Obligatory link to an essay I posted on HN a few years ago and received lots of commentary from the community. This is a very serious problem. I've yet to see much headway being made.
That was a very good read. Kind of scary to think about. I waste a lot of time online, so I'm not immune, but I don't play addictive games anymore. I can get addicted to them. If I start playing a game I might end up playing it nonstop for a week. But I don't try new games. It doesn't seem fun. Just like I wouldn't start using addictive drugs.
The same is true of websites. If I just stop going to those websites I'm addicted to for a week, it breaks the addiction and I won't go back. I have like 20 messages on reddit that I never get around to replying to, and bunch of Facebook posts that feel like more work to read than it's worth. My RSS feed overfilled and I haven't checked my email in months.
The point is, unlike drugs, games don't stay fun forever. You get bored and quit. And if you quit you lose the temptation to go back to them.
The same is true of websites. If I just stop going to those websites I'm addicted to for a week, it breaks the addiction and I won't go back. I have like 20 messages on reddit that I never get around to replying to, and bunch of Facebook posts that feel like more work to read than it's worth. My RSS feed overfilled and I haven't checked my email in months.
The point is, unlike drugs, games don't stay fun forever. You get bored and quit. And if you quit you lose the temptation to go back to them.