Do you "go online" any more?

[wris]

Just me and my thoughts

I was introduced to the concept of "solitude deprivation" by Cal Newport, whose writing I enjoy. The theory is that even if you manage to sidestep the traps of endless social media scrolling and spend your time deliberately, a lot of us aren't spending enough time with just our own thoughts.

I don't know how solid the science behind that idea is, but it, uh... feels true?

[rugar]

Just me and my thoughts

I was introduced to the concept of "solitude deprivation" by Cal Newport, whose writing I enjoy. The theory is that even if you manage to sidestep the traps of endless social media scrolling and spend your time deliberately, a lot of us aren't spending enough time with just our own thoughts.

I don't know how solid the science behind that idea is, but it, uh... feels true?

i feel the same way!!! i recently had a trip that was mind-opening and like . i really think you need to spend time frequently doing nothing in your room just thinking about things to get a clear head. staring at the ceiling and noticing the patterns in the wall and coming to terms with the recent goings-on

as for "going online" i dont really value irl life or url life more than the other, i just try to make sure theres a balance of both. i normally just put my phone on do-not-disturb whenever i want to leave url life and go for a walk or something (i may need maps later xD)

but i do sometimes miss when i would wait for a loooong time for my awful pc to connect to the internet and load things

[Guest]

Just me and my thoughts

I was introduced to the concept of "solitude deprivation" by Cal Newport, whose writing I enjoy. The theory is that even if you manage to sidestep the traps of endless social media scrolling and spend your time deliberately, a lot of us aren't spending enough time with just our own thoughts.

I don't know how solid the science behind that idea is, but it, uh... feels true?

i feel the same way!!! i recently had a trip that was mind-opening and like . i really think you need to spend time frequently doing nothing in your room just thinking about things to get a clear head. staring at the ceiling and noticing the patterns in the wall and coming to terms with the recent goings-on

When I got nothing to do and the internet isn't doing it for me I would literally lay on the couch or bed and come up with stories in my head, think of it as like saturday morning cartoons but you are in control and there is no waiting.

[Absentmind]

Just me and my thoughts

I was introduced to the concept of "solitude deprivation" by Cal Newport, whose writing I enjoy. The theory is that even if you manage to sidestep the traps of endless social media scrolling and spend your time deliberately, a lot of us aren't spending enough time with just our own thoughts.

I don't know how solid the science behind that idea is, but it, uh... feels true?

i feel the same way!!! i recently had a trip that was mind-opening and like . i really think you need to spend time frequently doing nothing in your room just thinking about things to get a clear head. staring at the ceiling and noticing the patterns in the wall and coming to terms with the recent goings-on

When I got nothing to do and the internet isn't doing it for me I would literally lay on the couch or bed and come up with stories in my head, think of it as like saturday morning cartoons but you are in control and there is no waiting.

I kinda do this when I go to the bathroom or shower. Just imagine worlds and scenarios and stop and continue when I got back in the bathroom haha

[Nippo]

Just me and my thoughts

I was introduced to the concept of "solitude deprivation" by Cal Newport, whose writing I enjoy. The theory is that even if you manage to sidestep the traps of endless social media scrolling and spend your time deliberately, a lot of us aren't spending enough time with just our own thoughts.

I don't know how solid the science behind that idea is, but it, uh... feels true?

i feel the same way!!! i recently had a trip that was mind-opening and like . i really think you need to spend time frequently doing nothing in your room just thinking about things to get a clear head. staring at the ceiling and noticing the patterns in the wall and coming to terms with the recent goings-on

as for "going online" i dont really value irl life or url life more than the other, i just try to make sure theres a balance of both. i normally just put my phone on do-not-disturb whenever i want to leave url life and go for a walk or something (i may need maps later xD)

but i do sometimes miss when i would wait for a loooong time for my awful pc to connect to the internet and load things

I really enjoy this idea. I always see myself bringing my phone places, and when I am burnt out of my phone I see myself holding my iPod instead because I seem to always reach for some sort of stimulation (though at times I see myself listening to calm music more than anything, to make myself feel better).

At some point I want to try locking up my portable devices for a day and to only have access to the internet through my computer. Though that is becoming harder and harder as smart devices take over.

[Cy]

At this point of time, I feel very much chronically online. There are several reasons for this, some of them are due to circumstances, some of them because of interests and fields of work; amongst other things. It kind of seems inevitable.

I remember vividly back when all of this was different, it comes with nostalgia. I feel like life was much simpler, and quieter. Nowadays I try my best to live that way. To 'go' online, rather than 'be' online. But it's not that easy, especially now.

In a way, I am working towards it. I don't know if it's truly or completely possible.

Just me and my thoughts

I was introduced to the concept of "solitude deprivation" by Cal Newport, whose writing I enjoy. The theory is that even if you manage to sidestep the traps of endless social media scrolling and spend your time deliberately, a lot of us aren't spending enough time with just our own thoughts.

I don't know how solid the science behind that idea is, but it, uh... feels true?

Interesting concept. Perhaps this is where things such as meditation would be helpful, and it'd take plenty of practice to reach states where we're fully with our own selves, clear of any external things.

[wodaro]

Firstly I want to say, Thank you for making this thread wris! I shared it with a few friend groups of mine yesterday and it sparked some lovely conversations

When I was a kid I spent as much time as I could outdoors, and was only allowed maybe 30mins of computer time each day. We would use the oven timer to make sure I didn't go over (though sometimes I would be able to convince my mother to give me extra time.) When I turned twelve (in 2009) I was given an iPod for my birthday, and gained theoretically unlimited internet access. After that I started to spend more and more time online.

Now, I definitely struggle with unhooking myself from the internet. For a year or so during the pandemic I couldn't even get out of bed without putting on a podcast or youtube video. My attention is almost always split, because a lack of mental stimulation makes it impossible to focus. Over-stimulation became my default. I've been taking steps to remedy that, but man is it tough to undo over 10 years of built up bad habits. I've deleted social media apps off my phone, forbid headphones on my commute to work, and downloaded some browser extensions to make my social media experience a little less addictive.

I think the points people make about having an ACTIVE experience online are key. I want to get to a point where I'm not just browsing passively for a dopamine hit, but actively exploring and learning and entertaining myself in a deliberate manner. I've wasted so much time just scrolling... scrolling... scrolling... or listening to random things I don't even care about just to fill my brain with noise. I do love the internet! I just want to be able to experience it in a way that makes me happy!

[Guest]

Just me and my thoughts

I was introduced to the concept of "solitude deprivation" by Cal Newport, whose writing I enjoy. The theory is that even if you manage to sidestep the traps of endless social media scrolling and spend your time deliberately, a lot of us aren't spending enough time with just our own thoughts.

I don't know how solid the science behind that idea is, but it, uh... feels true?

The problem with spending time with your own thoughts is that for some people, especially those with OCD, it can quickly become overwhelming and even toxic because without any kind of distraction or something to draw our attention away, thoughts will start spiraling out of control to obsessive worrying and other bad thoughts repeating themselves over and over. I usually try to suffice this by playing video games or doing other hobbies.
At the same time though, I also have bad ADD and looking for constant distractions probably feeds into that so it makes it harder for me to keep focus on things that I need to. It's like a double-edged sword I guess.

On another note I personally prefer setting time aside to go online on my computer. If I'm on it throughout the day on a mobile device it just feels like a time-waster and imo, kinda boring. I still browse on my phone from time to time especially if I'm waiting and can't do much else, but there's just something that feels a lot nicer with dedicating most of my web-surfing time to when I get on my PC. Maybe it's just what I'm used to, idk.

[Janus]

For the most part, the internet permeates my day-to-day routine such that the phrase "going online" is mostly meaningless - and this is despite being fully detoxed from social media since 2017! That said, I am just old enough to remember the sound of a dial-up modem (and can do an impression of the same with perfect pitch!), and beyond that, I had an interlude back into the old way of doing things earlier this year, as follows:

While I was creating my admittedly-underdeveloped homepage, "Realm of Janus", my wifi USB adapter stopped working abruptly, and I landed on tethering my phone's Wifi connection over USB as the stopgap connectivity fix until I got paid again. I am also accustomed to using a VPN connection to access my home network during work hours, which lead to the absurd scenario of 1) leaving my smartphone at home to serve as makeshift Wifi adapter, and 2) using a text-to-keyboard bridge app to maintain my ability to respond to my boss's text messages (his general preference over email), and finally 3) scrambling to reach my brother with an outgoing emergency call from my office's landline after someone called my smartphone, stationed at home in use as a wifi-adapter, provoking a fit of vibrations which jostled the USB cable loose, disrupting its ability to act as functional tether!!

So glad that episode came to an end with the arrival of a new, actual USB Wifi adapter... Sometimes modern tech is nice, after all...