I've had a severe internet addiction since the age of 11 at least since I received a smartphone and would spend all night on it unless they stopped me, before that age, my parents would have to drag me off the computer as I was playing my flash games, it has gotten progressively worse, with a lull around a year ago as I had to study for my exams, since then it has resumed rapidly and the overwhelming majority of free time I have I spend online. I have exams beginning in 3 days and in each attempt I have made to study for them, deliberately going to the university library,. I lose focus within an hour tops. Certain days I tell myself I will go for a run, then go to the library to study. Then I just wake up, go on to my laptop, browse 4chan, alternate history forums and redscarepod and that is it. I often get this incredibly strange feeling as I do so like I know that I'm wasting my life but I'm unable to pull away. I've tried to read books like atomic habits and how to read a book and all that stuff but my attention span is too nuked to get past the first few pages.
>>34494278I'm also addicted to the internet and before that it was video games. I know my video game addiction started getting bad around the age of 9. I purposefully avoided getting a smartphone until I graduated high school because I knew I'd game on it. Once I got it, I told myself no games, just calls, calculator and maps. Now I have disciplined myself with the phone to only game on my phone when I am in the waiting room for an appointment. The library to study is a good idea. Giving yourself an alternate space dedicated to studying helps. If you lose focus after an hour, just take a short break. This is why jobs make you take 15 minute breaks after anywhere from 1 hour to 3 hours of work. I divide my 8 and a half hour work day evenly into thirds where a 30 minute lunch is in the middle and the 15 minute breaks are in the exact middle of the first half and second half. So give yourself a scheduled checkpoint to go on a break or a scheduled time to go on a break. Sometimes during your break you may feel the urge to go back to studying because it feels like you're just wasting time. Don't. Force yourself to take the full allotted break time. This allows your brain to rest so you won't burn out within 20 minutes of sitting back down.One other thing I do at home is I use one web browser for fun stuff and the other browser for productive stuff. This way I don't see recommendations that can distract me when I need to go to Youtube for productive reasons.You glaze over during reading because you don't have true interest in the topic or you haven't figured out how to apply it yet. This is normal because you're new to it and don't fully understand what you're reading. I learn better when I have a goal in mind. I look up how to do something when I already know why I'm needing to know how to do it. If you still cannot study alone, consider group or partner study. Try a calendar to schedule your runs.
>>34494278>redscarepodLmao what is it with this place and that subreddit. Someone else already posted dasha today.Anyways, read shorter books/short stories and maybe try the pomodoro method or the ColdTurkey app. For short stories, maybe try Knockemstiff, A Good Man is Hard to Find and other short stories by Flannery O' Connor, and stuff by Isaac Asiimov.
>>34494356Oh, one more thing about how to use your break time. Because I am aware of my internet addiction. I do not allow myself internet at work, even on break. I will read a book, or take a nap / resting my eyes in my car with an alarm set. If I am reading my book, the alarm means back to work NOW, not 5 more minutes. Mainly, because I'd get fired if I didn't go back to work, but in your case, you'll flunk out or get not as good of a grade if you don't go back to studying immediately when your alarm says.It also may be hard if you don't know for how many hours you are going to study for. Pick a quitting time and stick to it. The exception of course is when you realize you are getting behind in a deadline, you may have to tell yourself to study for longer to catch up. If you are way behind (let's say by like 4 chapters/sections) don't try to do all 4 the next day. Do an extra 2 one day and 2 a next day until you are caught up.
Yea yea that's most of us in the digital age. Get a job ya bum, your parents are the ones who don't know better, enabling you
>>34494278Heh, that’s what they want.
>>34494278Break your tasks into 5 minute timeslots. Do not open your computer until you do at least one of them.
>>34495076It isn't most of us at all, I literally wake up, go on my laptop, and that's it for the rest of the day. Today I blocked Reddit and 4chan so I spent it on youtube. And just so you know, my parents probably aren't aware of the extent of the addiction, but have known about it for some time, they've found me late at night huddled by the family pc when they thought I was asleep since I was maybe 14>>34495794Who's they?
>>34498562It's a growing percentage of us that's only going to grow bigger and not smaller with the way things are setupThat's why governments are starting to ban social media for underaged, implement age verification everywhere online, and banning smartphones in school, yadda. They realise it's a growing problem. Not that they're actually solving it in any meaningful way through those measures but it shows they're becoming aware of the stats and the outcomes>I literally wake up, go on my laptop, and that's it for the rest of the day. And you chose that. Your parents could just kick you out and you'd have no choice but to earn shekels to feed yourself, which would likely involve a significant duration of time where you're not permitted to go on your laptop. If you choose not to feed yourself and simply starve to death, or commit crime to not starve like steal food instead of using legal means to feed yourself, then I guess we can say your addiction won in the end
>>34498646>Or commit crime to not starve like steal food instead of using legal means to feed yourselfInteresting perspective, even if I'm not actively engaging in the addiction itself, stealing food instead of using my laptop for things that are wastes of time. You would consider that me succumbing to my addiction just as much as starving. Why? Im still taking steps to keep myself fed whether or not I'm gainfully employed. Although I do agree with your message. Knowledge of my circumstance doesn't help me any more. I still choose to avoid doing my work. And my parents choosing not to pay for my flat and choosing not to let me live at theirs would mean I'd have to fend for myself. It doesn't help me make better decisions.
>>34498646>>34498646>Or commit crime to not starve like steal food instead of using legal means to feed yourselfInteresting perspective, even if I'm not actively engaging in the addiction itself, stealing food instead of using my laptop for things that are wastes of time. You would consider that me succumbing to my addiction just as much as starving. Why? Im still taking steps to keep myself fed whether or not I'm gainfully employed. Although I do agree with your message. Knowledge of my circumstance doesn't help me any more. I still choose to avoid doing my work. And my parents choosing not to pay for my flat and choosing not to let me live at theirs would mean I'd have to fend for myself. It doesn't help
>>34499082>You would consider that me succumbing to my addiction just as much as starving. Why?Because it's starting to affect other people. You wouldn't feel too good if some crackhead stole your purse to go chase another hit.>I'd have to fend for myself. It doesn't help me make better decisions.You'd be forced to make better decisions in order to fend for yourself
>>34494278If we knew the answer, would we be here to answer?
