[zeta0134]

I definitely recommend checking out your local public library, or going for a long walk in a nearby park. Don't take your phone. Allow yourself to be bored. Let your mind wander. Once you get over the weird feeling, and the anxiousness of not knowing what's been happening, you'll likely find that your mind amuses itself.

I have a sneaky suspicion that relaxing in this way and encouraging that mental wandering grants some sort of benefit, though I can't put my finger on what exactly. When I come home I'm always refreshed, and the next day often eager to get started on some idea I had while out and about. If I take a news feed with me, I miss out on this experience and, over time, seem to find myself drained of energy. Same if I compulsively check that feed the moment I get back home. A proper disconnect once in a while seems to work wonders. It's like... being constantly connected all the time is over stimulating somehow, without realizing it in the moment.

[sabellito]

Your advice to the comment, sadly, amounts to someone telling a drug addict to "just not use drugs", or a depressed person to "just go outside".

[boppo1]

Cold turkey is a legitimate addiction strategy. Not successful for everyone though, and basically impossible for most people with the internet.

[zeta0134]

Ah, perhaps it has been misinterpreted. That was not my intent. "Take occasional breaks, they seem to help" was the goal, not "stop entirely and never start again."

[throwamon]

Taking occasional breaks may be worse from an addiction point of view.

Relevant Sapolsky: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2muJ0e9bvcI

[sabellito]

It might also be that we're both interpreting "internet addiction" with different severities, which would lead to different suggestions.