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Whenever I see something like this, I think wow this is gonna be so effective and change my life and then two weeks later it’s uninstalled and I’m slack jaw standing over the sink browsing Instagram

izzylan 10 days ago

Scrolling is a bad habit. It's hard to kill habits outright, so you need to replacement.

Step one is figuring out what triggers the habit. Step two is finding a replacement.

Something that worked for me is keeping certain websites to the "big screen" (aka my computer). If I want to browse Reddit I have to get up and go to my PC. I've blocked it on my phone. For me, scrolling on my PC is a little more managable because hey while I'm there and looking at Reddit, I can open up a terminal and update my packages, or check my todos, or put on music...

I live alone, so it’s really hard to fully kick it because it feels like socializing a little bit…

jackp96 10 days ago

I've struggled at times with various app blockers and limits. Most of them are just a little too easy to disable — or they prevent usage altogether.

AppBlock on Android has a feature that allows you to continue using an app after your time limit is up — if you're willing to wait 3 minutes without swiping to another app. And then, by default, it'll kick back in 15 minutes later.

Works really well for me.

chatmasta 10 days ago

This hits close to home. I really need to stop bringing my phone to brush my teeth…

Yikes.

These are tools for people interested in making a change.

You’re not, yet.

I’ve been interested for a decade+, but appreciate the condescension

al_borland 10 days ago

I’ve found the most effective tool to be uninstalling the apps, being logged out in the browser, then building up a deep resentment for the manipulative practices these apps/sites employ.

Friends send me links on Instagram all the time and it’s always a multi-step process to see it in the browser without being logged in. It’s half-broken and super annoying. If a search query sends me to Instagram, it just breaks 80% of the time and locks me out. If I click on any of the bait designed to lure people into view more content, it will throw up a wall and require downloading the app or logging in. This all serves to fuel the hate I have for these platforms. If they’re going to make it that hard to use, I don’t want to use it, and there must be very powerful and financially motivated reasons why they are pushing me toward a certain engagement model.

I once took screenshots of all the BS I had to go through when he sent me one of those links, so he could see how bad it was and stop spamming me with every other video in his algorithm. At the time it was a 3-4 step process of dismissing modal windows for every link he sent.

You are an average of the 5 people you spend the most time around.

Do those people send you any blog links?

or solely vapid social media shite?

Note that. There’s overlap in other parts of life.

kakacik 10 days ago

> You are an average of the 5 people you spend the most time around.

Interesting claim, definitely not something valid for me, for better or worse. But I can see why it could be valid in general.

al_borland 10 days ago

One person who texts me most often primarily sends vapid social media content. I disabled notifications on his texts and check them on my time, skipping most of them. I don't feel the need to cut someone out of my life who I've known for 20+ years over their instagram addiction (which seems to be what you're implying if I read between the lines).

The big AI push has made him more interested in what is happening with all these tech companies and he doesn't like it. I'm trying to use it nudge him off these platforms run by companies he claims to despise.

Glad you’re not one of them ;)

You can’t fix human problems with technology.

You can only accelerate the human behavior,

unless you involve another person in taking your freedom away.

No condescension - and if you’ve been trying for ten years, there’s clearly a misunderstanding.

foltik 10 days ago

> You can’t fix human problems with technology.

Yes you can.

Screen time limiters, nicotine patches, putting the cookies out of sight, all of these things empirically work better than willpower alone.

> No condescension - and if you’ve been trying for ten years, there’s clearly a misunderstanding.

Oh please. “Why are you depressed? Just be happy or you must not be ready for a change. No condescension btw.”

Interesting comparison, because the behavior in question (doomscrolling, inability to manage compulsion, time mismanagement) is definitely linked to ADHD/depression.

> Yes you can.

I mean, go ahead and tell the user how to fix their problem with software.

They’re the perfect way to prove your point.

https://apps.apple.com/ca/app/run-for-fun-screen-time-focus/...

busymom0 10 days ago

I am the developer of an app in similar genre called Run for Fun which lets you block addictive apps of your choosing until you exercise (run, walk, bike, climb stairs, exercise to burn calories etc). It's very customizable depending upon how aggressive you need it to be: