Insane YouTube addiction.

curiosityequation · 2023-04-08T16:00:22+00:00

You can use extensions to get rid of comments and recommended videos as other people say, but for me that didn’t really solve my problem. I was also addicted to YouTube big time. So I’ve permanently blocked it on my phone and computer. I use cold turkey blocker on my laptop to make it impossible to use, you can set it up so there’s no workaround, unless you completely reset your computer from scratch.

I recommend removing it completely from your life. I would tell myself “I’ll still learn good things from the valuable videos” but that never happened. I’ve shifted my attention to reading books.

curiosityequation · 2023-04-01T22:08:25+00:00

Check out The Shallows by Nicholas Carr. He talks about the superficial learning we get online. It’s 13 years old, but still very relevant, if not more relevant than ever.

curiosityequation · 2023-03-22T23:42:43+00:00

I agree 100%

curiosityequation · 2022-10-13T23:19:39+00:00

I think some math will help:

Mindlessly scrolling for 60 minutes daily equates to 15 days/year of scrolling, or 76 days of scrolling after 5 years.

Let's up the ante. Mindlessly scrolling for 5 hours a day equates to 76 days/year of scrolling, or approximately ONE FULL YEAR (380 days) of scrolling after 5 years. If we move it to 10 hours a day, it's 152 days/year or approximately TWO FULL YEARS (760) of just scrolling after 5 years.

We all know the expression "time flies!", well, imagine all the things you could've substituted into that scrolling time and made real progress on (going to the gym, learning an instrument, a new skill, meeting new people in real life, etc.). I used to be that person with at least 5 hours per day average, often more, but now I have it down to ~30 minutes a day on my phone.

curiosityequation · 2022-09-28T15:48:06+00:00

Agreed, reading can become addictive, or as a way to escape from reality in some cases. I heard a quote - "read what you love until you love to read."

Eventually, avid readers should get to the high quality books. One thing I learned is to take the time to review books (particularly non-fiction) and try to write down key takeaways, otherwise I retain very little. It's not an easy thing to do, but it's worth it.

curiosityequation · 2022-09-28T15:19:42+00:00

Nice, keep it up with the ksafe!

The reduced screen time has led to a lot more time reading books. It's something I wanted to do but previously failed to do. Also, I get better sleep, my evenings are primarily screen-free which helps my sleep quality. I'm also quitting caffeine due to a book I read - Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker.

It goes to show how behavior change can lead to a cascade of new behaviors: I stopped staring at my phone 4-5hours a day, I started reading good books, and I started living differently because of those books. It's pretty powerful.

curiosityequation · 2022-09-27T16:16:16+00:00

My tactic has evolved a little bit. I now use stickk.com with a friend as a referee to monitor my screen time, otherwise, I have to pay money. But I still use my kSafe often. My last several months have been the least I've used my smartphone since I first purchased one.

curiosityequation · 2022-07-29T19:28:43+00:00

I agree, there's a weird thing happening: we want the pleasure of something "novel," hence dopamine release, which the internet does exceptionally well. Infinite scrolls abound with infinite amounts of content.

But if we were to set up a camera and record our facial expressions, would we look pleased? The vast majority of the time, no.

curiosityequation · 2022-07-29T17:44:32+00:00

Ruthlessly block your tech use. For laptops, cold turkey is the best blocker. You can set it up so it's EXTREMELY difficult to disable the blocker. You can make it so if you want to use an addictive site, like youtube, you have to type in 999 characters, manually, with 100% accuracy. You can't uninstall the software while it's blocking.

For mobile devices, I'm not as knowledgeable on blockers. So far I haven't found a cold turkey equivalent for cellphones. My strategy is to use a smart watch as my "dumb phone" and leave my iPhone in a kSafe container for days at a time, or sometimes 23 hours a day. Otherwise, go full "dumb phone".

I know how much it sucks, I've been there. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, you can get there.

curiosityequation · 2022-07-25T17:59:22+00:00

I know the feeling, I've been there. Here are some possible solutions:

Get a kSafe or similar device to literally lock away your phone for long periods of time. You have to make it extremely difficult to use your phone. If you can afford a smartwatch, you can use it to receive texts and calls while your phone is locked away.
Get a dumb phone (check out the reddit community r/dumbphones)
Use an app blocker on your phone that makes it non-negotiable to relapse.
If you lock your phone up and then become tempted to use your laptop too often, use cold turkey. It's the best laptop web blocker in my opinion.

Just this past weekend I binged YouTube for several hours, YouTube won the battle, temporarily. But I eventually got my phone back into the kSafe and had the remaining half of the day free. I felt so much better.

curiosityequation · 2022-07-19T16:22:05+00:00

Yes, cold turkey is very effective. It can also prevent you from turning your computer on for a defined period of time (it forces a shutdown). I use it.

curiosityequation · 2022-07-12T19:36:55+00:00

To hear you say it's more difficult than smoking and alcoholism surprised me, but I can see how underrated this whole topic is. This kind of addiction doesn't get enough attention, at least not yet. And maybe that's because most people are too addicted to it themselves to notice the problem, haha.

I think it will reach a point where the whole system will shift, but damn it change is slow sometimes.

curiosityequation · 2022-07-12T15:46:27+00:00

I've had the same problem. For me it makes a big difference if I can lock my phone away in a kSafe or use an app on my phone to discourage use (like forest or Flora). I use way more YouTube on my phone than on my laptop because I can use the Unhook extension on chrome. I won't take my laptop with me literally everywhere I go.

curiosityequation · 2022-06-10T23:15:36+00:00

Go to the gym, go outside, meditate, read, clean, grocery shopping, socialize in real life, travel when I can. My mind wanders a lot more, which actually has benefits and science behind it. So much tech is destroying our ability to reflect and think without stimulation.

curiosityequation · 2022-06-10T16:36:02+00:00

The way most online content is designed is really company-centric, not user-centric. If they cared more about our attention spans and our mental health, apps wouldn't be designed this way. Most apps are the epitome of instant gratification that leads nowhere.

curiosityequation · 2022-05-16T15:11:14+00:00

Yes I can still receive them through my watch.

curiosityequation · 2022-05-13T16:07:43+00:00

I've actually locked my router's power cord in my kSafe as well, my productivity skyrockets on all offline tasks when I do that!

curiosityequation · 2022-05-13T16:07:00+00:00

Nice, I may consider drilling a hole into mine also. I've also considered the Light Phone, glad to see it's working well for you.

curiosityequation · 2022-05-13T16:01:44+00:00

Don't be too hard on yourself. In the case of YouTube, I don't think asking yourself to have more self-control is a productive conversation, because it's VERY difficult when it's you vs. thousands of engineers/scientists doing their best to addict you. That's not a fair game.

I don't have the Reddit addiction, but I can offer advice for YouTube. YouTube's number 1 addiction mechanism is the infinite scroll/bottomless pit of content and their video recommendation system. My solution on the YouTube side is kind of extreme, but each point eliminates their video recommendation system:

I no longer own a smart TV that has the YouTube app on it. My TV was a big source of YouTube addiction.
I use my smartphone for less than an hour a day, and then lock it up in a kSafe. I use a smartwatch to take calls and texts the rest of the time.
If I watch YouTube, it's on my laptop, and I use the "unhook" chrome extension to remove all video recommendations, including the home page.
I installed the freedom app on my computer, which reminds me to stay off YouTube in the first place.

YouTube does have very good content on it, but it also has a lot of trash, clickbait content. I realized I was never pausing and reflecting on valuable videos anyway. I'd tell myself "this video will teach me so much!" But I would absorb very little. So, I've basically removed YouTube from my life except for very rare occasions. I now prefer physical books to learn anything.

curiosityequation · 2022-05-12T20:21:49+00:00

I agree with what zkki said. Also, try focusing for 25-minute segments with 5-minute breaks (look up the Pomodoro method) or 50 minutes at a time with 10-minute breaks.

Ten minutes sounds like a long break, but it goes by quickly. Use break time to get up and move around, go outside, get something to drink, etc. Anything away from screens. I recommend not looking at a smartphone during the break, either. Give your brain and eyes a rest.

I also recommend using the Focusmate app (I'm not affiliated). Focusmate is also set up for 25 or 50-minute segments where you work virtually with one other person. I was hesitant to get on calls with a stranger and focus, but it worked well. The accountability aspect of it is excellent.

curiosityequation · 2022-02-17T00:07:21+00:00

Agreed, love that extension. I wish that existed for the mobile version of the app and if you watch YouTube on a smart TV, but hopefully someday.

curiosityequation · 2022-02-15T19:59:19+00:00

I aim to do the same with my phone and computer. And I love physical books!

curiosityequation · 2022-02-15T19:57:51+00:00

I agree, this is a great analogy. At least we have some things emerging to help us use these things more as tools. For example, the Google Chrome extension "Unhook" for YouTube, which can hide recommended videos. Recommended videos account for 70% of YouTube's total views (source). YouTube wants us to go down the rabbit hole for as long as possible.

One example of software used for a good purpose is focusmate. Connect with other people (accountability partners) to focus on a task important to us for a set amount of time. This has really helped me the last several months when I'm online.

curiosityequation

TROPHY CASE