We spend half our lives online nowadays and it’s obviously causing damage to our health. Do you think it would be worth the benefits to stop carrying a smartphone and to disable the WiFi at home?

  • TheInsane42@lemmy.worldEnglish
    24·
    10 months ago

    Depends on what you do when online.

    Are you actively searching for knowledge so you learn how to do things (playing a game, an instument, learning how to fix something), reading (news) from various sources or asking questions out of interest? No, not worth stopping, never stop being curious and learning.

    Are you passively consuming all that’s being pushed/force fed to you? Yep, but don’t quit, change how you use internet. Use it to your own good, not so companies can have you hooked.

    Here, the phone is in the livingroom on a shelf when I’m at home and don’t need it for 2fa. Also, default notification sound is None and I set a sound for things I want to be notified of like ring tone, sms, personal messages (no group), calendar and set a dnd period between 21:00 and 7:00. I use a tablet for gaming as alternative for TV. (Although I’d be better off to read the magazines that are piling up ;) )

    • CashewNut 🏴󠁢󠁥󠁧󠁿@lemmy.world
      19·
      10 months ago

      Switching from Reddit to Lemmy helped me. Reddit is just a hose of brain rot. Refresh, click, refresh, click. Turned into a zombie.

      Lemmy I actually post, comment and discuss things with people. Almost feels like I’m waking up from a long coma.

      • 1984
        7·
        10 months ago

        For me it was like remembering how the internet forums felt like in the 90s, before the corps ran the most popular sites. This is much more my vibe than Facebook and that shit.

      • TheInsane42@lemmy.worldEnglish
        1·
        10 months ago

        I tried to switch from Reddit to Lemmy completely, but the communities for the games I play stayed there. I already wrote off Reddit for anything general, but for the games it’s a nice source of info. (The subs I’m in are good in self regulating)

        I use Lemmy more for general discussions, reading or when available, specific communities (like fountainpens, bass, …) and when I feel like it, go back to Reddit for the very few subs I’m still interested in, mainly due to lack of info elsewhere. (Facebook account was deleted january 1st, so 2-3 more days and it’s really gone) Next to that I’m on dedicated fora.

        I have to say, being on Lemmy feels like how I started on internet in '94, more nerds then commoners to chat with, which is a huge pro (seeing people knowing they have brains and how to use them ;) ).

    • _number8_@lemmy.worldEnglish
      21·
      10 months ago

      i’ve been trying this year to actively stop myself and get up and do a chore or play guitar or something if i’ve been rotting in bed scrolling thru tiktok for more than 10 minutes. i always feel way way better upon stopping and actually doing something –

      but every single time it’s so hard to work up the effort. or…courage, even? is somehow the word that comes to mind – the algos lock you in and make you feel like the real world is too much effort, simply scroll up or down to see more videos, you’re safe here. it’s very very strange when you try to actively analyze what’s happening

      • TheInsane42@lemmy.worldEnglish
        2·
        10 months ago

        I started playing bass last year. As I work in IT I wanted a hobby that forced me to do something different with my hands. I started tinkering with cars, but space limitations put that on hold. (I really need to clean out the garage) I try to pick up the base and use it a bit after working from home and I have to say, even though I’m bad, I’m improving in small steps and I’m enjoying myself. A medical issue kept me away from the bass for 5 months, but that’ll ge fixed tuesday.

        The only way to survive the social media rat race is not to enter. Find something that challenges you.