This detox may erase 10 years of social media brain damage, researchers say
2mon 7d ago by sopuli.xyz/u/ooli3 in GetBetter@sopuli.xyz from www.yahoo.com
Researchers differentiate between internet use on phones versus computers, with phones being much worse than computers. Kushlev said the phone use is more “compulsive and mindless.” With the phone, people could be on social media while taking a walk, or watching a movie, or talking with somebody and so forth. It basically interrupts these other activities. In all of those cases, the researchers found that while you’re on your phone, you are not paying as much attention to the social activity you’re doing, and you enjoy it less.
I've definitely noticed this. Using my computer/laptop/tablet is an intentional choice, I have to take time out of my day to actually use it, and then I start getting uncomfortable because I'm over the age of 15 so my spine hurts if I sit for too long, forcing me to take a break. Sometimes friction in technology is actually helpful.
If I'm rehabing for anything it's alcohol.
Great now give us research on how to actually implement that in our lives, especially for broke people with little real-life opportunity.
How does being broke affect your ability to limit social media usage?
Because it limits life opportunities.
Ok? I don’t really see the connection.
How does having limited ‘life opportunities’ affect the ability to moderate one’s own social media usage?
Life opportunities = things you could be doing instead of using your phone.
There are plenty of things you can do without needing to be on your phone that are either cheap or free. Read books. Make art. Go for walks. Talk to people. Teach yourself something new. Live life.
I read and walk already; I've plateaued in terms of how far I can teach myself art. Granted the reading's on the phone too.
Local community isn't it for me.
Literally everything is paywalled.
‘I've plateaued in terms of how far I can teach myself art’ is such a bizarre statement that I don’t even know where to start. You’ve plateaued at all forms of art? It’s supposed to be a lifelong endeavour, not something at which you get good enough and then give up forever. Getting better comes with time and practice but it’s not the point. Art is for art’s sake!
My larger point is that you seem to be using your situation as an excuse to not moderate your own phone/social media use. Now, that’s purely based on a handful of comments, so maybe that’s not true? But anyone can choose to take steps to unlearn bad habits. At a certain point you have to take responsibility for your own wellbeing rather than throwing up your hands and blaming it all on circumstance.
Who said I was interested in all forms of art?
Because I'm not, I meant I plateaued in what mattered to me. I have spent years on art. It's often said that improvement isn't the point but I just find that out of touch, if I can't (reasonably) make what I'd like to decent quality it doesn't feel meaningful to me.
As you've said these are a few comments and I can't possibly convey everything so succinctly, but I've tried and tested what I could. We do not have absolute free will, it is tied to our circumstances. If you cannot comprehend how significantly that can truly limit ones ability to, perhaps that is coming from a place of privilege. It certainly reads as ableist.
But two things were even more mind-blowing to Castelo and Kushlev, a co-author of the study: Even those people who cheated and broke the rules after a few days seemed to have positive effects from the break; and in follow-up reports after the two weeks, many people reported the positive effects lingered.
“So you don’t have to necessarily restrict yourself forever. Even taking a partial digital detox, even for a few days, seems to work,” Kushlev said.
It's right there? Just do something else for a couple of days. It's enough time to borrow Project Hail Mary from the library and read it? Or borrow a couple of DVD's from the library? Or finish a a game... borrowed from the library? Take a nice stroll, if able, to the library? If not able, browse the digital catalogue of something, say, your library?
Have I mentioned the library? (I volunteer at a library, have you tried volunteering?)
What library? Lol.
We don't have any public libraries within reasonable distances.
I already walk.
Omg no library? That's actually so sad! Reading back, I'm sorry if I accidentally came across as condescending in my suggestion, I'm just surrounded by people who have access to lots of public libraries, but forget that they do 💀
Maybe look into volunteering somewhere, in your case? It sounds like you live in a small town, is there any animal shelters or food banks or just someone who needs weeds pulled? The whole point of the study was to basically not use your phone for anything besides calling and texting, and that means literally doing anything else.
Other than that... you could just, be bored. Honestly, I had a span of time last year when I would stared at a wall for 15 minutes when I got the urge to scroll on my phone. NGL, it definitely helped me deal with the dopamine addiction of social media.
Also, maybe a bit invasive of a suggestion: the library I volunteer at gets rid of old books yearly (nothing wrong with the contents, usually not battered or ripped at all, but not in pristine condition or the covers get changed out), and we have a mailing drive to send them to smaller communities/schools. I can send you some, if there is a public building/town hall they can be sent to?
I am assuming you're assuming that I'm in the US (I'm not).
I've had phases where I did the stare at the wall thing and it has occasionally helped but it don't really stick.
I figured you weren't in the US once you said there weren't "public" libraries nearby, lol. The offer to send books still stands if you ever want to take me up on it in the future!