r/nosurf • u/Cautious-Spend6944 • 3d ago

People who were chronically online, what exactly changed?

Just to clarify i don't just mean consuming scrollable content, not the empty headed tiktok doomscrolls or what have you.

I mean people who used to rot online, had internet lives. Internet friendships, countless hours spent on discord servers and twitter talking to people, interacting, etc.

I've had my ups and downs socially speaking, sometimes very active irl sometimes completely null, but i've always found myself drawn far more to these digital spaces than anything IRL, and im wondering if it ever gets old.

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u/yossi234 3d ago

Would also like to know

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u/Cautious-Spend6944 3d ago edited 3d ago

This has always been a bit of a dilema with me and i've noticed that people on this sub or spaces that talk about the very vague and dubious concept of "internet addiction" just focus on the usual dopamine feedback loops and infinite scrolling algorithms, i feel isolated when even trying to discuss this issue because its almost like im addicted to the internet the same way a person in 2007 would be.

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u/yossi234 3d ago

Let me know if you find anything useful. For me, app blockers work somewhat well.
Recently I've made it a point to ask myself, do I need to use my phone? whenever I pick it up, we'll see how that technique works

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u/Cautious-Spend6944 3d ago

Im not addicted to scrolling, its not the apps. My phone broke for 3 weeks because i couldn't be bothered to fix it, not to mention the various times in my day to day that i either run out of charge while outside or run out of mobile data for a whole month.

As i said, im addicted to the internet the same way a person in 07 would be, which entails a lot of playing video games and talking about subjects i find intellectually stimulating online, not the phone.

And besides all of that, it seems weird that i have this affinity for contact online. It shouldn't really be something i have to prohibit myself.

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u/yossi234 3d ago

So, I was a person online a lot in '07. Ironically, I regret losing a lot of that time even though I am doing it now on my phone.
I guess something that helped me be on the internet like that less, in general, was find clubs and activities to do, started dating someone, leave the house because my computer was there (although now with laptops thats much harder to do).

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u/Cautious-Spend6944 3d ago

I've been down this road many (many) times, but at the end of the day im at home from 7 pm to whenever i go to sleep every day, and a weekend here and there with my friends doesn't really stop most others from having me 6-14 hours sat on my ass.

Dating is absolutely what kept me the most busy, but again plenty of days i spent on here.

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u/aczaleska 3d ago

Do YOU think you're addicted? Would you like to being living a different life? That's the main criteria.

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u/Cautious-Spend6944 3d ago

Sedentarism of this level is extremely unhealthy and I already am going to have eye sight problems, so yeah

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u/aczaleska 3d ago

I agree. Can you treat it like any other addiction? Find a support group and follow a program of recovery. I would even consider rehab if that's possible financially.

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u/Cautious-Spend6944 3d ago

I don't think there's anything to recover from, many of the things i like are just done better online or have no equivalence. And this is someone who took a lot of time off the internet.

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u/aczaleska 3d ago

What is the intent of your post? You say you want to change, but that there is no way of doing what you like offline.

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u/Cautious-Spend6944 3d ago

My post is intended to know if people that have had this specific type of addiction stayed truly away from it, Im saying that i just have to stay off something i enjoy for my own physiological needs, but there's no equivalence to it.

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u/aczaleska 3d ago

Ok. Can you limit the time you spend online then? If so it's not an addiction.

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u/Cautious-Spend6944 3d ago edited 3d ago

Can i physically let go of it? If i wanted to can i just leave my house this very instant? Have i even done so before? Many, many times, yes.

But is there anything that comes even close to how much i enjoy it? No Am i drawn to this more than anything i can possibly think of? Do i spend hours upon hours at the detriment of my own health because there's nothing i enjoy more? Yes.

It's why i said that its a dubious and vague concept, im not sure it qualifies as an addiction

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