few ft lower; they didn't complain about me not being even taller. Nevertheless though, I have been getting anxiety when I see such couples, not only in public but also on snapchat stranger stories, when I shouldn't as A) Height difference are natural B) The girls I dated did not complain about not being 6 ft or higher and C) Maybe they have height preference but not like Burj Khalifa or kitten standards.

I just want to find a way to stop feeling scared when my real life experiences barely match with these monolithically negative takes.

I am working on minimizing my screen time and I found lately that I have way more time when I’m not “doomscrolling”. I would love to spend time out, but I think another issue is inflation. I’ve had conversations with the older folks I work with about what they did for fun when they were teens in the 60s. They shared that they would go to the YMCA and maybe play ping pong or participate in other activities. Coffee shops were another option, or grabbing a hamburger and a shake for $3. Saturday night double features at the cinema were a quarter. I feel like I’d be way more open to going out if prices were still like that.

Anyways, I rambled a bit. What I sometimes do is go to the library and hang out there, or a cafe (but I dread buying something just to stay). I’m also a big movie watcher, however the whole point of going out would be for me to reduce screen times of all sorts, not just phone.

What are some other activities you do or you suggest?

Online communication would still exist, e-mails, messaging, but no one's posting selfies or doing tiktoks, etc.

Ok so my no surf set up is across three devices.

On my phone and tablet I have the minimalist launcher app and grey scale. I have chrome, the playstore, and social media all blocked. My Chromebook I have chrome extensions 1) Adblock Plus 2) Shorts Blocker (to block shorts on YouTube) 3) Social Focus 4) Stay Focused.

I have put a limit on how long I can be on social media to 1 hour a day in total. I am hoping this helps. I will let you know. Any other suggestions are appreciated.

so recently like 1 week ago my mom got mad at me bcuz i didnt listen to her because she would say when ur done using ur phone but it in her room she said that was gonna check it and i have a gf and im not supossed yo but i do bcuz i love her and never wanna let her go so she got mad and thrw my phone and she apolized but then she said that im going tto my gramas house and idk how im gonna text my gf now any soultions

I am attempting to find all the digital minimalist type subs on here. So far I have r/nosurf r/technologicslavery r/luddite r/neoluddite r/digitalminimalism any others?

I'm cutting out TV and greatly reducing phone usage in January, at the same time I'm cutting sugar down. I'll be super pleasant for a couple weeks 😆. Question: Will my brain rebalanced or improve without the TV/phone addiction even if I'm listening to podcasts? I want my focus, motivation, and neurotransmitters to improve but am not sure if both visual AND audio need to be cut? Does that question make sense? Thanks! P.S. I don't usually do New Years resolutions, but this year I'll take ANY motivation I can get to even initiate this effort.

I hate hate hate the internet and how it has held me back in almost every aspect of my life. I want to be rid of it as much as possible, but sadly in the times we live in it's impossible or at least severely impractical to not have acess at all. I installed the Cold Turkey Blocker recently and that has really helped, especially since I can schedule time where all distracting websites are blocked, but I can give myself some time to browse in the day. The problem is even when I can't access social media or YouTube, I'll find some other way to mindlessly click around and scroll I've done it so much it feels weird not doing it. I want to read more and replace the majority of my screen time with reading or practicing piano or journaling or something productive. But even when I don't have access to the websites, I was addicted to I still find something else to scroll, even scrolling in the photo's app on my phone. How do I pull myself away?

This question have been hanging around in my mind, why is it so hard for me to have self control?

I've given up various addictions throughout my life, and I always seemed to have pretty good control. It feels like giving up most anything for a month is trivial. Internet addiction is different though, giving up abusive usage for a day is painful, a week just about impossible. I've always known I'm an addict but it has only recently dawned on me how much it is to blame for so many problems I have.

I've realised that I'm in a position in life where I have a lot of ability to help others and live a fufilling life if I could just kick this overwhelming addiction, which steals more of my time than every other addiction has combined. So I dunno, I'm going to start, I'm listening to "Smart Phone, Dumb Phone" on a recommendation here as a first step.

I do not want to give up the internet completely, my ideal is to use the internet in a controlled and utilitarian way.

Hey I was wondering if anyone knows of any devices or small laptops which you can use for writing, that don’t connect to the internet and have a really simple/basic UI? I have thought about using a typewriter, but I’d like a device that can keep up with how fast my thoughts go and the keys on typewriters are too clunky for me to type too fast, and they’re too bulky to carry around with me. I discovered the device “Freewrite” last night, are there any other devices such as this out there? Or maybe an old small laptop? Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

I am trying to install GrayScale chrome extensions for my Chromebook and nothing is working. They are enabled when I install them but they don't work. Any suggestions?

Over the past 2 years I keep blocking more and more aspects of my phone with various apps. I tell people my goal is to “make my phone useless” outside of what I actually want from it.

I don’t wanna do the dumb phone thing as phones are very useful such ass Calculators, Calendars, Maps, Communication (for work this is mandatory), Banking and payments, etc.

However there’s so much useless stuff like social media (I have none on my phone, nothing), YouTube scrolling, REDDIT scrolling! The worst!

Over the past 2 years I’ve installed a bunch of apps, some free some paid, to do some form of app/website blocking but I always was able to turn them off here or there.

Then something funny happened.

Youtube is blocked on my browser. I literally can’t turn it off. I’ve opened tons of apps, gone through setting, I have no idea where this “Youtube block” exists.

I THINK what happened was I had a paid app, blocked YouTube, didn’t pay to extend it, deleted it, and now it’s still just blocked somewhere on there.

So the past 2 months I just started doing more of that.

I use Blank Page, Screen Time, Down Time, Simple Phone, Blank Spaces, and more and set up schedule blocks, app blocks, total blocks, I use Blank Pages and blocked a gigantic list of websites and had my coworker I don’t know that well set a random PIN that he doesn’t remember the code to (every block list has a different PIN and I can’t keep track of them), and so on.

My MacBook is similar in that I use 1Focus and set up a bunch of unbreakable blocks with PINs I don’t even know.

Now my Reddit use is only open 1 hour in the morning and 1 hour in the evening so I just write down stuff I wanna do for when it opens up but I know from experience that in a week I’ll miss half these open blocks and break this habit.

Fun stuff.

I am done with this addiction once and for all. I have struggled with social media, YouTube, binge watching streaming, gaming, scrolling, etc. in some form or another off and on ever since we got the Internet in our home in 1995. I could write an entire book and how so much of my life has been shaped by my relationship with technology and the inner complexities of grappling with it.

I've gone off and on with a dumb phone vs. smart phone...even spent a lot of time in ITAA and quit all of my worst behaviors but never really got underneath the addiction

I have deleted and re-started social media accounts...I have done detoxes that lasted a month at a time. I have done every type of therapy imaginable. (CBT, DBT, EMDR....lots of acronyms)

I work part-time at a school and need very little technology for work. My husband works from home and can take care of a lot of our family's digital "errands" if you will. My child has also showed signs of extreme dysregulation with screen time which is a whole different story.

For 2025 this is how I will use technology:

*Light phone as my primary phone

*E-mail for work

*Texting

*GPS

*A few movies with the family (very rarely like watching Prisoner of Azkaban with my family when my child finishes the book)

*Sit down once a week with the husband on the computer to go over budgeting, personal e-mail, registering for community events, etc.

*Only use smart phone for payment app and booking exercise classes

Here is what I will not do:

*Social media (Instagram, Facebook, Reddit, TikTok, etc.)

*Television

*Digital music

*Going online without a clear purpose

*YouTube

*Mindless scrolling through articles and news

Here is what I WILL do instead:

*Cook, exercise, board games, jigsaw puzzles, drink water, hang out with my family, work, clean, dance to music on CD's or our Alexa Echo dot, yoga classes, play the piano, go on walks outside, READ PAPER BOOKS, paint, organize my home, puzzle books, nap, take pictures with a real camera, draw, stare at the wall and do nothing, tarot & oracle card readings, feel my feelings, meditation, journaling, prayer, community events, comedy at a local open mic, and a billion other options

I am spending the next few days writing down the books I want to read, cleaning up my e-mail, making sure I can access voice mail on my Light Phone, etc. and then the nuclear option will be activated.

I am for sure addicted to the internet, especially short form content. It has become really bad, and a drain upon my life, and I've decided to take steps to improve. Today I went to an Internet and Technology Addicts Anonymous meeting (ITAA) and I must say I enjoyed it. I've only been to one, so don't have a fully formed opinion, but it was definitely nice to listen to other people share some of their challenges, and to be able to talk about my own feelings. There were for sure some ideas that I wasn't particularly attracted to, but overall I think having a community of people with a similar goal as myself might be helpful. I would encourage anyone who has a serious problem with doomscrolling or brain rot to try it out. I was nervous at first, but everyone was welcoming and encouraging, and I appreciated it.

Just wondering if anyone knows of anyone focused on being off our devices as parents. I love Cal Newport but sometimes his experience as a professor (and dude into dude things) is hard to relate to. Any names of folks who speak out about being less plugged in from a parenting perspective?

I have Snapchat but I use it for communication with people who, for some reason, refuse to use anything else.

Rarely do I venture onto stories, but I did today and I realized that a lot of people perceive themselves to have "haters" and constantly talk about sticking it to them.

This has been a thing since MySpace, if I recall correctly. People with about 50 friends or more always felt like those who wouldn't add them were hating on them, and I w always wondered why they felt so seemingly important to be ignored by everyone else.

Maybe its because I'm introverted, but I've never understood the point of inviting unnecessary drama onto oneself.

Lately I haven't been able to fall asleep at the time I intend to do, because I keep wasting my time with YouTube shorts. Last night was the worse. I fell asleep at 4am after getting exhausted to the point of feeling it in my stomach. It's very hard to control myself before bed. My mind needs some stimulation, and I don't know how to fulfill that in a different way. What's worse is that during vacations and weekends I struggle to find ways to fill a whole day with meaningful activities, so I end up either playing video games, porn or YouTube. I feel my life is passing away. Anyone can relate? At least I managed to read some fiction more regularly. Hopefully I can start doing it every day and spend more time with it.